In order to respond to excessive religious campaigns, atheists in London designed a poster carrying the slogan, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.

Although more than 300 people complained about this advertisement being misleading and offensive to believers, British watchdogs ruled that this advertisement does not breach advertising rules. (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 23, 2009).

Thanks to the maturity of British society, there have been no mass demonstrations or acts of violence to be seen so far, although this advertisement attacked the heart of the fundamental tenet of religion. This advertisement reminds me of Ahmad Wahib’s reflection on believing in God. Ahmad Wahib, a journalist from Tempo magazine, who passed away at a very young age three decades ago, wrote in his diary, “Surely, how can people be asked to voluntarily believe in God, if they are not allowed to think of the possibility of the truth of the ‘belief’ that there is no God?”

While people are free to query or doubt God, in line with the principle of there being no coercion in religion, it is not easy to become atheist. Why? Because the existence of God is not merely backed by religious dogma, but is also supported by so many rational arguments.There are ontology, teleology, cosmology and moral arguments developed in philosophy, or more precisely, in the philosophy of religion.

Even in traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), for a long time when I was still a student there, students were allowed to choose and become followers of one of the schools of Islamic thought (madzhab), such as Syafii, Maliki, Hanafi and Hanbali, as moral and normative guidance for their daily life. But students were not allowed to become followers of others in the matter of believing in God. In Islamic boarding schools, students were trained, logically and spiritually, to realize the existence of God.    

If there are people in this world who choose to be or declare themselves “atheists” or “agnostics”, how do we treat them?

First, since becoming the follower of a religion is a matter of choice, in this case I agree with the spirit of Wahib’s reflection, in condoning or tolerating people who still think of the possibility of there being no God. People should be free to become believers or nonbelievers.

Second, in my opinion, atheism or agnosticism is a matter of a process, as people find it difficult, in fact, to become truly atheist.

The remark that “There is probably no God” indicates that those who identify themselves as atheists are not convinced enough in their refusal of God. Because, at least to me, if somebody understands who he or she is, they will understand their God, as the Prophet Muhammad said “he who can recognize his soul will recognize his God” (man arafa nafsahu fa qad arafa rabbahu).

There is a spirit of God in every human being which no one, including those who do not verbally acknowledge it, can refuse.    

How to treat atheists in this country? If there is someone who silently still prefers to become an atheist or an agnostic, his or her right as a fellow citizen of Indonesia should be respected.

It is, partly, because of his or her frustration with religion, that a person silently embraces atheism or agnosticism.

It is true that religion sometimes becomes evil, as elaborated on by Charles Kimball in his book, When Religion becomes Evil.

It is also true that religion sometimes poisons everything, as discussed in the best-selling book by Christopher Hitchens entitled God is not great; how religion poisons everything, which was recently reviewed by Simon Marcus Gower (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 11, 2009)

But there is always another author who strives to correct a misunderstanding. Through his book Religion is not opium (Agama itu bukan candu) Eko P. Darmawan endeavors to explain that even Karl Marx, who was often accused of being a supporter of atheism because of his words, “it [religion] is the opium of the people”, was not.

In conclusion, the maturity of being a religious follower can be measured by our readiness to respect different and conflicting interpretations of religion without forcing one another to change, our readiness to build a peaceful coexistence and to work together to make this world better for all.

The writer is a lecturer at Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University (UIN), Bandung.

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