Letting God Be
Apatheism may be the key to unlocking peace
“Knock knock!”
“Who’s there?”
“Apatheism.”
It felt like walking through a door I didn't know existed. The thought crept in as if it had been lurking in the corners of my mind for years, waiting for me to catch up. While others sought definitive answers about faith, I found myself giving vague responses, never quite landing on the right label. Agnosticism seemed closest – but even that felt like wearing someone else's coat. Truth be told, the existence or non-existence of God had never kept me up at night. Then, like a puzzle piece snapping into place, it hit me: I'd been unknowingly walking around with all the symptoms of apatheism.
What really is apatheism? Well, apatheism is an unwillingness to care all that much about one’s religion and possess an even stronger disinclination towards other people’s religious beliefs. While it is not a new field of thought, given the condition of our world today, it might be worth getting excited about.
What I love most about apatheism is that it emphasizes how you believe (your attitude) rather than what you believe (your belief), setting it apart from traditional ways of describing religious views. It grants the freedom to believe or not believe in God while remaining indifferent to God's relevance. It's more of an attitude than a doctrine – a meta-belief: a belief or rather an attitude about the belief itself. Yet curiously, you won't find an "apatheist" box to tick on forms that ask you about your religion.
Why hasn't it gained the recognition of major faiths? Because it challenges conventional wisdom. On the surface, centering a philosophy around apathy can feel lazy and seem to promote a wasteful disconnection from the world. But dig deeper, and you'll find its strength: apatheism's complete dismissal of religious after-effects aligns perfectly with an increasingly evidence-based world that leans towards a scientific worldview. Philosophical views that argue the existence — or lack thereof — of a god (or gods) holds no weight in an evidence-based, scientifically grounded approach to understanding the universe and this way of thinking deeply resonates with how I navigate and interpret our existence, where methodical enquiry, facts and the natural world as it is takes precedence over divine speculation.
Consider this: all gods and religions hold the same value, and that value becomes equally inconsequential in a modern world rooted in tangible realities. Moral societies, in this day and age, don’t need to bank on religion as a foundation anymore. While faith certainly offers a sense of belonging, comfort and community like no other, there is no real call for it in an educated, secular and highly sceptical society. That said, I move with the understanding that this is still a minority view on our planet — if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here writing about and advocating for it, would I?
In a world caught in a crossfire between belief and disbelief, apatheism offers a calm middle ground. Far from a passive shrug at spirituality, it's a conscious choice to step away from the relentless chase for religious certainty. This philosophy, anchored in indifference to God's existence, serves as a quiet catalyst for global harmony.
Letting go of our pursuit of religious devotion or philosophical debates about God may feel like losing purpose and renouncing philosophical responsibility or spiritual depth. But we are refusing to get real because true peace, and with it, our purpose, will ultimately not be found in winning theological arguments but in refusing to engage in them altogether. History has time and again shown us that forced conversions, wars, and persecution in the name of religion have only served to deepen rifts and perpetuate violence. Apatheism embodies a deeper commitment: appreciating life without the weight of meaningless doctrinal conflicts and ideological dominance. It shows quiet respect for all beliefs by choosing not to prioritise one over the other, acting as an invisible yet vital thread woven into the fabric of a faraway dream of a peaceful society.
That said, the key lies in developing inner strength. As we deepen our connection with ourselves through personal growth, apatheism becomes natural and we won’t feel the need to seek answers from divine entities like God. This aligns with Jiddu Krishnamurti's emphasis on self-understanding over external authority. By exploring our minds' depths, we find tools to navigate life independently.
Everything we need has always been within us.
We’re all guilty of believing in things that are unfounded and completely divorced from evidence. The thought of believing in something that shapes our lives so deeply without evidence does make me a tad bit uncomfortable. I like evidence. But we’re all humans and we like to make meaning by believing in things. I’m not out here trying to deny God or humanity’s faith in the idea of God. Because I think the belief in that idea, by itself — unattached to anything else, may be relatively harmless, but as soon as said belief starts interacting with other aspects of a person’s life, it becomes problematic in more profound ways. Those interactions are what I’m interested in paying attention to — and, when needed, making judgments upon — and I don’t think that judgment is at odds with my apatheism.
It is also refreshing to realise that belief, when detached from evidence, is ultimately a projection of self — a denial of truth. As Krishnamurti put it:
“Belief is a denial of truth, belief hinders truth; to believe in God is not to find God. Neither the believer nor the non-believer will find God; because reality is the unknown, and your belief or non-belief in the unknown is merely a self-projection and therefore not real.” — J. Krishnamurti.
If someone’s beliefs help them become a better person, more power to them. But if they contribute to harmful behaviours or attitudes, they deserve scrutiny. Chances are, it’ll do a bit of both, which makes my feelings about those beliefs inherently complicated. That said, my feelings aren’t really about the beliefs themselves — this is why I still consider myself an apatheist — but rather about the ripple effects those beliefs create in the world.
Despite its downplay, apatheism urges us to live more fully in the moment, to respect others’ beliefs or non-beliefs without interference, and most importantly, to find meaning not in the answers to grand existential questions, but in the questions themselves. It is not an act of surrender as it may initially seem; it is a deliberate path of thoughtful detachment and inner resilience, one that may ultimately guide us toward a more peaceful world.
“You all believe in different ways, but your belief has no reality whatsoever. Reality is what you are, what you do, what you think, and your belief in God is merely an escape from your monotonous, stupid and cruel life.” — J Krishnamurti.