Rationalist Narendra Nayak on Sunday claimed atheists are the third largest group in the world after Christians and Muslims and said every child was born a non-believer till labels of belief and religion are fed into the brain.
Speaking at the Brights National Atheist Conference here, Nayak, who is the president of the Federation of Indian Rationalists, said he had realised at the age of 10 or 11 that "there is no supernatural power".
"I am the first atheist I met in my life. I had never met any atheist before I turned into one. Every child is born an atheist, but labels of religions and beliefs are put into the brain as one grows up. Your family, surroundings, etc put these beliefs in your mind," he said.
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"Lot of people are unable to remove these beliefs from their minds but we (atheists) can do so. Do not think we (atheists) are alone in the world. Some 18 per cent of the world's population are atheists. The third largest group of people in the world is that of non-believers after Christians and Muslims," he claimed.
Nayak and journalist Alka Dhupkar were felicitated at the national conference, which was attended by Uttam Niraula of Humanists International, and anti-superstition activist Avinash Patil, among others.
The Brights, in its manifesto, refutes the existence of any supernatural power.
