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- Subject: Alt.Atheism FAQ: Introduction to Atheism
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- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
-
- AN INTRODUCTION TO ATHEISM
-
- Written by mathew <mathew@mantis.co.uk>
- with help from Michael Wang <mmwang@mv.us.adobe.com>
-
- This article attempts to provide a general introduction to atheism.
- Whilst I have tried to be as neutral as possible regarding contentious
- issues, you should always remember that this document represents only
- one viewpoint. I would encourage you to read widely and draw your own
- conclusions; some relevant books are listed in a companion article.
-
- To provide a sense of cohesion and progression, I have presented this
- article as an imaginary conversation between an atheist and a theist.
- All the questions asked by the imaginary theist are questions which
- have been cropped up repeatedly on alt.atheism since that newsgroup
- was created. Some other frequently asked questions are answered in a
- companion article.
-
- Please note that this article is arguably slanted towards answering
- questions posed from a Christian viewpoint. This is because the FAQ
- files reflect questions which have actually been asked, and it is
- predominantly Christians who proselytize on alt.atheism.
-
- So when I talk of religion, I am talking primarily about religions
- such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, which involve some sort of
- superhuman divine being. Much of the discussion will apply to other
- religions, but some of it may not.
-
- [i01] "What is atheism?"
-
- Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of
- gods. Some atheists go further, and believe that particular gods do
- not exist. The former is often referred to as the "weak atheist"
- position, and the latter as "strong atheism".
-
- It is important to note the difference between these two positions.
- "Weak atheism" is simple scepticism; disbelief in the existence of
- God. "Strong atheism" is a positive belief that God does not exist.
- Please do not fall into the trap of assuming that all atheists are
- "strong atheists".
-
- Some atheists believe in the non-existence of all Gods; others limit
- their atheism to specific Gods, such as the Christian God, rather than
- making flat-out denials.
-
- [i02] "But isn't disbelieving in God the same thing as believing he
- doesn't exist?"
-
- Definitely not. Disbelief in a proposition means that one does not
- believe it to be true. Not believing that something is true is not
- equivalent to believing that it is false; one may simply have no idea
- whether it is true or not. Which brings us to agnosticism.
-
- [i03] "What is agnosticism then?"
-
- The term 'agnosticism' was coined by Professor Huxley at a meeting of
- the Metaphysical Society in 1876. He defined an agnostic as someone
- who disclaimed ("strong") atheism and believed that the ultimate
- origin of things must be some cause unknown and unknowable. Another
- way of putting it is an agnostic is someone who believes that we do
- not and cannot know for sure whether God exists.
-
- Since that time, however, the term agnostic has also been used to
- describe those that do not believe that the question is intrinsically
- unknowable, but instead believe that the evidence for or against God
- is inconclusive, and therefore are undecided about the issue.
-
- To reduce the amount of confusion over the use of term agnosticism, it
- is recommended that usage based on the original definition be
- qualified as "strict agnosticism" and usage based on the second
- definition be qualified as "empirical agnosticism".
-
- Words are slippery things, and language is inexact. Beware of assuming
- that you can work out someone's philosophical point of view simply
- from the fact that she calls herself an atheist or an agnostic. For
- example, many people use agnosticism to mean what is referred to here
- as "weak atheism", and use the word "atheism" only when referring to
- "strong atheism".
-
- Beware also that because the word "atheist" has so many shades of
- meaning, it is very difficult to generalize about atheists. About all
- you can say for sure is that atheists don't believe in God. For
- example, it certainly isn't the case that all atheists believe that
- science is the best way to find out about the universe.
-
- [i04] "So what is the philosophical justification or basis for
- atheism?"
-
- There are many philosophical justifications for atheism. To find out
- why a particular person chooses to be an atheist, it's best to ask
- her.
-
- Many atheists feel that the idea of God as presented by the major
- religions is essentially self-contradictory, and that it is logically
- impossible that such a God could exist. Others are atheists through
- scepticism, because they see no evidence that God exists.
-
- There are a number of books which lay out a philosophical
- justification for atheism, such as Martin's "Atheism: A Philosophical
- Justification" and Smith's "Atheism: The Case Against God". A few such
- books are in the document listing "Atheist Resources".
-
- [i05] "But isn't it impossible to prove the non-existence of
- something?"
-
- There are many counter-examples to such a statement. For example, it
- is quite simple to prove that there does not exist a prime number
- larger than all other prime numbers. Of course, this deals with
- well-defined objects obeying well-defined rules. Whether Gods or
- universes are similarly well-defined is a matter for debate.
-
- However, assuming for the moment that the existence of a God is not
- provably impossible, there are still subtle reasons for assuming the
- non-existence of God. If we assume that something does not exist, it
- is always possible to show that this assumption is invalid by finding
- a single counter-example.
-
- If on the other hand we assume that something does exist, and if the
- thing in question is not provably impossible, showing that the
- assumption is invalid may require an exhaustive search of all possible
- places where such a thing might be found, to show that it isn't there.
- Such an exhaustive search is often impractical or impossible. There is
- no such problem with largest primes, because we can prove that they
- don't exist.
-
- Therefore it is generally accepted that we must assume things do not
- exist unless we have evidence that they do. Even theists follow this
- rule most of the time; they don't believe in unicorns, even though
- they can't conclusively prove that no unicorns exist anywhere.
-
- To assume that God exists is to make an assumption which probably
- cannot be tested. We cannot make an exhaustive search of everywhere
- God might be to prove that he doesn't exist anywhere. So the sceptical
- atheist assumes by default that God does not exist, since that is an
- assumption we can test.
-
- Those who profess strong atheism usually do not claim that no sort of
- God exists; instead, they generally restrict their claims so as to
- cover varieties of God described by followers of various religions. So
- whilst it may be impossible to prove conclusively that no God exists,
- it may be possible to prove that (say) a God as described by a
- particular religious book does not exist. It may even be possible to
- prove that no God described by any present-day religion exists.
-
- In practice, believing that no God described by any religion exists is
- very close to believing that no God exists. However, it is
- sufficiently different that counter-arguments based on the
- impossibility of disproving every kind of God are not really
- applicable.
-
- [i06] "But what if God is essentially non-detectable?"
-
- If God interacts with our universe in any way, the effects of his
- interaction must be measurable. Hence his interaction with our
- universe must be detectable.
-
- If God is essentially non-detectable, it must therefore be the case
- that he does not interact with our universe in any way. Many atheists
- would argue that if God does not interact with our universe at all, it
- is of no importance whether he exists or not.
-
- If the Bible is to be believed, God was easily detectable by the
- Israelites. Surely he should still be detectable today?
-
- Note that I am not demanding that God interact in a scientifically
- verifiable, physical way. It must surely be possible to perceive some
- effect caused by his presence, though; otherwise, how can I
- distinguish him from all the other things that don't exist?
-
- [i07] "What if I managed to logically prove that he exists?"
-
- Even after centuries of effort, nobody has come up with a watertight
- logical proof of the existence of God. In spite of this, however,
- people often feel that they can logically prove that God exists.
-
- Unfortunately, reality is not decided by logic. Even if you could
- rigorously prove that God exists, it wouldn't actually get you very
- far. It could be that your logical rules do not always preserve truth
- -- that your system of logic is flawed. It could be that your premises
- are wrong. It could even be that reality is not logically consistent.
- In the end, the only way to find out what is really going on is to
- observe it. Logic can merely give you an idea where or how to look;
- and most logical arguments about God don't even perform that task.
-
- Logic is a useful tool for analyzing data and inferring what is going
- on; but if logic and reality disagree, reality wins.
-
- [i08] "OK, you may think there's a philosophical justification for
- atheism, but isn't it still a religious belief?"
-
- One of the most common pastimes in philosophical discussion is "the
- redefinition game". The cynical view of this game is as follows:
-
- Person A begins by making a contentious statement. When person B
- points out that it can't be true, person A gradually re-defines the
- words he used in the statement until he arrives at something person B
- is prepared to accept. He then records the statement, along with the
- fact that person B has agreed to it, and continues. Eventually A uses
- the statement as an "agreed fact", but uses his original definitions
- of all the words in it rather than the obscure redefinitions
- originally needed to get B to agree to it. Rather than be seen to be
- apparently inconsistent, B will tend to play along.
-
- The point of this digression is that the answer to the question "Isn't
- atheism a religious belief?" depends crucially upon what is meant by
- "religious". "Religion" is generally characterized by belief in a
- superhuman controlling power -- especially in some sort of God -- and
- by faith and worship.
-
- (It's worth pointing out in passing that some varieties of Buddhism
- are not "religion" according to such a definition.)
-
- Atheism is certainly not a belief in any sort of superhuman power, nor
- is it categorized by worship in any meaningful sense. Widening the
- definition of "religious" to encompass atheism tends to result in many
- other aspects of human behaviour suddenly becoming classed as
- "religious" as well -- such as science, politics, and watching TV.
-
- [i09] "OK, so it's not a religion. But surely belief in atheism (or
- science) is still just an act of faith, like religion is?"
-
- Firstly, it's not entirely clear that sceptical atheism is something
- one actually believes in.
-
- Secondly, it is necessary to adopt a number of core beliefs or
- assumptions to make some sort of sense out of the sensory data we
- experience. Most atheists try to adopt as few core beliefs as
- possible; and even those are subject to questioning if experience
- throws them into doubt.
-
- Science has a number of core assumptions. For example, it is generally
- assumed that the laws of physics are the same for all observers. These
- are the sort of core assumptions atheists make. If such basic ideas
- are called "acts of faith", then almost everything we know must be
- said to be based on acts of faith, and the term loses its meaning.
-
- Faith is more often used to refer to complete, certain belief in
- something. According to such a definition, atheism and science are
- certainly not acts of faith. Of course, individual atheists or
- scientists can be as dogmatic as religious followers when claiming
- that something is "certain". This is not a general tendency, however;
- there are many atheists who would be reluctant to state with certainty
- that the universe exists.
-
- Faith is also used to refer to belief without supporting evidence or
- proof. Sceptical atheism certainly doesn't fit that definition, as
- sceptical atheism has no beliefs. Strong atheism is closer, but still
- doesn't really match, as even the most dogmatic atheist will tend to
- refer to experimental data (or the lack of it) when asserting that God
- does not exist.
-
- [i10] "If atheism is not religious, surely it's anti-religious?"
-
- It is an unfortunate human tendency to label everyone as either "for"
- or "against", "friend" or "enemy". The truth is not so clear-cut.
-
- Atheism is the position that runs logically counter to theism; in that
- sense, it can be said to be "anti-religion". However, when religious
- believers speak of atheists being "anti-religious" they usually mean
- that the atheists have some sort of antipathy or hatred towards
- theists.
-
- This categorization of atheists as hostile towards religion is quite
- unfair. Atheist attitudes towards theists in fact cover a broad
- spectrum.
-
- Most atheists take a "live and let live" attitude. Unless questioned,
- they will not usually mention their atheism, except perhaps to close
- friends. Of course, this may be in part because atheism is not
- "socially acceptable" in many countries.
-
- A few atheists are quite anti-religious, and may even try to "convert"
- others when possible. Historically, such anti-religious atheists have
- made little impact on society outside the Eastern Bloc countries.
-
- (To digress slightly: the Soviet Union was originally dedicated to
- separation of church and state, just like the USA. Soviet citizens
- were legally free to worship as they wished. The institution of "state
- atheism" came about when Stalin took control of the Soviet Union and
- tried to destroy the churches in order to gain complete power over the
- population.)
-
- Some atheists are quite vocal about their beliefs, but only where they
- see religion encroaching on matters which are not its business -- for
- example, the government of the USA. Such individuals are usually
- concerned that church and state should remain separate.
-
- [i11] "But if you don't allow religion to have a say in the running
- of the state, surely that's the same as state atheism?"
-
- The principle of the separation of church and state is that the state
- shall not legislate concerning matters of religious belief. In
- particular, it means not only that the state cannot promote one
- religion at the expense of another, but also that it cannot promote
- any belief which is religious in nature.
-
- Religions can still have a say in discussion of purely secular
- matters. For example, religious believers have historically been
- responsible for encouraging many political reforms. Even today, many
- organizations campaigning for an increase in spending on foreign aid
- are founded as religious campaigns. So long as they campaign
- concerning secular matters, and so long as they do not discriminate on
- religious grounds, most atheists are quite happy to see them have
- their say.
-
- [i12] "What about prayer in schools? If there's no God, why do you
- care if people pray?"
-
- Because people who do pray are voters and lawmakers, and tend to do
- things that those who don't pray can't just ignore. Also, Christian
- prayer in schools is intimidating to non-Christians, even if they are
- told that they need not join in. The diversity of religious and
- non-religious belief means that it is impossible to formulate a
- meaningful prayer that will be acceptable to all those present at any
- public event.
-
- Also, non-prayers tend to have friends and family who pray. It is
- reasonable to care about friends and family wasting their time, even
- without other motives.
-
- [i13] "You mentioned Christians who campaign for increased foreign
- aid. What about atheists? Why aren't there any atheist charities or
- hospitals? Don't atheists object to the religious charities?"
-
- There are many charities without religious purpose that atheists can
- contribute to. Some atheists contribute to religious charities as
- well, for the sake of the practical good they do. Some atheists even
- do voluntary work for charities founded on a theistic basis.
-
- Most atheists seem to feel that atheism isn't worth shouting about in
- connection with charity. To them, atheism is just a simple, obvious
- everyday matter, and so is charity. Many feel that it's somewhat
- cheap, not to say self-righteous, to use simple charity as an excuse
- to plug a particular set of religious beliefs.
-
- To "weak" atheists, building a hospital to say "I do not believe in
- God" is a rather strange idea; it's rather like holding a party to say
- "Today is not my birthday". Why the fuss? Atheism is rarely
- evangelistic.
-
- [i14] "You said atheism isn't anti-religious. But is it perhaps a
- backlash against one's upbringing, a way of rebelling?"
-
- Perhaps it is, for some. But many people have parents who do not
- attempt to force any religious (or atheist) ideas upon them, and many
- of those people choose to call themselves atheists.
-
- It's also doubtless the case that some religious people chose religion
- as a backlash against an atheist upbringing, as a way of being
- different. On the other hand, many people choose religion as a way of
- conforming to the expectations of others.
-
- On the whole, we can't conclude much about whether atheism or religion
- are backlash or conformism; although in general, people have a
- tendency to go along with a group rather than act or think
- independently.
-
- [i15] "How do atheists differ from religious people?"
-
- They don't believe in God. That's all there is to it.
-
- Atheists may listen to heavy metal -- backwards, even -- or they may
- prefer a Verdi Requiem, even if they know the words. They may wear
- Hawaiian shirts, they may dress all in black, they may even wear
- orange robes. (Many Buddhists lack a belief in any sort of God.) Some
- atheists even carry a copy of the Bible around -- for arguing against,
- of course!
-
- Whoever you are, the chances are you have met several atheists without
- realising it. Atheists are usually unexceptional in behaviour and
- appearance.
-
- [i16] "Unexceptional? But aren't atheists less moral than religious
- people?"
-
- That depends. If you define morality as obedience to God, then of
- course atheists are less moral as they don't obey any God. But usually
- when one talks of morality, one talks of what is acceptable ("right")
- and unacceptable ("wrong") behaviour within society.
-
- Humans are social animals, and to be maximally successful they must
- co-operate with each other. This is a good enough reason to discourage
- most atheists from "anti-social" or "immoral" behaviour, purely for
- the purposes of self-preservation.
-
- Many atheists behave in a "moral" or "compassionate" way simply
- because they feel a natural tendency to empathize with other humans.
- So why do they care what happens to others? They don't know, they
- simply are that way.
-
- Naturally, there are some people who behave "immorally" and try to use
- atheism to justify their actions. However, there are equally many
- people who behave "immorally" and then try to use religious beliefs to
- justify their actions. For example:
-
- "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Jesus
- Christ came into the world to save sinners... But for that very
- reason, I was shown mercy so that in me... Jesus Christ might
- display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would
- believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the king eternal,
- immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and
- ever."
-
- The above quote is from a statement made to the court on February 17th
- 1992 by Jeffrey Dahmer, the notorious cannibal serial killer of
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It seems that for every atheist mass-murderer,
- there is a religious mass-murderer. But what of more trivial morality?
-
- A survey conducted by the Roper Organization found that behavior
- deteriorated after "born again" experiences. While only 4% of
- respondents said they had driven intoxicated before being "born
- again," 12% had done so after conversion. Similarly, 5% had used
- illegal drugs before conversion, 9% after. Two percent admitted to
- engaging in illicit sex before salvation; 5% after. ["Freethought
- Today", September 1991, p. 12.]
-
- So it seems that at best, religion does not have a monopoly on moral
- behaviour.
-
- Of course, a great many people are converted to (and from)
- Christianity during adolescence and their early twenties. This is also
- the time at which people begin to drink and become sexually active. It
- could be that the above figures merely indicate that Christianity has
- no effect on moral behaviour, or insufficient effect to result in an
- overall fall in immoral behaviour.
-
- [i17] "Is there such a thing as atheist morality?"
-
- If you mean "Is there such a thing as morality for atheists?", then
- the answer is yes, as explained above. Many atheists have ideas about
- morality which are at least as strong as those held by religious
- people.
-
- If you mean "Does atheism have a characteristic moral code?", then the
- answer is no. Atheism by itself does not imply anything much about how
- a person will behave. Most atheists follow many of the same "moral
- rules" as theists, but for different reasons. Atheists view morality
- as something created by humans, according to the way humans feel the
- world 'ought' to work, rather than seeing it as a set of rules decreed
- by a supernatural being.
-
- [i18] "Then aren't atheists just theists who are denying God?"
-
- A study by the Freedom From Religion Foundation found that over 90% of
- the atheists who responded became atheists because religion did not
- work for them. They had found that religious beliefs were
- fundamentally incompatible with what they observed around them.
-
- Atheists are not unbelievers through ignorance or denial; they are
- unbelievers through choice. The vast majority of them have spent time
- studying one or more religions, sometimes in very great depth. They
- have made a careful and considered decision to reject religious
- beliefs.
-
- This decision may, of course, be an inevitable consequence of that
- individual's personality. For a naturally sceptical person, the choice
- of atheism is often the only one that makes sense, and hence the only
- choice that person can honestly make.
-
- [i19] "But don't atheists want to believe in God?"
-
- Atheists live their lives as though there is nobody watching over
- them. Many of them have no desire to be watched over, no matter how
- good-natured the "Big Brother" figure might be.
-
- Some atheists would like to be able to believe in God -- but so what?
- Should one believe things merely because one wants them to be true?
- The risks of such an approach should be obvious. Atheists often decide
- that wanting to believe something is not enough; there must be
- evidence for the belief.
-
- [i20] "But of course atheists see no evidence for the existence of
- God -- they are unwilling in their souls to see!"
-
- Many, if not most atheists were previously religious. As has been
- explained above, the vast majority have seriously considered the
- possibility that God exists. Many atheists have spent time in prayer
- trying to reach God.
-
- Of course, it is true that some atheists lack an open mind; but
- assuming that all atheists are biased and insincere is offensive and
- closed-minded. Comments such as "Of course God is there, you just
- aren't looking properly" are likely to be viewed as patronizing.
-
- Certainly, if you wish to engage in philosophical debate with atheists
- it is vital that you give them the benefit of the doubt and assume
- that they are being sincere if they say that they have searched for
- God. If you are not willing to believe that they are basically telling
- the truth, debate is futile.
-
- [i21] "Isn't the whole of life completely pointless to an atheist?"
-
- Many atheists live a purposeful life. They decide what they think
- gives meaning to life, and they pursue those goals. They try to make
- their lives count, not by wishing for eternal life, but by having an
- influence on other people who will live on. For example, an atheist
- may dedicate his life to political reform, in the hope of leaving his
- mark on history.
-
- It is a natural human tendency to look for "meaning" or "purpose" in
- random events. However, it is by no means obvious that "life" is the
- sort of thing that has a "meaning".
-
- To put it another way, not everything which looks like a question is
- actually a sensible thing to ask. Some atheists believe that asking
- "What is the meaning of life?" is as silly as asking "What is the
- meaning of a cup of coffee?". They believe that life has no purpose or
- meaning, it just is.
-
- Also, if some sort of mystical external force is required to give
- one's existence a "meaning", surely that makes any hypothetical god's
- existence meaningless?
-
- [i22] "So how do atheists find comfort in time of danger?"
-
- There are many ways of obtaining comfort; from family, friends, or
- even pets. Or on a less spiritual level, from food or drink or TV.
-
- That may sound rather an empty and vulnerable way to face danger, but
- so what? Should individuals believe in things because they are
- comforting, or should they face reality no matter how harsh it might
- be?
-
- In the end, it's a decision for the individual concerned. Most
- atheists are unable to believe something they would not otherwise
- believe merely because it makes them feel comfortable. They put truth
- before comfort, and consider that if searching for truth sometimes
- makes them feel unhappy, that's just hard luck.
-
- [i23] "Don't atheists worry that they might suddenly be shown to be
- wrong?"
-
- The short answer is "No, do you?"
-
- Many atheists have been atheists for years. They have encountered many
- arguments and much supposed evidence for the existence of God, but
- they have found all of it to be invalid or inconclusive.
-
- Thousands of years of religious belief haven't resulted in any good
- proof of the existence of God. Atheists therefore tend to feel that
- they are unlikely to be proved wrong in the immediate future, and they
- stop worrying about it.
-
- [i24] "So why should theists question their beliefs? Don't the same
- arguments apply?"
-
- No, because the beliefs being questioned are not similar. Weak atheism
- is the sceptical "default position" to take; it asserts nothing.
- Strong atheism is a negative belief. Theism is a very strong positive
- belief.
-
- Atheists sometimes also argue that theists should question their
- beliefs because of the very real harm they can cause -- not just to
- the believers, but to everyone else.
-
- [i25] "What sort of harm?"
-
- Religion represents a huge financial and work burden on mankind. It's
- not just a matter of religious believers wasting their money on church
- buildings; think of all the time and effort spent building churches,
- praying, and so on. Imagine how that effort could be better spent.
-
- Many theists believe in miracle healing. There have been plenty of
- instances of ill people being "healed" by a priest, ceasing to take
- the medicines prescribed to them by doctors, and dying as a result.
- Some theists have died because they have refused blood transfusions on
- religious grounds.
-
- It is arguable that the Catholic Church's opposition to birth control
- -- and condoms in particular -- is increasing the problem of
- overpopulation in many third-world countries and contributing to the
- spread of AIDS world-wide.
-
- Religious believers have been known to murder their children rather
- than allow their children to become atheists or marry someone of a
- different religion.
-
- [i26] "Those weren't real believers. They just claimed to be
- believers as some sort of excuse."
-
- What makes a real believer? There are so many One True Religions it's
- hard to tell. Look at Christianity: there are many competing groups,
- all convinced that they are the only true Christians. Sometimes they
- even fight and kill each other. How is an atheist supposed to decide
- who's a real Christian and who isn't, when even the major Christian
- churches like the Catholic Church and the Church of England can't
- decide amongst themselves?
-
- In the end, most atheists take a pragmatic view, and decide that
- anyone who calls himself a Christian, and uses Christian belief or
- dogma to justify his actions, should be considered a Christian. Maybe
- some of those Christians are just perverting Christian teaching for
- their own ends -- but surely if the Bible can be so readily used to
- support un-Christian acts it can't be much of a moral code? If the
- Bible is the word of God, why couldn't he have made it less easy to
- misinterpret? And how do you know that your beliefs aren't a
- perversion of what your God intended?
-
- If there is no single unambiguous interpretation of the Bible, then
- why should an atheist take one interpretation over another just on
- your say-so? Sorry, but if someone claims that he believes in Jesus
- and that he murdered others because Jesus and the Bible told him to do
- so, we must call him a Christian.
-
- [i27] "Obviously those extreme sorts of beliefs should be questioned.
- But since nobody has ever proved that God does not exist, it must be
- very unlikely that more basic religious beliefs, shared by all
- faiths, are nonsense."
-
- That does not hold, because as was pointed out earlier in this
- dialogue, positive assertions concerning the existence of entities are
- inherently much harder to disprove than negative ones. Nobody has ever
- proved that unicorns don't exist, but that doesn't make it unlikely
- that they are myths.
-
- It is therefore much more valid to hold a negative assertion by
- default than it is to hold a positive assertion by default. Of course,
- "weak" atheists would argue that asserting nothing is better still.
-
- [i28] "Well, if atheism's so great, why are there so many theists?"
-
- Unfortunately, the popularity of a belief has little to do with how
- "correct" it is, or whether it "works"; consider how many people
- believe in astrology, graphology, and other pseudo-sciences.
-
- Many atheists feel that it is simply a human weakness to want to
- believe in gods. Certainly in many primitive human societies, religion
- allows the people to deal with phenomena that they do not adequately
- understand.
-
- Of course, there's more to religion than that. In the industrialized
- world, we find people believing in religious explanations of phenomena
- even when there are perfectly adequate natural explanations. Religion
- may have started as a means of attempting to explain the world, but
- nowadays it serves other purposes as well.
-
- [i29] "But so many cultures have developed religions. Surely that
- must say something?"
-
- Not really. Most religions are only superficially similar; for
- example, it's worth remembering that religions such as Buddhism and
- Taoism lack any sort of concept of God in the Christian sense.
-
- Of course, most religions are quick to denounce competing religions,
- so it's rather odd to use one religion to try and justify another.
-
- [i30] "What about all the famous scientists and philosophers who have
- concluded that God exists?"
-
- For every scientist or philosopher who believes in a god, there is one
- who does not. Besides, as has already been pointed out, the truth of a
- belief is not determined by how many people believe it. Also, it is
- important to realize that atheists do not view famous scientists or
- philosophers in the same way that theists view their religious
- leaders.
-
- A famous scientist is only human; she may be an expert in some fields,
- but when she talks about other matters her words carry no special
- weight. Many respected scientists have made themselves look foolish by
- speaking on subjects which lie outside their fields of expertise.
-
- (The Constructing a Logical Argument FAQ has more to say about this.)
-
- [i31] "So are you really saying that widespread belief in religion
- indicates nothing?"
-
- Not entirely. It certainly indicates that the religion in question has
- properties which have helped it so spread so far.
-
- The theory of memetics talks of "memes" -- sets of ideas which can
- propagate themselves between human minds, by analogy with genes. Some
- atheists view religions as sets of particularly successful parasitic
- memes, which spread by encouraging their hosts to convert others. Some
- memes avoid destruction by discouraging believers from questioning
- doctrine, or by using peer pressure to keep one-time believers from
- admitting that they were mistaken. Some religious memes even encourage
- their hosts to destroy hosts controlled by other memes.
-
- Of course, in the memetic view there is no particular virtue
- associated with successful propagation of a meme. Religion is not a
- good thing because of the number of people who believe it, any more
- than a disease is a good thing because of the number of people who
- have caught it.
-
- [i32] "Even if religion is not entirely true, at least it puts across
- important messages. What are the fundamental messages of atheism?"
-
- There are many important ideas atheists promote. The following are
- just a few of them; don't be surprised to see ideas which are also
- present in some religions.
- * There is more to moral behaviour than mindlessly following rules.
- * Be especially sceptical of positive claims.
- * If you want your life to have some sort of meaning, it's up to you
- to find it.
- * Search for what is true, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
- * Make the most of your life, as it's probably the only one you'll
- have.
- * It's no good relying on some external power to change you; you
- must change yourself.
- * Just because something's popular doesn't mean it's good.
- * If you must assume something, assume something easy to test.
- * Don't believe things just because you want them to be true.
-
- and finally (and most importantly):
- * All beliefs should be open to question.
-
- Thanks for taking the time to read this document.
-
- mathew
- <mathew@mantis.co.uk>
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