thoughts on religion (an essay i wrote for skool =D)

As a Southern person living within the crux of the bible belt, I was raised within a Christian Southern Baptist environment; however, I do not identify as religious, and neither was I raised with a specific faith. I am mostly an atheist–borderline agnostic depending on my mood–however, I do respect those who are religious and the concept of religion as a whole. In fact, my own family did not attend church often, if at all, unless it was a funeral or an Easter celebration. Moreover, one of my earliest childhood memories occurred following my grandmother's death, because I did not have an understanding of the afterlife as a seven-year-old; I cried the entire night because I had no idea what happened to her. Although my parents would consider themselves, at the very least, non-traditional Christians, they were also skeptics of the church. My paternal grandfather was simultaneously a pastor and a lousy alcoholic who cheated on my grandmother and left his family. This incident gave my father a unique perspective; as a child, he saw corruption within the church firsthand and ultimately grew to be wary of those who claim sainthood but whose actions show otherwise. I vividly remember having conversations with my father about his childhood and that being the reason why he has such a disdain for Christians in general. Every time we attended church, he would criticize the preacher's hypocrisy, specifically how they would exploit the congregation for money, then spend it on frivolous material objects instead of supporting the church and its members. His perspective definitely shaped my view on Christianity as more of a cult and less of an organized religion. 

As a non-believer, I view religion as merely an antidote to a collective existential crisis rather than as gospel. Personally, the concept of a God or multiple gods seems far-fetched to me because of the lack of tangible evidence and the inherent cruelty religion perpetuates. A lot of religions uphold a patriarchal system, which results in violence against women and the loss of our civil rights in some countries. Additionally, religious texts, the Bible specifically, have been used to justify racism, homophobia, and the overall dehumanization of minorities globally. Overall, religion seems to do more bad than good; thus, I cannot believe in any theology that seeks to harm me and/or my community. Furthermore, atheism has led me to become a more open-minded, nonjudgmental, and empathic person because I do not acknowledge people as saints or sinners but as flawed human beings.