I have never been shy about admitting I'm an Atheist because I truly think it is one of the most important pillars of who I am today. I have been asked by pretty much everyone of my family members how I could possibly deny the existence of their God, and why I don't believe in anything larger than humanity. For me, it was this very questioning that really ended up justifying my beliefs. In my life, I have always chosen to look at the bigger picture with everything, regardless how trivial it may or may not be. Religion is no different from anything else in my mind, and I have spent years determining exactly why Atheism makes so much sense to me. This past year, I came to that conclusion.

Separation.

In my mind, and in my personal experience(s), religion has ultimately just separated us. Humans. It could be in minor instances, or in ways that span across both the globe and through time. In middle school, I lost all of my friends because I happened to not believe in Jesus Christ. That just seems unfair for a thirteen-year-old to go through school without friends because of a difference in beliefs. An even smaller separation would be the feeling of disappointment my grandmother gets each time I don't say grace with her before eating a meal. These lapses in connectivity may seem small to anyone else, but I see them both as examples of a fundamental flaw in the world.

On a grand scale, religion has caused generations of hatred and hesitancy between people of differing major religions. There are even individuals that I know who actually believe themselves to be superior just because they are Christians, and who actually think that every other major belief system is incorrect. The saddest part of this entire issue, to me, is the fact that people grow up believing in this. From the time they are born, so many children are told what to believe or are at the very least heavily persuaded. This just cannot be right. I believe that it is utterly ridiculous to imagine a species with limitless possibilities handicapped because of pointless bickering about what happens after we die.

"We were all humans until race disconnected us,
religion separated us,
politics divided us,
and wealth classified us."
-Anonymous