• 10 Dec, 2025 *

The standard definition of an atheist is someone who does not believe in the notion of God. This means they do not align with any institutions associated with God—religion, and by extension temples, churches, or mosques. They consider it noble, as they avoid anything they view as superstitious, such as rituals, and they see themselves as free from what they deem illogical practices like prayer. They also believe they are superior because they do not have to ask for what they want; they believe they either understand why they lack something or know how to acquire it.

Everything about atheism appears noble, scientific, and logical until you encounter true grief—a heartbreak, a tragedy, a moment so devastating you wish life would simply end. That is when you realise you have no logical framework to explain the suffering inside you. You have no way to account for the emptiness you feel despite possessing everything material.

In those vulnerable moments, one may recognise the importance of the inner awareness that scriptures advocate, the community-building that rituals encourage, and the relief that comes from surrendering your grief and will to God. All of this can feel logical, yet an atheist cannot engage in it without feeling a profound shame in their own eyes. Inadvertently, they create a cycle they cannot escape without sacrificing their identity.

They cannot trust or indulge in any of this because they have been wounded by such sanctity before. When a child witnesses the collapse of morality, when harm befalls their family, when they suffer atrocities at the hands of people they once trusted, they lose faith in everything sacred. They cease to believe in the goodness of the world. They grow up believing that the only morality that exists is the morality of convenience.

Imagine someone vulnerable with grief, searching for God, only to encounter the world’s darkest elements. They were betrayed by the very things they once held sacred. How do you blame them for distrusting God and religious institutions? Atheism emerges as a survival mechanism that held their hand when the supposed “good” of the world abandoned them. You must understand that atheism is often a choice shaped by circumstance.

Another aspect of vehement atheism is the possibility that a person has descended so deeply into moral compromise that any attempt to reconnect with religion or spirituality would overwhelm them with guilt and shame. Their entire defence system, their survival instincts, would activate to protect them from a breakdown. Atheism then becomes a shield.

A common argument is: why can’t atheists simply be right? But when you reject anything greater, wiser, or more conscious than yourself, there is little that compels you to remain humble or grounded. There is no surrender of vices, no aspiration toward higher virtues, no moral ideal to rise toward. You risk cultivating arrogance toward the world while drawing loneliness into your own life.

It is not about believing in a supernatural being; it is about accepting that you are anything but self-sufficient. Do you believe you stand above the very theory of evolution you trust? You may dismiss heaven and hell, but do you also deny the possibility that we are connected to the universe? Are you not curious about the metaphysical realm that resists logical explanation?

When you erect a wall against God, you also restrict your ability to see beyond your own wants and desires. There is nothing to look past your immediate needs, and therefore no reason to rise toward greatness, because there is nothing beyond you to aim for. Many philosophers were atheists, and when you read them, you understand why their central themes often drift toward blurred morality and nihilism.

The truth is that a virtuous society needs religious foundations. Not the atrocities or dogmas of religion—there I agree with the atheists. People should act with kindness, not conflict, in the name of faith. No one should impose their religion on others. And if your God demands that only He is superior, then perhaps He is not.

We can reject myths, debate doctrines, criticise institutions, and condemn their historical wrongs, but we cannot deny the existence of creation itself. And as long as we acknowledge the creation of the universe and of life, the debate about a creator will endure for eternity.