I was a sorcerer in AD&D. Here I hope to be interesting--at least to someone.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Explain Why I Don’t Need to Explain...

The other day, I found myself with some people who insisted I explain why I'm an atheist.

I was sitting at a gathering of friends, drinking hot cocoa and listening to a discussion about philosophy and religion in the 10th century, when one of the people asked my opinion.

I should have kept my mouth shut, and waved the question on to the next person. I said, "Being an atheist, I don’t think I should get into this discussion.” I was immediately prodded by the group to reveal my reasons for being an atheist. I paused, confused, and asked them what they wanted from me.

They took the opportunity to explain their individual (and common) beliefs, and demanded that I explain why I was denying the existence of God. Frankly, they were quite huffy about it. I could almost see the porcupine quills popping up.

Just as I was about to start explaining my beliefs (or lack thereof), I was hit by the most stunning thought: Why should I have to explain my disbelief? I was not on trial. My understanding of the Bill of Rights includes a statement that says I have the right of freedom of religion (which includes a freedom not to have religion, by the way), so why explain anything?

I told them that, then I shut up. At first they were irritated by my statement, and tried to get me to talk. Within a few moments, though, they were arguing again, this time over my right not to get involved. Soon the conversation went back to the one about religion, and no one bothered me again that day.