At 25? Where I settled now.

• Religion can provide a loving, peaceful philosophical framework to live by. Some of the most wholesome, kind, generous people I’ve known are devout.

• People’s brains are all wired differently, and this works well for some.

• It’s cultural. You can't just throw away that huge part of someone’s background

But.

• Some of the most unspeakable things in my personal life happened in the name of religion.

• Ive seen it ruin families, and kick rationality out of groups and instill hate in its place. Not in news feeds; with my own two eyes.

• What’s more, some religions reinforce idolization and "worship" of people, which is extremely dangerous.

So I’ve settled on this:

• …I respect other people’s faith, especially in people I respect in person. People do what they do, you know? They have their own perspective of the world, and I'm not going to presume to know better.

• And I keep in mind that religion is more philosophical for many. And that kind, devout people won’t push it on you.

• But I am under no obligation to share it. I’m sure as hell going to push back against idol worship, anti-science thinking, bigotry, political cultism and so on, but not cross the line to their belief in God or the afterlife or whatever.

• …And I have no interest in it myself. It doesn’t fit my brain.

This was a journey, though. For a long time I was an “apathetic Christian” because it felt like an obligation, even though Christianity made no sense to my systemic view of the world. I would have never dared admit I was agnostic or atheist when I was 18, not even to myself.