One of the things that was constantly thrown my way when I was beginning this blog was comments like this:
"Are you just bitter?"
"If you don't believe in Mormonism, fine. I don't see why you can't let it go and move on with your life!"
"Just because you don't believe doesn't mean you have the right to talk so much crap about Mormonism."
"You obviously have no idea what you are talking about!"
The last one is hilarious, especially if you are an ex-Mormon and have done the research into TRUE church history. People have no idea that they are being lied to on a daily basis, that they are giving their faith, money, and love to people who don't deserve it.
Don't believe me?
Check for yourself.
I triple-dog dare you.
So, now that I have come full circle and realized that I was pretty much brainwashed into believing half the things I was taught as a child I take a step back and marvel at the mental, emotional anguish of it all. Lets not forget that many members of my family refuse to talk to me just because I openly disagree with Mormonism.
Religion has shaped, changed and molded my life forever whether I like it or not.
The same goes for you, too.
So, in this article I hope to explain why religion is such a big deal to atheists like myself.
Religious institutions inflict their beliefs on me every single day. Thats why I care.
Let's start with the laws that tell people what they can and cannot do on certain days of the week... In Utah, you can't buy alcohol on Sunday. Why? Because the religious institutions in this state claim that it's for everyone's best interest.
For those who believe this moronic way of thinking, let me ask you something: Why would your God care what day of the week you get plastered? Either your God is pro-getting wasted or not. The day of the week doesn't have anything to do with it... and I am stuck following your stupid rules because you think it's best for me. Screw that. For those who are interested, I don't drink. At all. It was just an example.
Why else do I care so much about religion?
The battle for equality goes hand in hand with religion. Why is it so hard for certain groups of people to acquire the same rights as everyone else? I will tell you why. Because religious groups feel they have the right to tell people how they should live their lives. Thats why.
The voters in Maine have recently repealed same sex marriage.
Why do so many people feel they have the right to vote on who gets to live their lives as they see fit? Are same sex marriages hurting you? Of course not. It's all about religion, and thinking that you have the right to tell people what they should and shouldn't do. Who they should and shouldn't be able to marry.
Do you know how many people die every day because of religious beliefs?The holocaust? The crusades?
Do these events in history ring a bell?
Let me share a recent news story with you:
In Phoenix, Arizona a young woman was run over by her father because she was becoming too "westernized" and strayed from her traditional Iraqi values. She was killed because of her feelings about how she wanted to live her own life.
This is just one story out of thousands that happen every single day.It needs to stop.
Believers, if you want to belong to a religion that is 100% fine with me. Just keep yourselves from forcing your thoughts, ideals and rules on my life.
Let's talk stem cell research. Stem cells might hold the key to allowing people to walk again, to bettering the lives of millions of people around the world. Too bad religious groups feel that stem cell research is wrong and that leaders of these religions asks their believers to vote against studying stem cells.
Oh, well... God must want them to suffer.