How religion is forced upon the society using coercive methods.

Readers might have noticed how religious people force their beliefs upon the society ? They play religious "music " so loud that even a deaf person can hear, they build temples illegally everywhere, including public places like parks and even government offices.
Religious parents force their children to become religious ( they tell their small children lot about religious delusions at an age when they are incapable of mentally distinguishing between reality and imagination ). Furthermore, becoming a slave of religion is almost a prerequisite for leading a " normal " social life. Young atheists like me find it very difficult, often impossible to find a life partner. Religion has BRAINWASHED humanity so much , that a non-brainwashed person finds it difficult to socialise.
Morover, religious people constantly keep advertising and proclaiming their religious delusions and nonsense , even if the other person is not interested in knowing. ( loudspeakers outside temples are one way for the marketing of religion, wearing holy thread on your wrist is another ) Religion tempts small children into its delusional beliefs by offering them sweets ( prasad ). Religious people keep asking whether the other person is observing rituals , fasts and other nonsensical practices of religion.
And trust me, whenever i have told people that i am an atheist, people have poked fun on me and/or tried to propagate their delusional beliefs to me, and often looked upon me as if i were a creature from a different planet ( you see, belief in a flying monkey or a virgin mother are a necessity for being an earthling )

Religious people not only actively propagate, but also force religion upon the society using illegal means. Take a stroll in any indian city and you would find illegally built temples at every corner.
One of the best blackmailing techniques religion uses to tame and " purify " atheists is weddings. Vast majority of marriages in india are caste based, and the weddings involve elaborate religious rituals, and even the dates are decided by an astrologer. This situation forces many young atheists to give up their principles and become a slave of religion , just like the majority of the public.

one prominent reason why religion continues to flourish in this modern age is the " herd behavior " of human beings. People consider belief in a flying monkey or a virgin mother as " normal " and even respectable since everyone else in society believes in such concepts and hold them in high regard. People generally don't have individualistic thinking, they derive a significant portion of their thinking and beliefs from the society's thinking and beliefs. If the overwhelming majority of the society consider religion not only to be true but also to be true, then individuals also develop such thinking and beliefs.
It has been my observation that though both men and women are vulnerable to this " herd behavior " , women by nature are more " agreeable " and " fashionable " ,and more likely to blindly follow a belief since " everyone else believes in it " . Women, by nature, place a lot of importance on winning others' approval and affection. They do not oppose the absurd and sometimes plain evil practices of religion, as they might lose social approval if they do so. Some men, on the other hand , like to question and criticise society's irrational beliefs- they feel less compelled to do and believe what everyone else does and believes, less compelled to win social approval .
[ it is a well documented fact in personality psychology that women tend to be more " agreeable " ]

Sometimes i wonder why people still believe in ancient false belief systems like religion and astrology. One very apparent reason is the Uncertainty and difficulties we face in our daily lives. A businessman faces a lot of uncertain risk factors-entry of a strong competitor, change in government policy or regulation which adversely impacts his business. These risk factors are unpredictable and beyond one's control. In such situation, "praying" to a nonexistent entity provides some psychological cushion and comfort. The notion that one is under the protection and care of an omnipotent and omniscient god is very comforting in the times of uncertainties. Similarly a student studying for a tough course or preparing for a very tough entrance exam faces uncertainties like variations in examination content. Astrologers understand this fact very well that people flock to religion and astrology when faced with difficulties and uncertainties . A person who has gone through bad times ( eg poor performance in college or school ) is soothed by a clever astrologer who declares that the person was facing poor luck due to certain alignment of planets, but would soon see better days as the alignment changes.

( it has been my observation that businessmen tend to be more religious than salaried people. This can be simply because businessmen face a lot more uncertain risk factors in their daily lives )

How religion relies upon the brainwashing of young minds for its survival .

Some supporters of religion say that Religious beliefs are not imposed or forced on society; if it were so, then how come there are non-religious/ atheist people in society ?

The truth is , religion is propagated from generation to generation through the indoctrination of young minds. The religious indoctrination of small children by their religious parents is the worst form of imposition of religious beliefs on society. Children in the age group of 5 to 10 years do not have the mental capabilities to distinguish between the real and the imaginary. They see cartoon programmes on TV and believe in the existence of cartoon characters like Superman, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Similarly, their parents tell them mythological and religious tales , and they start believing in the existence of mythological characters as well. As they grow up, their parents and the society discourage their belief in Superman but encourage and reward their belief in Hanuman and Shiva. Parents and society convey the message to young minds that belief in flying monkey ( Hanuman ) or virgin mother ( virgin mary ) is virtuous and is held in high regard by society , but belief in superman or Cinderella is looked upon as childish and immature. Parents reward children's religious beliefs through affection and approval, and discourage any questioning of religious beliefs through scolding and expressing disapproval.

By the time the kids reach teenage years, religious ideas are already embedded permanently in their minds. By this time, youngsters have the capablity to distinguish between real and imnaginary; they do not believe any more in the existence of Superman , but their belief in Hanuman is intact . Why ? Simply because the belief in Hanuman was encouraged by society , while belief in Superman was discouraged and mocked as being childish.

If , children were not brainwashed about religious beliefs when they were small, but instead told about religion only when they had attained a degree of mental maturity ( say, teenage years ) , they would refuse to believe in religion.

If only parents stop the religious brainwashing of their small children and instead wait for adolescence to tell them about their religious beliefs, religion would die a natural death. Many hindu adults would find the story of a virgin mother as being absurd and weird , but would regard a story of a flying monkey as being worthy of respect. Thats because of the brainwashing when they were children.

Not only children, adults too are brainwashed with religious garbage. Nearby my house is a large park . People had bought homes facing the park , desiring to enjoy the greenery and open air of the park. Instead, a large hindu temple was built there by illegally grabbing the public land of the park. Not only religious people were audacious enough to grab public land illegally, they also play loud devotional music in the temple , thereby ensuring that all people who live near the temple are brainwashed . The people who had bought homes near the temple had done so to enjoy the green environment , but instead got religious garbage being played at loud volumes almost daily . Isn't this is the worst form of brainwashing ?

What do you call a job which pays you a handsome salary , but which makes you stay at places with long power cuts ( anywhere from 4-12 hours daily ), and the absence of proper basic infrastructure and market ? Money ( currency notes ) by themselves are useless , until they can be exchanged for attractive consumer goods . In a place with 8-hour long power cuts , consumer goods, even if available , are useless. Whats more, the poor living conditions, and general negative atmosphere ( lack of basic development or hope for the future of small towns in UP can be extremely depressing.) The absence of regular power supply would mean I would be cut off from the internet, including news ( would english newspapers be available in Sitapur ? )

Sounds like a perfect recipe for negative thoughts and depression.

The job of a bank officer in a public sector bank in UP can either be seen as a Punishment if the person is pessimistic , or as a Sacrifice if the person is of a optimistic and positive attitude.
Its always better to have a postitive attitude in life, so i guess I should look at the prospective job as a sacrifice. If i were a married man, I would see my job as a sacrifice for my family's well-being. But given the fact that as a non-believer , I would never get to marry, I wonder for whom I would be sacrificing if i join this job ?

Though India is growing at 8 % annually, only places like Delhi ( new roads, buildings, Metro rail, flyovers, malls, Mc Donalds, supermarkets) , Mumbai and Bangalore get to feel the effect of 8 % growth at ground level. The term " emerging economy " sounds relevant only if you live in a place with reliable power supply, new metro trains, flyovers and new shiny buildings with glass facades.

The term "emerging economy" is meaningless for someone wiping the sweat from his forehead amid 8-hour long powercuts. Many such people can be found in Sitapur and Faizabad.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the most hopeless of all indian states , in terms of its future prospects . Why ? Simply because the absence of political interest and will-power to bring about development and attract investors. With the electoral fortunes of political parties being decided by ethnic and caste considerations rather than developmental issues like Bijli, Sadak, Paani, its little wonder that large areas of the state lack even the basic amenities and infrastructure.

Needless to say, other states have had much better record in development .This can be evident from economic data of states- UP lags behind in almost all indicators of socio-economic development. Having seen the remarkable developmental levels in Mysore ( which is basically just a small town ) , I have confirmed the difference visually too.

I return to my original point - is the job of a bank officer in UP worth trying for , given the fact that posting in a small town is almost certain ? What are the alternatives ? Sometimes i feel i would be happier doing the unstable clerical job of medical transcriptionist in Hyderabad or Bangalore than the higly paid permanent job of Bank officer in Sitapur.

( My parents say they would be able to arrange for a decent place of posting for me ,through " sources "- But i wonder if that is purely wishful thinking ,given the fact that my father has worked in small towns/villages for the greater part of his career )

Meera Nanda in her book " The God Market " says that religiosity is increasing among India's youth. Excerpts from one of her articles :
""According to the 2007 State of the Nation survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies among Indians, the level of religiosity has gone up considerably in the past five years. A mere five per cent of respondents said that their religious belief had declined, while 30 per cent said they had become more religious. The same poll found that education and exposure to modern urban life seem to make Indians more, not less, religious: "Urban educated Indians are more religious than their rural and illiterate counterparts [...] religiosity has increased more in small towns and cities than in villages ""
""Another measurable indicator of rising religiosity is the tremendous rise in pilgrimages or religious tourism. According to a recent study by the National Council for Applied Economic Research, religious trips account for more than 50 per cent of all package tours, much higher than leisure tour packages at 28 per cent.""

But in my humble opinion, Religiosity is actually decreasing among today's youth. The old religious traditions are fading, the old norms of society based upon religion are giving way to more modern norms. For example, it has been my observation that inter-caste marriages are becoming more common ( though still a tiny minority ) , reflecting the fading importance of religious diktats among the youth. Moreover, people are becoming more flexible with their diets, shedding the old hindu taboos of compulsory vegetarianism. Many orthodox hindus in north india include eggs in their diet now, if not meat.

True, as revealed by the survey quoted by Meera Nanda, religious tours are increasing in popularity. But the rise in their popularity can also be explained by the general increase in prosperity and income levels.

It has been my observation that in Indian society, religion is something of a " fashion", with people performing religious rituals to conform to the social trend. Such tendencies, as per my observation, tend to be more pronounced among females, who , in general, are under more social pressure to conform to the norms of society, including religious norms.

it is my belief and hope, that with increasing economic growth and hence prosperity and better educational facilities, and more and better vocational opportunities, the mindset of Indians would become more flexible , open to new ideas. Better education and better jobs would make people more broad-minded and make them realise that there's much more in this world than gods and rituals. Whats more, globalization , both economic and cultural , would make the youth aware of global developments, and make them realize that their religious customs are by no means universal , and of course, make them aware of the fact that religion is coming under severe crticism in the west.

Economic growth is bringing better job opportunities , and many of these job opportunities are in a place far away from a person's hometown. For example, a person from UP going to Bangalore for a plum job in IT sector. ( Earlier, most people preferred to work in or near their home state/town). This would expose the youth to a new culture, and since the gods and rituals are quite different in Bangalore than in UP, this would make the person aware of the fact that his religiuos customs are not universal, and he is likely to realise that religious customs are merely arbitrary creations of human imagination, hence they differ from region to region. The person would now no longer attach a great importance to his religious customs, knowing that they are arbitrary.

In any case, the fast pace of life would leave little time for people to devote to religious customs and rituals. Whats more, since more and more women are taking up jobs, they would have little time for relgious worship and rituals , compared to their mothers and grandmothers. Also, many of the old superstitions are highly absurd and often impractical to follow : for example, its a taboo to get a haircut on thursdays, and buy iron/steel products on saturdays-- such absurd, impractical taboos would be rejected by well-educated youth.

Greater economic prosperity would make people quite geographically mobile , and as a result, people of different cultures and religions would meet more often. This would dilute the importance of religious customs in the people's minds, since they would realise that the other person performs different religious customs and rituals, yet is doing quite well. Ultimately, this would reduce the importance of religious customs in everyone's mind.