This article is part of an ongoing interview series on spirituality and gender; read the other weeks here . In the interest of transparency, I (the interviewer) am a cisgender Protestant woman which may have influenced the questions I asked.

I realized that I didn't have a currently practicing Hindu in my series despite the multi-week focus on this spiritual tradition. Here is one perspective on misogyny and Hinduism published by Everyday Feminism.

This week I’ll share the perspectives of two people whose atheism is influenced by the Hinduism they were raised with. Thanks to my two eloquent interviewees Anisha and Siddhi. (All quotations are the interviewee's words.)

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In Anisha’s opinion, Hinduism isn’t really an organized religion; it functions as the basis of so many spiritual traditions in India.

Personally, for Anisha, one of these spiritual variations is “Hindu atheism." She explains “[Hindu atheism] is not a codified sect […] it's more of a feeling […] how I see the spirituality and mythology [and the] general teaching of [Hindu] gurus” in relation to atheism. One example Anisha gave is redefining brahman (considered “the one true god in some parts of Hinduism”) as “your [spiritual] potential in the world”.

As someone who was raised in the faith, Anisha feels that Hinduism is patriarchal, especially in a societal context. However, there are a few exceptions like “female goddesses who subvert the idea of being a wife to a mortal man”.

As a genderfluid person who still finds meaning in some Hindu writings and traditions, Anisha said “I try to distance myself from [the patriarchal aspects of Hinduism]. I try to distance myself from that, I take the non-gendered parts [and] I don’t assign myself a female gender role in the faith. There are parts of Hinduism that are agender. […] poetry from Hindu tradition is more who cares [about gender] as well as the deity Shiva who is presented as half female and half male." For Anisha, “being genderfluid does play into being an atheist” especially in the application of Hindu practices to an atheist perspective.

Concerning other religions, Anisha noted, “I feel like a lot of religions are very non-gendered at their core. The ideas have no gender roles and they aren’t oppressive at their core”. Growing up in Qatar, where “the Islamic influence is equal to Hinduism”, Anisha regards Muslim women as “very powerful and independent and great role models. [Anisha] applies this to spirituality in general and seeks out women to have as [spiritual] role models”.

Similarly, Siddhi was raised as Hindu but now identifies as atheist. She found the patriarchal aspects of Hinduism to be alienating as a woman. While there are “several goddesses who are in power and are devotedly worshipped”, Siddhi feels “goddesses are given that respect not because of them being women but solely because of them [sic] being supernatural and non-human”. While their power does make Hinduism somewhat matriarchal, their power isn’t seen as something a human woman could or should emulate, in Siddhi’s experience. This inequality of gender was “one of the primary reasons” Siddhi began to question her faith and ultimately felt more comfortable identifying as atheist.

“I was never given reasons why, as a woman, my role was to support the masculine figures and not myself or other women. In my understanding of [Hinduism], the role of women is an illusion. It claims that women are central yet […] the role of the women entirely depends on serving the man.”

After questioning, discovering hypocrisies and briefly identifying as agnostic, Siddhi found “a liberty where [her] actions are not defined or dictated by [her] gender. […] So in short, to [her], being an atheist means freedom.”

While Siddhi feels empowered by her atheism, she will “appreciate other religions” and their devotees without feeling constrained by the gender roles Hinduism would demand of her. She’ll “always hold some value to Hinduism in my heart”. Whether this is because of childhood indoctrination or because “the faith has beautiful traditions which I hold dear to me”.

I paired these two interviewees because for both, atheism is connected to their previous faith. For Anisha, Hinduism is the basis of a personal philosophy. For Siddhi, Hinduism is a collection of childhood memories of some beautiful traditions and some societal truths that perhaps need unlearning. I thought this was an interesting perspective to explore outside of my other

atheist or agnostic interviewees who never had a spiritual devotion before discovering their non-belief. There are many stereotypes about atheism, so I feel it’s important that a variety of perspectives are uplifted. A previous practice of a faith does not make a person’s current atheism any less valid.