Sometimes it's hard to stand out from the crowd. Maybe you are the only one who supports a particular football team or band and other people make fun of you for it.
In England we assume that everyone has the right to believe and say what they wish - as long as it does not cause harm to anyone else.
In the past some countries did not allow freedom of belief and expression. In Adolf Hitler's Nazi German and Stalin's Russia you could be imprisoned or killed for not believing what the state wanted you to believe.
Many people keep their thoughts to themselves in countries where saying the wrong thing can lead to prison or worse.
In some countries it is difficult to stand out from the crowd if you don't believe. In parts of America it is almost impossible for an atheist to have a social life - everyone's social life revolves around their church.
Even today, some countries use religion as an excuse to oppress people and discriminate against groups who refuse to conform to rules laid down in holy books. Failure to follow religious rules can lead to imprisonment, mutilation, stoning or even death.
We believe that people should be free to believe what they wish but we think there should be limits.
- Belief should be based on informed choice - picking the first thing that comes along without examining alternatives is silly - and intellectually dishonest.
- Parents, families and communities should not bring pressure on children to force them to believe certain things.
- No belief should call for harm to another person.
- No belief should justify discrimination based on race, colour, gender, sexuality, disability etc.
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A secular country, one not based on religion, guarantees freedom of religion and belief. England is not a secular country (the Christian Church of England is the state religion and we have Christian Bishops in Parliament making our laws) but everyone does have freedom of religion and belief.
What people sometimes forget is that this also gives everyone the right not to believe in certain things.. We do not have to believe in any religion if we don't want to - in fact, the largest ever survey of school pupils between the ages of 12 and 16 showed that over 66% of them did not believe in any god. In England over 92% of people do not take part in any form of regular religious activity.
So, you would assume that not believing was fine - but for many young people it is far from fine.
For many young people it is almost impossible to say "I don't believe in this" - or even to question some of the beliefs in their community. Pressure is brought on them by parents, family and community to follow the "traditional" religion - and threats are made against them if they question what they are told.
In some religious communities a decision to give up or change religion ("apostasy") is threatened with death. In others the "punishment" is not as extreme - but non-believers can find themselves without friends and without a social life as they are rejected because of their change of belief
If "It's OK to believe" it must also be OK not to believe.
Contact us through our web site if you feel that unfair pressure is brought on you to stick to the family or community religion. You are an individual, you have a right to believe what you wish - religious or otherwise.
You are not alone!
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