Atheist Voicemails #4: Cost of Religion – Where Does It End?

Atheist Republic Voicemails

Some of us are free to announce our atheism. Others are forced to keep quiet or risk everything. No matter where you live, there is no denying that religion can damage some of the most important relationships in our lives – and for what?

To kick off, Kimbu challenges the idea that atheists aren’t embattled – and challenges those of faith to question why they believe only praying to God can help, when the reality is he doesn’t exist… so how can he listen?

Bryte hails from Ghana, a country where over 90% are religious, making it one of the most devout in the world. Despite Ghana’s democracy, Bryte explains how he must pretend to be religious, otherwise he will be denounced – and shunned by society, even his own family. Despite having to hide his true nature, he remains confident in his future and that of atheism.

Speaker number four is more circumspect about the circumstances they find themselves in. Living in a Muslim country, apostasy is all but impossible in a culture which believes the Koran is the one final true religion of the world. Not wishing to create familial problems, all that is left is questioning – and sorting through the multiple contradictory answers received. However, the future remains optimistic; although their family may be shamed, the consequences stand to be less dire than for others. For now, questioning and exploring the nature of belief is enough.

Thomas Dixon calls himself a secular humanist, rather than an atheist, wishing to be defined by what he is – not what he isn’t. In this important distinction, he has constructed a new worldview on how humans relate to one another – he asks if others feel the same, or if they have any thoughts.

Speaker 6 covers the sad damage done to his adopted family by the Catholic church. Once a welcome adoption into a childless family, the priest’s insistence of a sexless marriage thereafter invariably led to a father’s blame – on the innocent child – as a mother’s love and devotion grew to compensate. Although both did their best in this church-imposed framework of denial, speaker 6 reflects that there is the legacy of suffering that the three of them endure together, even to this day.

Dao Divine reveals another sordid side to the Catholic church – one that she was unfortunate enough to suffer: child sexual molestation. She urges people to come forward and expose the predators and to break the cycle – one that the church is spending millions of dollars to perpetuate. Her message is simple: “Fight Back.”

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