Why I don't believe in religion

Biggest problem is sexism towards women

People always get shocked when I tell them I’d sometimes go to church on Sunday to drop off my family and wait for the service to finish while in the parking lot enjoying movies and my favourite brew in the car.

Somewhat I do understand why I’d get these looks of surprise whenever I’d tell these stories because the platforms where I tell them, often family gatherings, do not allow the so-called “nonreligious people” to speak freely.

Knowing how I often push the limits, I’d then tell my audience what kind of a brew I was having on the church’s doorstep and how much I enjoyed gulping down the bubbly contents from that brown bottle before my wife would drive me home.

I haven’t been to a church service voluntarily in years, and for me to have to tag along would often need a lot of convincing and a bit of bribing from my family.

I only go to funerals and weddings, which I always dread.

Although I’m a self-appointed non-religious, I do not impose my beliefs on anyone who enjoys going to church to be close to their creator.

As a kid my parents would

take me to church every other Sunday. I didn’t have much of a choice then because I needed a roof over my head and food in my stomach.

However, when I became an adult I started seeing and reading unsavoury things about church and religion including the questionable behaviour of different “men of God” who are supposed to lead us. I’ve written many stories about pastors who rape their congregants and also steal from them.

I’ve seen adult congregants going to court to protest and pray against the prosecution of their “Papa.” Other protestors would go as far as judging and openly despising their fellow church member who had opened a rape charge against their Papa.

One of my biggest observations which made me pull away from any religion is how this institution, which is supposed to bring us together, can be sexist and discriminatory towards women.

We still have churches and religions that do not let women on their periods attend church because they are deemed dirty and might “soil” their fellow congregants.

“Some religions don’t allow women and men to mix while they receive the “word of God.” Such nonsensical rules are poisonous and dangerous for a society that is supposed to view women and men as equals.

We live in a society that is already battling with issues of gender-based violence and perpetuating that women are not equal to men even in church, is an uncomfortable path that might haunt future generations. I hope we could do better in this regard.

Lastly, I think some of the stories in the Bible read like something from Hollywood studios and dare you question them for accuracy and fact. I look forward to one day when we wake up to find a big LOL drawn on the last page of the Bible.