Britney Spears Declares Herself An 'Atheist' In A New Recording

Britney Spears revealed yesterday in an Instagram audio narrative that she is now an atheist.

Her explanation, on the other hand, plays right into the faulty stereotypes that Christians frequently hold about why people cease believing in God.

Many atheists have a tale about how they came to doubt God. Perhaps something drove them to begin doubting their beliefs, but they only took that final step after much deliberation.

However, when they tell others that they no longer believe in God, it is assumed that something horrible has happened to them. That's all. Blaming God for some form of disaster always takes precedence over logical thought.

There are entire books created by Christian apologists about theodicy, explaining why God allows horrible things to happen to good people... as if that's the only reason people become nonreligious.

britneyspears/Instagram

As a result, the Britney Spears disclosure may be a double-edged blade. Last week, her estranged younger son Jayden (15), whom she had with ex-husband Kevin Federline, claimed in an interview that the conservatorship Spears was under until this past November was "too lengthy," but his grandparents were not "evil people." He went on to say that he hoped she recovered and that he was praying for her.

In a separate interview, Federline stated that Spears' father "saved her" via the conservatorship. Spears responded yesterday on Instagram with a now-deleted audio-only recording.

britneyspears/Instagram

Without getting into all of the drama, here's the part that matters to us:

"So, Jayden, while you undermine my actions with hope she gets better, "I will pray for her," as my entire family has done... What are you praying for? [That] I continue to work in order to pay off my mother's legal bills and mortgage? Do you want me to improve so I can continue to pay your father $40 million per month? Or is it that you've decided to be hateful because it'll be over in two years and you won't get anything?…"

britneyspears/Instagram

"It hurts me that none of you regard me as a person. You've seen how my family has treated me, and that's all you know. As I already stated, I believe you all secretly wish to point out anything wrong with me. To be honest, my father should be locked up for the rest of his life. But, as I already stated, if God existed, he would not allow such to happen to me. Because of how my children and family have treated me, I no longer believe in God. There is nothing left to believe in."

britneyspears/Instagram

"I'm an atheist, you guys. Christian apologists will salivate at those final sentences. Spears made similar remarks about her lack of faith over a week ago, but they received significantly less notice because she did not mention the "A"-word."

britneyspears/Instagram

Spears is, by all accounts, a lovely person who has been through hell and back. But for her to say she's no longer a believer because of what she's been through, rather than because she gave religion serious thought and concluded that God must not exist, feeds into the outdated image that atheists are created out of catastrophes, not thought.

It exudes intellectual laziness. You can expect that we'll be hearing a lot of sermons in the near future about how God has a plan for everyone, including Britney Spears, no matter how bad things appear!

britneyspears/Instagram

That's not to imply her theology is shallow. I have no idea how she came to be free of religion. Spears grew up as a Southern Baptist. There was some time spent studying Kabbalah. She dabbled in Hinduism. She recently claimed to be Catholic.

However, before she married model Sam Asghari last year, Spears posted a picture of a Catholic church on Instagram, saying she wanted to get married inside one but couldn't because "they said I had to be Catholic." She then added, "Isn't church supposed to be open to all???? ”

britneyspears/Instagram

That's not a sign of ignorance; many individuals are unaware of the Catholic Church's marriage guidelines. But Spears' underlying belief seemed to be that faith was a virtue, that religion (in its broadest sense) was a force for good, and that we should believe in belief. The idea itself was more important than the label.

Between last year and today, she transitioned from this hazy faith to declaring herself an atheist. As much as I'd like to fill in the blanks, I believe her personal life is none of anybody else's business save what she chooses to disclose publicly.