FFRF awarded $200 to Molly for her essay.
The kids on my street attended church every Sunday, bible study on weekends and, as we got older, youth group on Wednesday nights. While they were singing hymns and praying, I was listening to ancient Tibetan chants that drifted from one room to the next in our feng shui house.
My parents would discuss the latest path to enlightenment over breakfast and ponder which energy seminar to go to on the weekend. I remember helping my father lay copper around our home, to shield against geographic stress lines, whatever those might be. I’m not sure he even knows why we put them there.
My mother was far more emotional and was convinced that every bad thought or feeling was a psychic connection. She called it “tapping in,” almost as if she were hacking a computer.
As the years passed, I grew to recognize the unorthodox environment in which I was raised. As my awareness of psychological behavior grew, my parents’ spirituality became more eccentric, and with it, our backyard. What started with a copper perimeter developed into a garden of stone pyramids, sculptures of angels and a tree that they believed had the spirit of Ganesh, due to its elephant-like shape. Every year on holiday visits, I observe more energy devices and effigies, mirroring the rising household tension. An exponential equation: Stress equals statues squared.
The concept of relying on an unsupported theory for peace of mind is puzzling, but people continue to seek answers within their faith. It’s no surprise why people feel at ease after prayer or meditation. Religion provides a false sense of stability, which, in turn, creates a feeling of control.
It is science that governs our world. Evident in every grain of existence, science rules the processes and systems of our universe, including belief systems. Religion is nonsensical and unsupported! This is why I choose logic over faith.
Molly Hernandez, 21, attends Front Range Community College, Westminster, Colo., and is pursuing a geology degree. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, she enjoys snowboarding, playing guitar and making jewelry.
