The Atheist Day is celebrated every 23rd of March each year. This day recognizes the struggles of atheist to live normal lives as other people with religion or those who believe in God. This day also recognizes the struggle an atheist person faces when it comes to affirming his or her religious identity. This day promotes equality – that everyone should be treated equally regardless of their religious beliefs. Atheists are misunderstood, especially in countries where religious people are dominant.
About the Atheist Day
Atheists are people who do not believe in God or any other deity. Atheism contains no ideology. They may be rationalists, humanists, postmodernists, Unitarian universalities, or secularists, among others.
Some reasons or explanations why atheists exist are the following:
- Atheists believe they can live by moral codes without the aid of a god or some other deity. They often live by the same moral code as those who are religious, but get to them without god, believing him to be unnecessary.
- Atheists believe science can better explain existence than a religion can. This belief did not come about until just a few centuries ago, when scientific discoveries broke through. In particular, atheists see evolution as giving explanations about lifeforms and the earth, thus brushing away from the belief that life was created by a God.
- Atheists believe religion is based on emotions, and that it makes people able to cope with fears that they may have, such as that life has no meaning and purpose, or that existence ends after death.
- Atheists see a lack of empirical evidence to support any religion or the existence of any god. They are not convinced by the arguments about god.
- Atheists follow the “law of parsimony.” This law says that when problem-solving, one should choose the thing that makes the fewest assumptions. In the case at hand, atheism makes fewer assumptions than the belief in religion does. This means the burden of proof should be on the believer, not the nonbeliever. The one that thinks god exists should do the proving.
The Atheist Day sheds light on the plight of atheists. During this day, atheists celebrate this special day that recognizes their beliefs. They also campaign and advocate for respect and understanding. People also show their support for atheists on social media.
History
Unfortunately, even with extensive research about this topic, we are not sure as to how the Atheist Day started or even who founded it. But still, we can make a good guess as to why it began – perhaps a person or a group of people thought that Atheists deserve the same respect, love, and understanding as the other people in the world. Hence, the Atheist Day was born.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, the Atheist Day is always celebrated every March 23 of each year. This means that the upcoming Atheist Day will be held on March 23.
Why Celebrate
You should go celebrate this day to spread love for all people, regardless of what religion they have. If you are an atheist this celebration is for you and one that you should not miss. Seek other people who have the same beliefs as you. Share each other’s stories and start promoting respect and understanding for everyone.
Atheist Day Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the Atheist Day as best as it can be:
Celebrate Your Belief
If you are an atheist, then you should definitely celebrate this day. This one is for your own benefit. Enjoy the freedom of believing in no religion or god. Enjoy the freedom of carrying no religious identity. It does not mean that you are an atheist means that you are alone in this world. There are a lot of people just like you all over the world.
Start the Respect and Understanding
Whether or not you are an atheist, it is practically important to always practice respect and understanding. Different kinds of religion exist in our world. Despite of that, we coexist and somehow live harmoniously. But for the case of atheists, some people discriminate them for simply having no religious identity or for not believing in a deity or god. This must be stopped and you can be the one to catapult it. Promote love and respect during this day.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #AtheistDay to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day.
Quotes
- “We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.” ― Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
- “Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- “Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning…” ― C.S. Lewis
- “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” ― Christopher Hitchens
- “Is man merely a mistake of God’s? Or God merely a mistake of man?” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
- “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ― Voltaire, Questions sur les Miracles à M. Claparede, Professeur de Théologie à Genève, par un Proposant: Ou Extrait de Diverses Lettres de M. de Voltaire
- “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.” ― Kurt Vonnegut
- “To you, I’m an atheist. To God, I’m the loyal opposition.” ― Woody Allen
- “To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?” ― Christopher Hitchens
- “Atheism is more than just the knowledge that gods do not exist, and that religion is either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand all things as a part of nature.” ― Emmett F. Fields