A godless coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic

 

To the Editor

A strong public health is not just about the efficiency of our hospitals and the resiliency of our health workers; it is also the capacity of our faith leaders to guide us in our spiritual journeys amidst one of the seminal events of the 21st century.¹ Religiosity appears to have an impact in the decision to be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine.² These related conclusions from the authors’ respective recent correspondences emphasized the role of religious coping as a helpful response during this devastating pandemic. Communication with God through praying and following instructions/pieces of advice from religious leaders manifest the coping mechanisms of believers who are affiliated to various religions/faith groups. The interesting question is, ‘what about the coping mechanisms of atheists or the so-called non-believers?’ What are the possible ways that they can practice to battle effectively the negative impact of such crisis?

Describing an atheist is not that easy. Some people who describe themselves as atheists also say they believe in some kind of higher power or spiritual force. At the same time, some of those who identify with a religion (for example, Catholic or Jewish) say they do not believe in God.³ However, I will use the latter description since it is the most commonly used based on our basic understanding of the word. Since atheists do not rely on God or any deity to seek refuge and support during the pandemic, it is important to understand, for inclusivity, how are they coping up with the difficult situation. Being an atheist does not mean he/she does not have any belief in something or someone. There is a ‘belief,’ not to God but in science and secular humanism or any reason-based phenomena.⁴ Just like faith-believers, atheists find inspiration not to God but to ‘secular humanism’ or the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and the solving of human problems. This belief also gives them comfort and hope to get through in times of trouble and trust that the innate goodness and helping hands of fellowmen will be there in this crisis.⁴ This is the reason why the ‘faith’ in humanity and fellow atheists continue to thrive amid any challenges that come. One concrete example of this is the support group known as The International Association of Atheists (IAA), a coalition of atheist and atheist-friendly organizations working together to make secular humanist initiatives happen. During the onset of the pandemic, the organization launched the Humanist Humanitarian Hangouts (HHH), which are online, face-to-face hangouts for atheists and apostates, each with a specified topic. The online initiative ensured that a counselor or therapist is present in each hangout to keep the conversation on track and the initial topic was about coping with the anxiety caused by COVID-19.⁵ Furthermore, atheists simply call out for facts and information based on objective evidences which are essential in our defense against the virus. In fact, they also acknowledge a lot the great effort of healthcare workers who are sacrificing tirelessly for the sake of public health. The concern and high regard for human effort always occupy a huge part of their guiding principle.

In conclusion, we are all brothers and sisters who should live on this planet in peace and harmony. Believers or non-believers of any religion, Americans or Asians, male or female, young or old, etc.—the world is counting on all of us to win against the pandemic. We have different coping mechanisms to fight effectively against the disease but we are bound by one common goal, that is, to defeat the virus at all costs. Our combined effort, all countries across the globe, is our key to success, and that is regardless of one another’s beliefs.