Is non-belief a sin?

By Chamintha Thilakarathna

What do Marlon Brando, Dr. Francis Crick, Lionel Jospin and Arnold Schwarzenagger have in common? The same thing that a group of young adults here, recently discovered they have. A lack of spiritual faith.

Religion has been questioned many times in many ways. It has also been taken for granted that religion is a must and is the only path to self realisation or cleansing of the soul. Be it Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism or Christianity, the accepted fact is that all religions teach something good. But this group of young adults from a secular fraternity in Kandy` believes that religion instead divides, discriminates and is bias. They have disassociated themselves from religion and religious concepts.

Naveen Karunatilka,(21) a founder member of the Sri Lanka Secular Society, an organisation of 15 young atheists searching for an identity and community that accepts them, says religions are hypocritical.

"Every religion offers comfort after death only to those who are followers of that particular religion. They discriminate people with other beliefs, when in theory a religion is expected to offer comfort universally despite differences. Some religions even discriminate women," Naveen said.

However, atheists or atheism is not accepted by many in society. Most people have not even come to terms with the fact that atheists exist. Religious groups have been quite critical of atheists of late, too. This seems quite ironical especially since all religions teach acceptance and respect for other beliefs.

But Rev. Mervin Fernando of the Subodhi movement does not agree. He feels that individuals must be given the freedom to believe or not believe in a faith.

But a majority of religious leaders argue that the basis of life is religion and that man needs to be guided on spiritual lines. On the other hand, some ask, if that was the case, how come the crime rate was rising and social morality had hit rock bottom.

Most people who see themselves as atheists say they are what they are because religions have not lived up to their expectations.

"All religions treat individuals differently. There is no universality in religion," they argue.

Mohammed Abdul who married under Muslim law has remained an atheist for the past 23 years and says he has not found sufficient proof to believe in the existence of a God.

"My family members say I will rot in hell, but I believe that one will not be judged by his/her faith but by one's knowledge of God.On judgement day God would have to take into consideration that he did not give me enough proof of his existence or reason to believe in him, so my knowledge of God would be limited," Abdul said.

A believer gives several reasons for spiritual faith.

Some say people have spiritual faith, because they fear that not believing in a religion would be looked down upon by society.

Others feel it is because people want to believe in a superior being, to whom they could turn to in times of distress. Yet others say that belief in God, whether he exists or not, makes people watch their actions in fear of punishment.

But is that the role of religion?

The answer came from the young atheists. "Religion in theory is meant to help people rid themselves from indulging in sinful acts. But in practice it is not so. Not even those who are expected to guide them on such lines seem to show signs of tolerance, compassion or equanimity.

"Some religious leaders preach tolerance and compassion but say animals have been created for food. Others urge that the ongoing war must continue . So where is the much talked about compassion and tolerance?," they ask.

These people believe only in the individuals' innate ability to develop oneself and prosper. They feel that this is the only thing one could fall back on.

"All religions are superficial. They speak of a God whom one cannot confront or see. But personal achievements and goals can be enjoyed and experienced, and one could hold oneself responsible for one's failure or success," they say.

"But we live in a religion based society where atheists are not accepted. Usually we attract a lot of negative attention. People refuse to accept atheists," they lament.

In Saumya's case, she is scared to tell the world that she is an atheist. Coming from a religious family, she feels her difference will be seen as a sin and that her parents would never accept such a situation.

"They would simply push it aside saying 'don't be silly, there is no such thing as not believing in a religion," she said.

But, Prof. Karunaratne, Naveen's father feels differently. He said he does not care if his son believed in a religion or not. He said: "If that is what he wants, it does not affect me. I don't think he believes in anything but in himself. What is important is that he refrains from doing wrong."

"Religions have caused enough problems in the world. Take India for example, where religion has divided people. Even in other parts of the world, religion has contributed much to the disputes that are taking place leading to mass massacres," the atheists reasoned.

They feel the important thing was to live a sinless life and for that religion was not an essential component. "Besides, if religion is responsible for many of the civil wars and their resultant destruction, the world would be a better place without it," they said.

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