In humanity's quest for ultimate truth and meaning in life, many have turned to a belief in God to satiate this desire and, consequently, quiet the mind's natural tendency for curiosity. For some, belief in God is the end of inquiry about the natural wonders of the universe and the enigma of consciousness.
Wherever there is belief in God, there is also a religion which puts that god in context. Religion has played a substantial role in the development of human history. Christianity and Catholicism, which I'm most acquainted with, primordially sprouted from cult worship and mythology endemic to ancient European cultures. Many doctrines, like that of a dying god who becomes reborn, is not an original Christian/Catholic dogma.
I find faith in anything wholly inconsistent with the intelligence of modern, rational beings. But it's not only its irrationality that strikes me as repugnant to good sense. Religious belief often distracts the mind with concerns wholly independent of mundane affairs. Hope in an eternal afterlife suppresses hope in a better world.
First, I will deal with why I do not believe in the truth of religion, specifically Christianity and Catholicism. Secondly, I will lay out with sagacity my reasons for rejecting belief in a deity altogether.
Grounds for the repudiation of religion
As I have previously mentioned, modern religion is a product of ancient religions from the past. To recall one instance, let's consider the cult of Dionysus. As the god of wine, ecstasy, and fertility, Dionysus was worshiped by many Ancient Greek cultures and outlawed by others. Rituals in celebration of the god often involved drunken orgies and other licentious activities. Amidst the ritualistic madness embraced by his followers, Dionysus was considered a symbol of personal salvation. Much like Jesus Christ, Dionysus had a mortal mother and is recognized as a dying-and-rising god.
It's a curious thing that modern people now consider Ancient Greek religions as nothing more than elaborate mythology, especially since they contribute so much to the fabric of current views. On the contrary, religious belief imbibed by the masses today is considered ultimate truth. To reject all ancient, faith-based religions as false and modern ones as true is to be guilty of inconsistency. I value consistency, and if all past religions are false, then I take the extra leap by imparting the same judgment onto contemporary ones.
Indoctrination grants atheists with an even greater reason to reject religious faith. People from cultures in every corner of the world inculcate different versions of the "truth," with one no more an instance of apparent veracity than the next. It was chance that dictated person A to be born in America, where he subsequently assimilated Christian beliefs, and it was chance that dictated person B to be born in Thailand, where he imbibed the doctrines of Buddhism. If hypothetical person A was instead born in Thailand, he would think Buddhism supreme, not Christianity. Such considerations expose religious faiths as products of chance cultural and social circumstances, not as harbingers of divine revelation and truth.
Grounds for rejecting the existence of God
For centuries, philosophers have tried to vindicate religion and belief in God with argument and logic. I think they have fallen short. One argument, the argument from design, attempts to prove the existence of God by appealing to perceived design and structure in the natural world. Humans, for instance, are vastly complex creatures, intricately woven with genetic coding scientists are only beginning to crack. Some think humans and the rest of animal life are the work of a divine craftsman. But there is one obvious problem: biological entities are teeming with deficiencies, errors in the very genetic underpinnings responsible for all life on Earth. Millions of children around the world are born with cancer, cognitive handicaps, and deformities. These biological mishaps, which occur in abundance, hardly seem characteristic of an omnipotent creator.
Faith is the most significant factor in determining one's acceptance in the existence of God, but it does no justice in lending authenticity to a person's beliefs. If faith was a valid form of reasoning, it would lead, in a myriad of cases, to a reductio ad absurdum. In effect, all things could be proven by faith: unicorns, invisible gnomes, and dragons. This, of course, is an unacceptable consequence, and I cannot concede it.
There are no good reasons for accepting a belief in God, except, perhaps, that it inspires hope. But it typically does not inspire hope in a better world, only in an afterlife. This can have serious consequences for the modern world. For instance, take human contribution to global warming. If a Christian believes Christ is soon to return to Earth and save us all, he is much less likely to care about the impact humans have on our planet. I, myself, am much more interested in concern for this life than concern for an unlikely spirit world.
Finally, belief in God often obstructs further inquiry into questions we have about the natural world. This is often called the god of the gaps, which substitutes divinity for the things we do not have answers to. For one, science has yet to understand how consciousness is possible, which poses an immensely complicated issue for modern cognitive scientists and philosophers of mind. Believers might concede that God created consciousness, but this is not a tenable solution. If scientists substituted God as an answer to questions, we would still be living in a primitive world.
No rational argument or destruction of foundations will ever deter a believer from his or her faith. Faith instills hope that one day we will be reunited with our loved ones, that death is not the end, and that good behavior will be rewarded. For me, I try not to get carried away by lofty ideals. I don't mind being laid to rest in perpetual slumber, to be swallowed by an eternal nothingness reminiscent of my pre-natal days. What I care about is the time I've been given here on Earth. And I will use whatever resources available in my attempt to make it a better place, because it may be the only place we will ever have.
