It is that time of year… If you are a devout Christian you know what it means. 40 days of living “without” in the spirit of Jesus’ 40 day temptation as told in the gospels. Some folks pray, others fast, some moderate, others drop something completely. If you are a practicer of Lent may this 40 day venture serve you well. I gave up religion for Lent some time ago and it serves me well to this day. That is not a joke. I seriously decided at the beginning of Lent to give all religious belief up and embrace secular humanism (atheism.)

Am I going to make fun of those that follow religious beliefs? No, absolutely not. You are free to practice this faith if you want. I just want you to know that Muslims will be practicing Ramadan over this same time period. They will also be fasting, praying, and reflecting on their faith practice. Don’t forget that the Jewish population will be celebrating Passover shortly after the Christian Easter. I just want all of you to know that your faith is yours. It isn’t ours or mine.

Decades ago when I was a minor and forced to attend all things church, I did observe Lent. We ate fish on Fridays (A lot of McDonalds, yuck.) We attended every service on Wednesday. We did not sing any alleluias. We revered and reflected everything. We prayed… and prayed some more… We even listened to our pastor speak about those that did not follow the path of the true Jesus Christ would go to hell and burn. Since this was a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church I was concerned that my grandparents would go to hell because they were Catholic and Baptist on my mother’s side, and ALC Synod Lutherans on my father’s side. Critical thinking got me into a lot of trouble at church.

When you are 10-12 years of age and one is faced with this level of conflict in logic or reasoning, how does one resolve the equation? My parent’s answer was “no, your grandparents aren’t going to hell.” My pastor’s answer in catechism was, “we will all find out at judgement day.” I just know after years of this zealotry abuse, giving up religion brought me the following:

First, I found peace. The lack of moral ambiguity and hypocrisy created by this religious practice ceased to occupy space in my brain.

Second, accepting death as the natural conclusion of life was not something to fear. It is a time of peace. The escape from the noise of humanity’s evils will turn to silence. My atoms will return to the cosmos in what ever way my spouse determines it will be.

Third, The idea of my consciousness becoming silent and nonexistent gives me solace. There is a peaceful resolution when one embraces silence. Like the silence after the last note of a symphony before the conductor lowers his hands and the audience applauds. That silence is golden. That is the end of my symphony. An eternal silence… There is a beauty and even tragedy to the end of a life well lived.

I do not regret what I gave up. I am so much happier without the constant badgering of religion and the hypocrisy that came with it. That is my experience.

What are you giving up? How will it make your spiritual path grow? How will it make your life better? Besides celebrating a pillar or the celebration of Jesus’ 40 days of temptation in the wilderness, how is the giving up of something going to help you? How will this sacrifice help you on your life quest? How will it help others?

The goal of this blog is not to marginalize or to harm one’s faith. The goal is to make you aware that everyone’s path, spiritual or non-spiritual is sacred to them. Everyone deserves to be treated with the same sacred spiritual respect as one may reserve for their religious peers. I’m a humanist. I respect your choice to believe what you wish. I want the same for myself and other atheists. We walk a path of scientific certainty, not one of faith. We wish to be validated for that pragmatism in the same way you wish to be validated for your faith. We also do not want to be governed by your faith or other faiths. Religious nationalism does not serve the public’s best interest. What does serve the public’s best interest is a secular government with religious freedoms. All voices are heard versus one voice impressed on everyone.

I found removing religion made my quest for life and knowledge much more peaceful, personal, and practical. What I feel will be in United States of America’s best interest is a Lenten season where all religions give up this quest to make our secular nation a religious one. No commandments in public places. Leave those in your houses of worship. No prayer mandates or religious dogma in public schools, leave that to the parochial schools. No religious leaders involved in “counseling” children. Leave that to certified professionals. Let God be who you want them to be in your life, singular. Focus on your personal journey. Stop trying to make others follow your personal journey too. When religion oppresses others it ceases to be a faith that represents goodwill to fellow man.

I ask this respectfully. What are you giving up this Lenten season? How will it help you? How will it help others?

…so it goes…