Atheism and Environmentalism

I don’t know why this has taken so long to dawn on me, but I think I just realized why I have such a problem with religious belief (particularly the idea of an afterlife). It treats this life as a trial run; some kind of proving ground, less important than an eternity after we’re dead.

That sounds bad enough to me, particularly when the religion you are a part of (usually a product of your place of birth and indoctrination during childhood – not exactly profound) expects certain ways of thinking and acting. Think of the friendships and experiences you could miss out on if you have to live by ancient “rules” or only do things that are expected of you. How about the great friend you could have had but were prevented to because they were gay, atheist, Hindu, etc. etc.? We’re already onto a loser, in my opinion. And it’s not even that trusting “faith” over evidence (leading to bad decision processes) is deemed as a virtue that’s the problem. Or the idea that ancient wisdom is somehow better than current understanding based on careful consideration of observations and new data using better tools.

It’s the fact that with the promise of an afterlife, this life, this time, and this universe is deemed less important. Now I hear some of you saying “So what? Each to their own - as long as they're not hurting others, leave them be”. But this is a mistake. If this world (the only one we currently know of that can actually support us) is all we have, then even one person seeing it as relatively unimportant is EXTREMELY dangerous. Why would someone care about looking after the earth if they honestly believe that the rapture is coming for them and theirs within their lifetime? Why worry about the long term effect of your actions if it doesn't matter because god will sort it all out afterwards?

There are people in charge of technology, substances and processes that are killing the planet and many of us are living unsustainably (TRANSLATION: that means we can’t go on living in this way. Not that we shouldn't, but that we CANNOT). There are people in charge of weapons of mass destruction. There are whole populaces who subscribe to the same beliefs that condemn yours and are taught that it is their duty to convert you to their way of thinking or to somehow stop you. A belief that this world will come to an end (and soon) hardly leads these people to live in a way that looks towards the future, and holy books that require a disbelief or distrust of science in general will stop vital information from getting through. 

With such a high percentage of the population considered religious (even in developed countries) who presumably believe in an all powerful creator who is looking after them, it is no wonder that we find it so difficult to get people really interested in thinking of the effect we are having on our planet. 

This scares me. This is the only home that we have ever known. Our inaction as a species is being exacerbated by the continued proliferation of poorly based beliefs that treat this life as a practice, and this planet as a proving ground. I honestly fear for my children, and their children. This is one of the reasons I speak out against religion, and why even “moderate” religious people really need to look at the way they evaluate information and the importance they place on this life and this place. 

The only life and the only home we are SURE that we have. 

Census 2011

In reply to SoggyMog :

Great piece. I think the number self-identifying as non-religious is important, particularly when (as others have already stated) the question is leading. I have friends who have recently christened their newborn "So they have the choice of whether to believe or not - at least they'll have a religion if they want one". 

Whilst I support their open mindedness to the fact that their offspring may not believe what they do, they still feel that being "made" Christian should be the default position. This child could quite easily think of themselves as Christian even if they aren't practising or if they don't believe a word of it (especially if they've never thought about it or don't care either way). 

The question needs rephrasing, perhaps with a "Are you devout / practising?" or one question for family religion and one for personal beliefs (which would be an interesting stat in itself - how many are leaving religion?). Perhaps even an additional question regarding being SECULAR. That would get rid of some justification the church uses for their privileged position.