Last Updated:October 07, 2026, 07:45 IST

Javed Akhtar questioned whether religion is a conscious choice and explained why emotional comfort cannot prove that a belief is true.

– Javed Akhtar Explains Why He Questions Beliefs Inherited From Parents.

Javed Akhtar has questioned whether religious faith is a conscious choice, pointing out that most people follow the religion they are born into. In a recent conversation with Express Hindi with Saurabh Dwivedi, the veteran writer and lyricist also explained why he believes emotional comfort cannot be treated as proof that a religious belief is true.

Javed Akhtar on why people hold on to faith

Javed Akhtar said that religion can offer comfort when people are going through difficult times. However, he questioned whether feeling reassured by the idea of a higher power means that the belief itself is true. According to him, people can find comfort in believing that someone is watching over them, even when there is no proof for that belief. He compared this to convincing yourself that something good is going to happen simply because the thought makes you feel secure.

He used Elon Musk as an example. Akhtar said, “Believe it from your heart that next month he is going to send me two, four, six billion dollars, and then keep saying next month, next month, and remain happy. How reassuring would it be if you thought that Elon Musk is my brother? You would be happy, right?”

He questioned how much of religion is a personal choice

Javed Akhtar also questioned whether people really choose their religion. He said most people follow the faith they grew up with and pointed out that 99% of people die in the religion they were born into. He questioned how often people later stop and examine those beliefs for themselves, instead of simply continuing to follow what they were taught as children.

Javed Akhtar says ideas should be questioned

Javed Akhtar also said there is a difference between trusting a person and trusting an idea. He believes ideas should be judged on their own, because people can change their views.

“Our story is different. We don’t trust a person. We trust an idea. That person may say something else tomorrow, it doesn’t make any difference to us. We trust the idea, logic and reason,” he went onto say, adding “What happens with a person who is religious, or a person of faith, is that he trusts a person. Whatever his parents told him, he probably trusts his parents. Or he may find a saint. There are 10 major religions in the world. And to say that they are all the same is nonsense. They are all different.”

Javed Akhtar has spoken openly about his atheism for years. In a 2005 India Today Conclave speech, he said, “I am an atheist, I have no religious beliefs.”

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What did Javed Akhtar say about people following their birth religion?

Javed Akhtar stated that most people do not make a conscious choice about their religion, noting that 99% of people die in the faith they were born into and inherit from their parents.

How did Javed Akhtar view religious comfort regarding the existence of a higher power?

Javed Akhtar explained that while religion can offer emotional comfort during difficult times, feeling reassured by the idea of a higher power does not serve as proof that the belief itself is true.

What did Javed Akhtar tell his son Farhan Akhtar when asked about their religion?

When an 8-year-old Farhan Akhtar asked if they were Muslim, Javed Akhtar told him that while people are born in certain cities and communities, what matters most is what a person is, and that his children were raised entirely areligious without any given religion.

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Shreyanka Mazumdar

Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment wo…Read More