Ricky Gervais explained religious views in wake of After Life: ‘I don’t need a god’ – Express

Ricky Gervais series After Life, which explores the concepts of life, death, grief and spirituality, saw its latest series air on Netflix earlier this year.On the podcast Under the Skin with Russell Brand, Gervais, who is a self-proclaimed atheist, said he sees the world with as much wonder as anyone who thinks God made it.

The comedian and actor spoke candidly with fellow entertainment professional and podcast host Russell Brand about spirituality, ranting on the bad perception atheists get.

He explained his view on religion saying: I say if you already know right from wrong you dont need the book.

Gervais, 61, also admitted he used to believe in God, but after considering the topic in depth, came to the conclusion: I feel I dont need a god.

However, Gervais revealed: The thing that I really object to is people assuming that you cant be a good person if you dont believe in a god.

There are good atheists and bad atheists, there are good Christians and bad Christians and a god has never changed that.

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You shouldnt judge people by their beliefs, you should judge them by their actual behaviour. I feel I dont need a structured guidebook outside of my own morality.

He insinuated this is one of the myths about atheism, explaining that by definition atheism is not the belief that there is no god, but rather theres no evidence of a greater being yet.

Deciphering this concept further Gervais reflected: If we agree that no one knows, were all atheists. Now, what do you think?

Believers will say I think there is a god and atheists say I dont think there is a god because I havent got any evidence yet.

As an outspoken atheist, Gervais revealed people have questioned him asking if evidence was found to prove God existed, would he become religious? He claims he would, but noted a potential issue.

He said: It wouldnt even be belief, it would be knowledge. But until we know, I dont want to live my life by a belief in something I have no evidence in, thats all.

Gervais went on to explain he understands and experiences all of the same concepts of wanting to understand the reasoning of life and connection to a greater power that religious people feel, but simply does it without the belief in god or gods.

Gervais claimed this was essentially spiritually, saying religion is something else.

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He added: Someones belief in god has never bothered me, its what you do with it.

Its when theres suddenly an agenda that coincidentally favours the person.

Later in the podcast, the pair would discuss how this dogma of getting scripture to match ones argument has transcended religious conversations, now edging into politics and even pop culture.

Gervais explained this as potentially controversial situations where one side accidentally finds luckily, God agrees with them.

He continued: We know that everything thats ever started was written by, usually a man, with an agenda.

Its no coincidence that all those rules in the old testament sort of favour certain men.

Brand agreed with Gervais, saying: I really, firmly, deeply believe that spirituality is for me, not for me to tell other people: Oi I dont reckon you should be gay!.

Gervais has also recently made viral rounds on social media after his hometown named a garbage truck Ricky Gerwaste after him.

He tweeted an image of the truck in early July, captioning the post: Is there any greater honour than your hometown naming a garbage truck after you?

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Ricky Gervais explained religious views in wake of After Life: 'I don't need a god' - Express