Every now and then, I get emails telling me to join religious forums, messages from friends telling me to try praying or sometimes I even end up in conversations that has deviated from its original topic and finally down to a point where everyone wants to know why I’m an Atheist, Why I don’t believe, Why I don’t go to a church, Why I never even try praying or even what Atheism really is.

I’m not here to answer all these questions. I’m just trying to get viewpoints from other Atheists who have been riding this band wagon for sometime and is tired of explaining to pretty much everyone around about their Atheism. I’m tired of all the questions, pointing and awkward faces.

Atheists (most of them) are able to adjust with people who are religious. There is nothing wrong with religion, and there is nothing wrong with not believing in religion, AS LONG AS you don’t shove it down someone else’s throat. The problem is when it stops showing us the path through our lives and we attempt to influence others with it. I have come to a point of neutrality, which is simply this. Worship (or chose not to) and let worship (or chose not to). This is easy for most weak atheists, humanists, agnostics, and other non-believers to accept and practice. Every so called “nice” believer might also take this co-existing path. Then, why is it so hard for An Atheist to do things his way?

It’s hard being an atheist. For a start, you have to make sure you’re absolutely right. If there were to be a God I doubt he/she would be very impressed with me arriving at the Pearly Gates and having to say, “you could have done a little more to convince me before it was too late…”

Secondly is the perception of the atheist. Theists assume that because we have no faith in the system that give them their morals, we have no morals. Yes, we may sleep a little later on Sundays, but I would like to think we don’t need to be told to be good. Indeed, I would rather people were nice to each other because they genuinely wanted to get on with their neighbor, rather than as some religious obligation. I have blogged about Atheist Morals before, but the message is not sinking into my Theist friends.

Atheists never feel the urge to knock on your door to convert you, or find slightly insane men to stand in city centers and remind passers by that they are hell-bound. Nor do they feel the need to meddle in issues of the day, (contraception, abortion, homosexuality, marriage) because someone a couple of thousand years ago wrote a book condemning everyone but themselves – and I make no distinctions between the holy texts, it’s all basically same junk whichever you pick up.

While we’re here, please, please, keep religious opinions in your own heart and mind. They are personal to you, not everyone is going to believe in them with you.

I’m tired of writing. I don’t know how to write about something I call “Mature Atheism” (I’m not being arrogant here folks) since long gone are the days when I tried to explain what Atheism is, and explain all of its view points. I just wish people tried to research what all these religious stands are before they start to attack someone for some “first hand knowledge”, to get the correct info from an Atheist himself. Remember, Non-believers differ a lot from each other, unlike Theists who follow a particular system (say, like, Roman Catholics). Know the person first before you try to rip apart his/her beliefs (or lack of) that he/she had been into for a very long time.