Would it surprise you to k ow that I, an atheist, am interested in religious belief? Many of us are, even those of us that left belief . Why? I can’t speak for anyone but myself but I am curious about the history and culture of these beliefs. Christianity, the belief I left, has an unusual history and culture. If you’re wiling to dig into your specific belief system, and expose the bones, you might find out something really interesting or even challenging to your beliefs.

I’m not encouraging anyone to read about their belief in hopes of some people deciding that their lifelong religious ideology has a few problems. I don’t care what you do or do not believe, as long as that belief doesn’t cause harm to others. So no, as I’ve said before, I do not evangelize atheism as it was a personal choice for me made over a long period of time.

History is fascinating and I spend some of my time not just reading about the history of religion, but history in general. For instance, a couple of tomes I am wading through currently have to do with the Boer War (in South Africa, 1899-1902) and another about a French noble family in the 14th century. Of course, a couple sitting nearby I want to read, and should be quick, are books that have to do with religion. One, is a book of the Old Testament Apocrypha: The Book of Jubilees, the other, is what is called, “The First Bible”, the bible of the Marcionites ( a Gnostic Christian sect, eventually banned by the church). Marcion himself was excommunicated. This sect, from my limited understanding, was not a tiny unimportant group of “believers”, but a growing sect, a challenger to the orthodoxy itself.

I don’t focus entirely on Christianity. I have a some books on Islam (by Islamic scholars, I think), and a few concerning the Hindu religion which actually might be the oldest religion extant (Judaism might want a say here). It’s not just the holy scriptures of each that interest me, but the actual history and development over time. Nothing stays static so discovering founding principles versus what is practiced currently, is a challenge I happily look forward to being able to discern.

There are religions that don’t seem to exist anymore. As far as I know, there is no cult of Mithras anymore, but one never knows, as well as the pantheon of the Northmen (Vikings) of which you can buy jewelry (I wear a “Hammer of Thor” pendant) but I can’t seem to find anyone that actually practices today. I’ll keep looking.

I don’t think my being an atheist made me want to look into these various ancient belief systems. I was always curious. Being an atheist though, I sometimes find myself in discussion with those that are curious about me and my non-belief and I find it helpful to understand more about that persons history in order to be able to attempt to have an intelligent conversation.

If you know an atheist or even a person of different beliefs than you, you may find it interesting to have those kinds of discussions. Enlightenment comes in many ways.