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Why did Epicurus reject the idea that gods control human affairs?

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Bronze bust of Epicurus with a full beard and draped clothing, displayed on a round inscribed base at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. — Epicureanism Epicurus, bronze bust from a Greek original, c. 280–270 bce; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

Epicurus rejected the idea that gods control human affairs primarily to liberate humankind from religious fears and anxieties, thereby helping individuals achieve ataraxia, or tranquility of mind.1234

He conceived of the gods as beatified, immortal beings who exist in a state of perfection. Because they are so superior, Epicurus argued that they are entirely extraneous to the happenings of the world and have no interest in or reason to trouble themselves with the affairs of mortals. By teaching that the gods do not intervene in human life or exercise divine providence, Epicurus sought to remove the superstitious dread that often plagued people, allowing them to live without the fear of divine interference or punishment.1534

While he denied that the gods manage human affairs, Epicurus was not an atheist. He believed it was important for humans to contemplate the gods as perfect beings, as this provided an ideal toward which humans could strive to approach their own perfection.13