In addition to its religious diversity, the caste system, which, to an extent, still exists today, is also an important factor in Indian society. Historically, Brahmans have been the priests and the most educated caste. They’re generally richer, and their kids received an education. The lowest caste has been the untouchables. They did the dirty work of society, and their kids never received an education. Recently, there has been a growing assimilation and inter-marrying between the castes. The government now reserves college opportunities for people belonging to the lower castes in order to give them an education. Things are changing.
Gandhi is an important figure in the religious history of India. He was a religious person, and he wanted Hindus and Muslims — the majority of the population of historical India — to live in peace. His trademark philosophy was one of non-violent protesting, and he was critical to India’s bloodless freedom struggle against the British. Gandhi aimed to bring about a change in the heart of the torturing oppressor. He once stated that the spiritual enlightenment that he needed, Hinduism provided. That said, he was joined in his struggle by Hindus and people from other religions, too.
As Gandhi knew, there has historically been strife between India and Pakistan, much of which still exists today. Even though they’re not at war, there is a Cold War-like scenario because of the situation surrounding the state of Kashmir. India and Pakistan received their independence on two different dates. Both countries then began to annex as many surrounding territories as possible in order to expand their respective lands. Kashmir, because of its beauty and its potential for tourism, became a favorite for both nations. India annexed most of it, then Pakistan occupied some of it. Ever since the beginning of the disagreement, wars have been fought over that piece of land.
With that history explained, I will begin telling my personal story. My religious upbringing was pretty moderate. I was religious, of course. I believed in a God largely because my family was mostly religious, and I followed what they believed. But I was always very scientifically inquisitive. Mathematics and science were my favorite subjects in school. From a very early age, unlike many, I did not believe in superstitions like ghosts. I did not stop when a black cat crossed my way. Perhaps I was a natural skeptic.
At the age of 12, I began to wonder, “I do not believe in ghosts; I do not believe in life after death; I do not believe in bad luck; why is belief in God not a superstition?” It seemed to have all of the characteristics of one. Why do people believe in God but laugh at people who believe in other silly things? I determined that unless someone came up with evidence of a God, I was an atheist.
Demanding evidence for beliefs seems to be part of who I have always been. My grandmother is very religious and very superstitious. When I was younger, I would playfully defy her. If she told me that saying a word on a certain day or at a certain time was bad luck, I would say that word on that day or at that time. If she said, “Don’t trim your nails at night because it is bad luck” I would do just that right in front of her, just to tease her. I think that I wanted to show her that some of what she believed wasn’t true.
Largely because of my lifelong commitment to critical reasoning, when I became an atheist, I didn’t feel enlightened, suddenly free, or anything like that. Even though my parents believed in a God, they let me think for myself. Once I told them what I had concluded, though, they did ask me to keep my atheism to myself. They thought that other people might think that I was arrogant because I was 12 years old.
My life continued. I came over to the U.S. at the age of 21. My parents knew that the first thing that I was going to do when I reached the U.S. was eat beef. I’d never eaten one hamburger in my entire life, and on day one, I did just that.
After trying out a staple of the American diet, I began to immerse myself in American culture. When I first entered the United States, I had no idea how religious it was or that most of its people were Christians. After spending two years at Syracuse University in upstate New York, I came to Oklahoma for my Ph.D. in the beginning of 2007. Almost immediately, I began to sense the air of religiosity that surrounds everything there. One time, during my first semester at OU, I was in the food court minding my own business, eating lunch. I was approached by a group of students who began to read me passages from the Bible. I politely asked them to leave me alone. Not long after that, a minister approached me while I was eating because he was also trying to get me to follow Christianity. Confused, I wondered, “Why is this happening?” I did some research and learned that not only is Oklahoma one of the most religious states in America, many people who live there do not believe in evolution. India is made up of religious people, too, but there’s no cultural controversy over scientific facts. Prior to living in the United States, I had no idea that there are people who truly believe that the Earth is 6,000 years old. It was quite surprising to me that such a significant fraction of the citizens of the world’s most powerful country hold such beliefs.
During my second semester at the University of Oklahoma, I met a classmate who had started a freethought group called CFI On Campus. After he graduated, I decided to take over. I tried to foster that community. It helped to know that not necessarily everybody around me was religious. I found that there were other people who viewed the world more like me.
I dedicated a lot of time to the group, mostly because I felt that something needed to be done about the religiosity of the campus. There were many organizations at my school that had explicitly religious purposes, and all of them were dedicated to one cause: spreading Christianity. I thought, “Why can’t there be just one organization that’s on the opposite side of the fence?” I also thought that it was important to provide a forum for other atheists and skeptics to open up their hearts.
I received a lot of satisfaction from working on the group, and my experience with it has only reinforced my perspective on life. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve dealt with the death of some friends and family. Of course, these experiences are sad. I go through the same emotions that other people do. I’ve listened to my relatives openly discuss their belief that they’re going to meet those who have died again in heaven. I let them believe what they want to. Mortality and death are facts of life, facts that I accept no matter how difficult it may be to do so. Even if I lose somebody whom I love, I know that I’ll make it through those times.
I also know that religion is here to stay. For me, as long as the majority of the world’s people are not consumed by it, I don’t mind it existing. I do, however, think that religion gets more respect than it deserves. If religion is, for example, truly the reason for a certain tragedy, then it should be openly blamed as the root cause. It should not be exonerated simply to avoid upsetting religious people. I want people to be free to speak in this way, without fear of backlash. If this environment exists, then I think that the influence of religion over society will continue to decrease.
XXII.
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Jon Nelson: Skepticism in the Heartland
“We are as Gods and have to get good at it.”
The Left Behind series has influenced and entertained countless young people throughout America and the world. It is not difficult to understand why Jon Nelson, who grew up in Kansas as a shy, nervous, protection-seeking child, gravitated toward such literature. In his own life, he was yearning to find his own powerful, ever-present deity. As he aged — and after he read The God Delusion — both Jon’s desire for and his belief in such a God began to wane.