I’ve been non-religious for some time now. It has served me well — mostly the ability of being able to define for myself what my feelings towards a certain issue is, has been liberating. Also, the ability to live my life according to how I want to live it, and not according to people who I don’t know, has kept me away from religion all this time. For me, being against the missionary principles of most religions, is an important part of being atheist.

Therefore, I was amazed at the “atheist movements” out there. Here you have groups of non-believers, spreading the word of non-belief — something that sounds painfully similar to what they’re fighting; groups of believers who want to spread the word of God, of belief.

To me, the fact that people are religious isn’t the main issue I have with religion. If they want to be, I’ll let them be. It’s a free world. (Well, parts of it is.) I take issue with the pushy behavior of believers. They’re need to convert the world, because else “they’ll be doomed.”

It is because of this that I find it funny that Christians are condemning Muslim-extremists for their holy war. Aren’t we only a few centuries away from the holy wars initiated by Christians? Aren’t missionaries nothing less than a less-extreme version of holy wars, trying to “save the non-Christians, for else they’ll go to hell.” It seems a God who allows non-Christians to exist, shouldn’t be so annoyed when people turn out to be non-Christians.

Somehow certain atheists believe they should be fighting an “unholy war,” to convert people from Christianity et alii, to atheism. I personally feel religion needs to be completely separate from politics, I want religion to be banned from public media, and I want believers to stop trying to convert me all the time — but I know that trying to force that onto people isn’t the way to go.

If someone wants to be Catholic, he or she has the right so. Just as someone who chooses to question religion, has the right to do so also. As long as both don’t try to force their “beliefs” onto people who choose to be different, it’s all okay with me.