Why they choose to be atheists

“I do not believe in a supernatural being. The argument that God created me is not convincing enough.” In Europe, somewhere between the 13 and 17 centuries, the utterer of these words would have been burnt at the stake or tortured in some dungeon for hearsay.
But, this is the 21 Century, an age of freedom for the most part, freedom to believe in whatever you please and if it tickles your fancy, not believe at all.

When there are no answers
The atheists choose not to believe at all, neither in God nor the devil nor hell fire or all the trimmings of the main religions. “People equate it with paganism. But that is different because paganism is a religion in itself. An atheist does not see any evidence that would support the existence of God,” says Phillip Kimuda Magambo, a self-professed atheist, and founding member of Free Thought Kampala Forum.
Though he points out that a rational atheist could find it in himself to believe in the event of irrefutable scientific evidence to prove the existence of God being presented, an atheist is not to be confused with a seeker who just hasn’t found the truth yet.

At least that is what I conclude from one, Rogers Balamaga’s experience. And he should know, he has been an atheist for close to nine years. He says, “Finding the ideal religion was not my approach. I solved it all by asking questions. I did not stop because my religion did not meet my spiritual needs at the time. I solved it all by asking questions. I completely stopped believing in a supernatural being that controls stuff.”

Respecting free inquiry, open mindedness
Christopher Hitchens in his book God is Not Great, explains the basic principles on which atheism is founded in this excerpt. “And here is the point, about myself and my co-thinkers. Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith.

We do not rely solely upon science and reason, because these are necessary rather than sufficient factors, but we distrust anything that contradicts science or outrages reason. We may differ on many things, but what we respect is free inquiry, open mindedness, and the pursuit of ideas for their own sake. We do not hold our convictions dogmatically.” All sounds easy enough. How does one actually live without believing? How do you deal with that void in man that religion tells us can only be filled by God, or faith? And where do you run to with all your problems, as the rest of us turn to our various religions for solace?

Here and now
Kimuda talks of believing but instead of in the intervention of an Omnipresent God, in goodness and happiness and love and succeeding. Balamaga says he believes in what is here. “I believe what I can comprehend. I do not force answers, it is okay not to know some things,” he says.

Coming from a Christian background, where he gave his life to Christ in Senior One and preached the love of God for five years, Balamaga took the decision to drop faith after realising that religion had less to do with absolute truth and more to do with where you were raised. “I wanted to believe because it is the truth. Not because it is the custom,” he says.

It’s all about fate
On leaving the point where he felt sure he was called to dedicate his life to preaching the word to now, when he does not believe in God at all, Balamaga says it was a journey, one which he started and arrived at a destination himself. And he is none the worse for it despite several warnings expressed by those who thought his deconversion merited some sort of calamity. “I was a little apprehensive at first, but I can tell you now that all things are the same as when I used to pray,” he says.
Kimuda, who is convinced everything that was going to happen in his life will happen anyway with or without God, backing him. “When something good happens, I know it is hard work. If I were to attribute success to anything, it is to people who have played a part. By saying it is God, I am ignoring other people who had a tangible role towards that success,” he reasons.

The atheist, according to Hitchens is a pretty free creature. “There is no need for us to gather every day, or every seven days, or on any high and auspicious day, to proclaim our rectitude or to grovel and wallow in our unworthiness. We atheists do not require any priests, or any hierarchy above them, to police our doctrine.” And indeed, it is hard to see Atheists organised under any kind of fellowship. “Think herding cats. It is virtually impossible,” says Kimuda, on the reason why this is so.

Religion teaches prayer and basically casting burdens on a supreme all able being. But being a none believer, an atheist will have none of that. Balamaga says, “I have got to a point where I did not need to dump my problems anywhere. I deal with life as it comes.”
While the average believer looks at God as filling a void in their lives, the atheist see it differently. Balamaga for instance says he is not sure he has space left. Kimuda feels his life is complete with the love and acceptance of family and friends. “My work also fulfils me,” says the molecular biologist.

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