Religion/ No Religion

 Religion, that's my thought today. Is it right that it is a way of life? In a country like India, one's whole identity is founded on the religion he/she belongs to. Everyone here is born into one or the other religion. What can you be if you do not belong to a religion? Choosing atheism is a conscious decision. Do the nomads have a religion? 

It was thought-provoking information that in China, only 7% of the population belongs to any religion. The most populous country in the world! That many people not following any religion! Was difficult to take in the new startling and discomforting knowledge. 

 What principles guide their lives? Do they believe in the existence of God or destiny? Do they have a heaven and a hell? What according to them is a sin?  Charity can of course be done even without a religion. What kind of moral stories are they taught in childhood? Or is it Marx, Engels, Stalin, and communalism fed to them right from the early ages? What would their literature be like? Is it still meant only to propagate communist ideals? 

Will they be trained only in logic and kept away from everything illogical like fiction, fables, and even ghost stories? How do the mothers keep the children from not going out of sight or into the darkness without making them fear the fearful things lurking in the darkness? 

In that case, why shouldn't a child not tell lies? God won't punish him nor does he be boiled in oil in hell. One should choose not to tell lies for practical reasons. Atheism, empiricism, indeterminism, etc must be their philosophies.

In a way isn't such a way of life so free? One need not have to fear the stars or any other planets for casting their ill will on human lives. One need not have to follow any illogical rituals he/ she cannot understand what for. One can do what one feels is right or anything which is not illegal in the state. Yes. Constitution, the book of rights and wrongs, must be their religious book, political philosophy the commandments, and its administrators the gods. 

Or it can be simply humanism. Humanism, I found a sensible alternative to religion. Believe in love instead of destiny. Can adopt reason, compassion, and responsibility as the guiding principles. It can make one more accountable for his or her actions than leaving it to fate and superstitions.