As an atheist, I do not believe in God & I believe that religion is the the biggest handicap for humanity. I believe religion is preventing humans from reaching full potential and living in peace with each other.

Some recent news articles highlight this:

• Man tries to swim 7000 kms for Muslim Pilgrimage
• Buddhist Monk smuggling crystal meth
• Taliban terrorists shoot 21-year-old Afghan girl dead for not wearing veil
• Hindus beat up Muslim man while his daughter clings to him and pleads
• Orthodox Jewish girls break COVID protocols on plane and are booted off
• India to prioritize Hindus and Sikhs for visas to Afghans
• Terror outfits using religion as cover to avoid detection

These are just some recent news articles I came across in the last few weeks, actual examples are many more. Most wars & conflicts in history have been because of religion (or women). Each religion preaches that theirs is the only true god and that people following all other gods are fools. How can religions co-exist peacefully with each other when the basic tenet of each religion is that all other religions are fake?

Religion is also a very powerful tool and a weapon. We have already seen many countries elect incompetent assholes as their leaders because of religious manipulation.

On the other hand, I do believe that religion serves a purpose other than handicap for humans. Research has proven that people who believe in God are happier on average than atheists. I can understand and agree with this research. If I believed that an imaginary being in the sky would automatically solve all my problems, I would be less stressed in life, too. Maybe belief in God evolved as an anti-stress and anti-anxiety mechanism in Humans? It is a good way to offload your worries on something else.

I just wish all this did not involve waging war on fellow humans.