The Thing About Religion

The sad fact of the matter is that you can't choose where you come from, what family you are born into, or what lifestyle you are brought up in. And the thing about religion is that your beliefs to which you root your life, morals, and decisions are generally tied to the religious views you were pummeled with as a child. A prime example of this being pure and innocent little 14 year old C entering into the world of public school after nine years of isolated catholic education. I happen to live in one of the most atheistic cities in the United States, and was born into the family of unbudging-ly devout Christian mother and sisters. Now, the harsh reality is that my personality is that of a hard core atheist, skeptical of everything and rooted in science and reason. And I am certain that had I been raised in an atheistic household, my beliefs would not waver from what could be determined by logic and proof. However, I was not raised in such a household, and now it seems I have a bit of a predicament. 

Trust and faith are of the utmost importance to my family, specifically my mother and younger sister, and the level of astonishment and disappointment they expressed when I brought up the skepticism I had for some of the catholic beliefs was overwhelming; from then on I knew that if I ever decided to delve deeper into the roots of atheism, I would have to do it apart from my family's guidance. This is not to say that I am claiming to be an atheist, just that a church who is wrong about homosexuality and the creation of the world could be wrong about a few other things, right? Right?? 

What about the people starving in third world countries, what had God done about that? Why wait around while people kill each other over material goods? Why choose some people to save and work miracles on and leave others to die? 

The only way that I could make sense of the doubts I was having at 16 years old, studying the oh-so-sensible evolution in an Advanced Biology high school course, was to find things that I concretely believed in and come up with reasons why. So these are a few of my truths:

1. There is a God.

2. God does not interfere with human lives.

3. Evolution is REAL. God may have created the beginnings of the universe, but he did not create man.

4. Homosexuality is not just a bunch of bullshit. It's something you are born with and cannot change.

5. Ending human life, for whatever reason, is wrong.

6. The rationality behind my actions should be because I believe it is wrong or right; not to please a higher being.

Asking yourself whether you believe what you believe because you were born into it or because you have looked at all the options and decided for yourself is difficult; easily one of the things I have struggled most with in my few short years on this Earth. But finding your own truths and morals build your character; who you are and what you stand for. If you act a certain way just to go to heaven or to please God, is that really a big enough reason to do the right thing? If you don't question the reasons why you believe in the things you do, how will you ever justify your answers? Do the right thing because it reflects who you are and what you stand for. Only then will you truly develop character. It's the little things that add up to the big ones.