I feel confident and grounded as an atheist. I wouldn’t have it any other way. While I would never want to be Christian, I do recognize that my life would be easier if I was. However, there are definitely some sticky situations where I am just glad to be godless. 

Church

Let’s start with the most obvious — Sunday morning.

Getting up early? Nope. Putting on “church clothes”? Nope. Facing a sea of fake smiles and judgment from fellow parishioners? Big fat nope.

I gave birth to the only three-year-old in the world that sleeps until 10 am. I’m going to enjoy that.

Church doesn’t sound even remotely fun and I don’t know why anyone would put themselves through that.

Helping Others With the Intent to Actually Help Others

Another situation that makes me glad to be godless is when choosing to help others. I’m not motivated by rewards in the afterlife.

I love Toledo. This is my home and I don’t want to be anywhere else right now, but Toledo is a struggling Rust Belt city dealing with high crime and poverty rates.

I work in a helping field — mental health. I have also put in a lot of time as a volunteer. I help others not to score points to get into heaven but to make my home a better place for everyone. I don’t need god’s word to tell me to do good things. I help out because I’m human and it’s the right thing to do.

Having Guilt-free Sex Before Marriage

Honestly, this one comes as a relief. I don’t have to live up to unnatural expectations.

I always thought the no sex before marriage thing was a bad idea. I would want to know as much as I could about a person before marrying them and that includes our physical connection. 

I also would never marry someone without living with them first. That just seems like common sense to me.

Also, I see nothing wrong with casual sex. 

Or masturbation. 

Or not getting married at all. 

Do what you need to do.

Santa vs. Jesus

I shit you not — I know families back home that don’t do Santa Claus with their kids because they are afraid that when the kids question the existence of Santa, they will also question the existence of Jesus. That really says something about Jesus, doesn’t it?

Once my daughter gets past the Santa stage, I will never confuse her by pretending other fairytales are true. 

Who’s Writing the Rules?

I decide what I feel is right and wrong — not god or anyone else.

When it comes to social issues, I let empathy and common sense make up my mind. I don’t need help from an outdated religious text. I would hate to have my church decide for me.

I also think it’s interesting when the rules change. For example, some churches now accept gay members when they didn’t in the past. If rules like that can change, why are they there in the first place?

While I know my life would be easier as a Christian, some of these situations seem pretty awkward and foreign to me. Being an atheist in the Midwest is difficult but I believe that standing strong in my beliefs today will make life easier for my daughter’s daughter.

How about you — what situations make you glad to be godless?