I know that I’m supposed to,
But in truth, I do not care
If some person is believing in
A god who isn’t there.

See, it’s not the mere existence
Of belief, that gives me pause;
It’s the transubstantiation of
Their tenets into laws

If their baseless superstition
Bothers no one but themselves
I don’t care what sort of holy books
They keep up on their shelves

Sure, it often makes a difference
If they act on their belief
But it’s what they do that matters
Thinking cannot bring me grief.

They can contemplate for hours
They can meditate all day
They can entertain their options
But if all they do is pray

Then they do precisely nothing
And it matters not a bit
And I frankly wouldn’t notice
If they all gave up and quit

They’d be harmless, if it wasn’t for
The harm that they can cause
When they try to put their dogma
Into everybody’s laws

(Well, that isn’t true, precisely—
There other things as well,
When their so-religious actions
Make another’s life sheer hell—

Still, that’s mostly not religion,
But the bigotry beneath;
The behavior is the dagger
The religon’s just the sheath)

So, I know that I’m supposed to,
But in truth, I do not care
If some person is believing in
A god who isn’t there.