Dear Believer

Millions of people are reasonably certain that their particular religion is the only correct one out of all the religions around the world. When someone pledges a life of devoted faith to their religion they also reject the thousands of other different religions considered sacred by millions of other people. With no real consideration all other possible beliefs are tossed aside as clearly false. In order to properly reject or falsify a different religion one must study said religion, however this is rarely ever done. So, how do religious people typically decide on which is the correct religion of the right God or gods? In very rare cases people will actually read, study, and pray about many different major religions and then try to make an informed decision. The most common situation is where people are born into a religious family or born in a religious region.

“Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence almost everyone has the same religion as their parents? And it always just happens to be the right religion. Religions run in families. If we’d been brought up in ancient Greece we would all be worshiping Zeus and Apollo. If we had been born Vikings we would be worshiping Wotan and Thor. How does this come about? Through Childhood indoctrination.” - Richard Dawkins

Some people may ask me why I’m an Atheist. To this I might respond by asking why they’re an atheist to Allah, Shiva, Zeus, and the thousands of other gods invented throughout history. I’m just an atheist to one more god than the faithful saints. The reason I don’t believe in Zeus is for the lack of verifiable empirical evidence and falsification by scientific understanding. This is the same for every other supposed god that demands a belief in them only by means of faith despite any evidence.

“The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” - Mark Twain

As I’ve studied about atheism and peoples’ deconversion stories I often find a similar pattern that reflects my own experience. It starts with a more indepth dedication to religion with a sincere desire to come closer to God and the truth. I set aside my arrogant view that my childhood religion is certainly the only correct belief and unbiasedly considered all religions. I discovered that all religions are based on faith only supported by good feelings of the spirit. However, there’s no verifiable way to determine if those good feelings are actually the spirit or just a unexplainable complex subconscious emotion. No one can know with reasonable certainty which religion is true and yet the religious readily bet their whole lives and possible eternities on the one faith they happen to be born into. Dare to be curious. Be unbiased and skeptical. And discover the truth.