We all have seen atheists like me kick, scream and shout about the absence of proof that there is god, or believe in science and reject religion etc (You know George Carlin and Ricky Gervais etc). But it got me thinking why do you want everyone to not believe in God? Humanity has survived for at least 10,000 years believing in some form of god. If you don't want everyone to believe in god then what alternative are you offering, how are you filling the void(As Vivek repeatedly says). What should people do on Sundays? When should they cook bellam payasam? Lame??.. I know
The bigger issue here is majority of us adapt some form of moral compass from our religion. Who teaches us to "love thy neighbor" or "do your duty without expectations" or "persevere during tough times". For an uninitiated, his/her life goes rather smoothly if you just believe in god, follow your religion and show some intelligence and do not believe everything you were told. Life is full of decisions and religious texts are full of anecdotes with a clearly defined set of heroes and villans. I would rather you take an analogy from a religious text to make a right decision than a bad one.
Religion always provides a sense of community. The sense of belonging and identity is very important in a smooth functioning society. There is no other organization that tries to do good to necessitous at such a large scale using money it got from fortunate than a religion.
“The only good thing ever to come out of religion was the music.” ― George Carlin
I would not put it so bluntly(kinda trying to establish a middle ground, hence the article duh!) but when you think about it for a minute, the purpose of any art is to skillfully deceive paetron into believing something is true but which is not. You watch a movie, you root for the hero, you feel sad for his hardships, and you feel victorious when he succeeds in the end. Voila! you have experienced art. Let's take a step back for a minute. the purpose of any art religion is to skillfully deceive paetron follower into believing something is true but is not (If you are a believer I know this hurts but end of the day truth needs to be told no matter how hurtful it is). The symbiotic relationship between art and religion is like a marriage made in heaven(pun intended). The best pieces of art to be ever made are made in the name of god. Be it architecture, music, dance and canvas art etc. The artist's imagination is the limit when he/she tries to portray something unfathomable.
Enough about the art, let's come to civics. The constitutional system we have today is the result of the evolution of collective conscience(I could not find any other way to put it). Isn't it crazy to believe and declare that "All men are created equal in the eyes of god", even when you can see men with different skin color, hair color, physique, language and religious beliefs and write a "Bill of Rights" and build a nation on top of it? (I am describing American Constitution because it is one of the first countries to adapt Constitutional Democracy but the same definition can be loosely applied to every democracy). Right now, we have a constitution that enforces the rule of law which sits on top of everything. Each religion has its own religious laws. There comes a day when you are asked to do something in the name of religion that goes against your constitution, show some intelligence and do not believe everything you were told.. Rise above the dogma.
Religion is one of the best tried-and-tested methods out there spiritually, culturally and ideologically but one should always be smart about switching off reasoning.