Atheism

Warning: do not let my grandma read this.





"Here in Denmark, we have the benefit of being aware that God does not exist." - Tom (the directing teacher)

When I heard Tom say this, it was like a light bulb going on; it explained everything. I had been a bit taken aback by the lack of religious presence in this country. On the weekends, I do not see families walking to mosque, driving to church, or men in black suits with those big Jewish hats and the curls coming down the side of their face walking to synagogue. Even in Copenhagen. This is not a religious country. It seems a significant majority of the people in this country flat-out believe that this whole "god" business was made up by confused people many years ago.

Now back home, I certainly did not grow up religious. My dad came from a Jewish family and my mom came from a Christian family. In school, there was such a smorgasbord of religions present, I felt like it didn't matter which one I'd choose, so I chose none. I'd research one for a little while, and had a brief stint attending a Unitarian church with a friend before I decided even that was not for me. So I just went about singing the barucha songs at Chanukah, wishing people a Merry Christmas, and doing all the fun parts of Judaism & Christianity, without bothering with church or synagogue (with the exceptions of weddings & bar/bat mitzvahs).

But despite this lack of religious guidance, I still don't think I grew up atheist. I grew up agnostic. It wasn't that my family and society preached "God doesn't exist!" so much as it was "it could be that God exists in a different way, or maybe not at all, who knows". And I think it was reflected in the movies I watched, too. I loved Ben Foster in Liberty Heights, the young Jewish boy who wasn't anti-religion, just bored with the monotony of sitting in synagogue every week. Or the major monologue at the end of Hannah & Her Sisters where Woody Allen explains his views on life and whether or not God exists. It's almost as if Canada's national religion is Agnostic or, perhaps more accurately, Whatever.

But here in Denmark, it really is Atheism. There are people who are religious of course, follow the Bible and yadda yadda, but they are the ostracized ones, or the ones who do it in their own little way that no one really pays attention to. And it's interesting. Because it's Atheism that has guided them to be moral people (and I'd say they've done a pretty good job of it). And this has made me reflect on the development (or undevelopment) of my own spiritual self. As well as recent thoughts I had about "this God character" and Nietzsche (who seems to be a more prominent spiritual guide for Denmark/Scandinavia). Because lately I feel like I've been moving on a path towards "no god exists!" My grandma would be saddened by this, but I feel myself getting less and less spiritual every day, but feeling more and more ethically/morally-grounded. So I think it's okay.

Now as for whether or not we have a soul and whether or not we are reborn with a new life after we die... that's for another debate at another time. May whatever you believe in be with you!