The Hindustan times reports that Keira Knightley regrets being atheist. The article reads …

Actor Keira Knightley, a self-confessed atheist, says she is desperate to be Catholic because she would “just get to ask for forgiveness”. “It sounds much better than having to live with guilt. It’s absolutely extraordinary. If only I wasn’t an atheist, I could get away with anything,”

And yes … some smart hack has simply taken her valid criticism of some catholic beliefs and turned it around to get a good headline. It is not a unique example, I also found this variation in another Indian paper …

Keira Knightley wants to become Catholic

These are both hilarious examples of some very opportunistic journalism.

The point Keira is making is also a very interesting one, for it is also turing the coin over to see the other side. How many times have you listened to believers telling you that they hold the high moral ground and that without belief atheists have no morals and can do whatever they wish. To use the old cliché, if only I had a penny for every instance of hearing something like that, I could … well you get the idea.

Her observation is that it is the believers who have a “do-whatever-you-like” option. If you do something wrong, no problem, just ask for forgiveness and your conscience is clear. In stark contrast, non-belief means that you need to come to terms with the consequences of your own actions, there is no magic forgive-and-forget option to tap into.

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