The aftermath of leaving religion can be daunting, depressing, and lonely. For an ex-religious person, the weight of that decision depends on many factors: your gender, the religion you walked away from, the kind of family you were born into, and the environment you found yourself in.
Some people were born into atheism. Others had to go through deep injustice, painful realizations, and grief before they could finally let go of religion. And for this group of people, life can feel extremely isolating—especially when you’re faced with the choice to either keep quiet or come out as an atheist and risk being cut off from family who now think you’re not in your right mind.
And so life gets heavy. Boring. Depressing. Because as an atheist, the level of awareness you carry isn’t common. You’re conscious, sometimes painfully so. You see things others don’t. And the emotions that come with that awareness can pile up and drown you. It can make you suicidal.
That’s what I’m talking about here.
This is for the atheist who sees life as cruel and is already drowning in dark thoughts.
For the nihilist who thinks the world is pointless and the idea of procreation is stupid.
For the person who feels utterly alone—not because there’s no one around, but because the truth feels like a burden you’re carrying by yourself.
If we let that tiredness win, if we give up, then who’s left to fight for a better world?
I want to remind you: You matter. You’re valued. You’re needed.
Your existence isn’t meaningless—it’s important, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
The world needs people like you. People who won’t play religious games in politics.
Little kids in school need teachers like you, who won’t call them useless just because they can’t speak English perfectly or solve the Pythagorean theorem.
Even if you don’t want to procreate, you still carry knowledge and experience that shouldn’t be wasted.
You’re a rare gem to humanity. We can’t afford to lose people like you to the silence.
You’re a gift. Share that gift. Use it well.
You have what it takes to make the world better-even just in small ways.
The world is already filled with problems—find a couple, and solve them before you wither away.
Remember, you didn’t just stop believing in God for no reason. You did because you realized that human problems weren’t being solved from above, and maybe, just maybe, they’re ours to fix.
Don’t let the fear, the darkness, or the unknown consume you.
Instead, try. Live. Create. Leave this world better than you met it.
I’ve come across atheists who were suicidal—overwhelmed by the weight of it all. One of them was on the edge, ready to go, but they got saved just in time.
I hope they find peace one day.
I hope all of us do.
Because even in the silence, even in the pain, life still needs people like us.
By Salimat Zakariya