Atheism

Atheism, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as the denial of the existence of gods and alternatively as the condition of being without theistic beliefs. These different definitions diverged from the original meaning, "without theism", due to interpretations of the a- prefix as either "not" or "without". The issues concerning self-identification and categorization as an atheist are complex as both involve adoption of the former definition or only the latter definition, or both.

Types of atheism

There are two major forms of atheism [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]:

• Weak atheism, also known as implicit atheism, is the condition of being without belief in gods without the assertion that gods do not exist. An argument commonly associated with this position is that of rationalism: any claims and assertions, and the beliefs arising thereof, must be justified. While theists claim true the existence of gods and strong atheists claim true the nonxistence of gods, weak atheists refrain from claiming knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of gods. Some weak atheists are without opinion of the issue due to a lack of consideration or due to the improbability of the arguments for and against divine existence. Others may doubt the existence of all gods and regard the existence of gods as currently unknown. They may feel that proving a negative claim is impossible, that strong atheists assume truth in the same manner of theists, and that faith is required to believe or disbelieve in gods. The agnostic atheist is another type of weak atheist and claims that knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of gods is impossible either for scientific or philosophical reasons.

• Strong atheism, also known as explicit atheism or positive atheism, is the position that "gods do not exist." This denial is due to various reasons such as the lack of evidence or sufficient grounds to justify belief in divine existence, and 'a priori' arguments demonstrating the logical impossibility of the nature of gods.

The distinction between strong and weak atheism is controversial. Some define atheism as "lack or absence of theistic beliefs" and regard atheism as encompassing nonbelief, disbelief, doubt, and denial of the existence of God or other gods. Others define atheism as the "denial of the existence of God", and do not use the term 'atheist' to refer to those who lack theistic beliefs, using other terms such as "agnostic". Both terminologies may be encountered in discussions of atheism which can result in confusion and miscommunication if not properly handled initially.

Morality

Atheism does not prescribe a values orientation; however, moral doctrines are proposed within other categories of atheistic thought including Secular Humanism, Rationalism and Objectivism.

Most religions prescribe a moral code (e.g., the Ten Commandments) and dictate that morality is derived from God or gods; therefore, followers often believe that being without god-beliefs is equivalent to being amoral; or even, in the absence of a protective religious belief, to be defenseless against the corrupting influence of evil agents. Atheists deny charges of amorality and accept personal responsibility for determining the morality of behavior.

Atheistic adherents of certain worldviews, such as Secular Humanism, provide examples of atheistic moral codes. Atheists accept that enrollment in a religion is unnecessary for a moral life. Francis Bacon explains: "Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men." [6]

Persecution

In the European Middle Ages and up to the 18th century, atheism was regarded as immoral and often criminal. Atheists could be sentenced to death by burning, especially in countries where the Inquisition was active. While Christians of opposing denominations often persecuted and discriminated their own, and Protestantism was illegal in Roman Catholic states, the Protestant leader Calvin was also in favor of burning atheists and heretics [7] [8].

Witch hunters and Inquisitors were eager to inflict pain through torture and cause death to those they determined atheists, witches or otherwise. (See for instance the fate of Jean-François de la Barre.)

In some cultures, promoting atheism has been criminalized and many western European countries such as Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom continue to protect anti-blasphemy laws, although these are rarely enforced. Theists often consider those without a belief in a deity to be immoral, amoral or untrustworthy—unfit as societal members. The scriptures of most religions contain denunciations of nontheists: see, for example, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 in the Christian Bible.

Every military buildup in the United States since World War II has been accompanied by frequent use of the saying "There are no atheists in foxholes", a statement contradicted by the experiences of many former soldiers. During the Cold War, the fact that the communist enemies of the United States were officially atheists ("Godless Communists") added to the view that atheists were unreliable and unpatriotic.

In the 1988 U.S. presidential campaign, then Republican presidential candidate George H. W. Bush said, "I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God." [9] Similar statements were made during the controversy surrounding the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the American Pledge of Allegiance—words which were added to the pledge early in the Cold War period.

In Communism, Marxism and the Cold War

Karl Marx, an atheist, wrote that religion is the "opiate of the masses." This is often interpreted to mean that religion is irrational and puts people into an intellectual stupor that blinds them to the true state of affairs in a society and thus makes them more amenable to social control and exploitation. State support of atheism and opposition to organized religion have been the policies of most communist countries, including the People's Republic of China [10], and the former Soviet Union, although some churches that submitted to strict state control were tolerated. Consequently, religious groups such as the Catholic Church were among the staunchest opponents of communist regimes. Non-communist dictators have also regulated or forbidden religious groups which were viewed as possible centers of opposition against their rule.

Contemporary atheism

Atheism is more common in the secular countries of Western Europe and in former or present communist nations than in the United States, and more common among scientists, particularly natural scientists, than among the general population (see the relationship between religion and science).

Notwithstanding Cold War attitudes, atheists are legally protected from discrimination in the United States and they have been among the strongest advocates of the legal separation of church and state. American courts have regularly, if controversially, interpreted the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state as protecting the freedoms of non-believers, as well as prohibiting the establishment of any state religion. Atheists often sum up the legal situation with the phrase: "Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion." [11]

Notably, in the Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, Justice Souter ruled that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." [12] Since Everson v. Board of Education established that "Neither a state nor the Federal Government can... pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another," which applies the Establishment Clause to the states as well as the federal government [13], the several state constitutions that contain clauses saying things like "no person shall be discriminated against because of religion, provided he or she acknowledges the existence of a deity" would be apparently going against the Court. As they have not actually faced challenge, the question has not been conclusively decided.

In the Newdow case, after a father challenged the phrase "under God" in the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the phrase unconstitutional. Although the decision was stayed pending the outcome of an appeal, there was the prospect that the pledge would cease to be legally usable without modification in schools in the western United States, over which the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction. This resulted in a political furor, and both houses of the Congress passed resolutions condemning the decision, nearly unanimously. A very large group consisting of almost the entire Senate and House was televised standing on the steps of Congress, hands over hearts, swearing the pledge and shouting out "under God". The Supreme Court subsequently reversed the decision, ruling that Michael Newdow did not have standing to bring his case, thus disposing of the case without ruling on the constitutionality of the pledge.

In early 2004, it was announced that atheism would be taught during religious education classes in the Britain.[14] [15] A spokesman of the 'Qualifications and Curriculum Authority' stated the following about the decision: "There are many children in England who have no religious affiliation and their beliefs and ideas, whatever they are, should be taken very seriously." There is also considerable debate in the UK on the status of faith-based schools, which use religious, as well as academic, selection criteria [16].

Statistics

Due to some societies strongly promoting atheism, and some strongly condemning it, atheism may both be overreported and underreported in different countries. There is a great deal of room for debate as to the accuracy of any method of measurement, as the opportunity for misreporting (intentional and otherwise) a belief system without an organized structure is high.

The following surveys are in chronological order, but as they are different studies with different methodologies it would be inaccurate to infer trends on the prevalence of atheism from them:

A 1995 survey [17] attributed to the Encyclopedia Britannica indicates that non-religious are about 14.7% of the world's population, and atheists around 3.8%.

In the 2001 Australian Census [18] 15.5% of respondents ticked 'no religion' and a further 11.7% either did not state their religion or were deemed to have described it inadequately (there was a popular campaign at the time to have people describe themselves as Jedi).

A 2002 survey by Adherents.com [19] estimates the number of "secular, non-religious, agnostics and atheists" as about 14%.

A 2004 survey by the BBC [20] in 10 countries showed the proportion of "people who don't believe in God nor in a higher power" varying between 0% and 30%, with an average close to 10% in the countries surveyed. About 8% of the respondents stated specifically that they consider themselves atheists.

A 2004 survey by the CIA in the World Factbook [21] estimates about 12.5% non-religious and about 2.4% for atheists.

According to motherjones.com, 52% of Americans claim they would not vote for a well-qualified atheist for president.[22]

Polemical usage

The word "atheism" has been used polemically to describe the position of someone who does not believe in one particular deity, even if they do believe in another. An example would be its use as an accusation of the pagan Romans against the early Christians, and vice versa. It was also used against Socrates. Polemical usages of this term as an ad hominem attack are not discussed within this article.

• AllRefer atheism article - brief discussion of polemical usage
• NewAdvent.org Catholic Encyclopedia atheism article - for attacking established beliefs

Atheistic religious organizations

Atheism is not synonymous with irreligion. There are religious belief systems, including much of Buddhism, and Unitarian Universalism, which do not require theistic belief. A number of atheistic "churches" have been established such as the Naturalistic Pantheists, Brianism, and the Fellowship of Reason.

Religious views of atheism

Judaism

All formulations of Jewish principles of faith require a belief in God. In theory, the rejection of this belief is heresy of the highest form. It should be noted that such views are mainly fundamentalist in origin; in practice, rabbis have generally considered the behaviour of a Jew to be the determining factor in whether or not one is considered an adherent of Judaism. It is commonly recognized that it is possible for a Jew to strictly practice Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist, giving rise to the riddle: "Q: What do you call a Jew who doesn't believe in God? A: A Jew." It is also worth noting Reconstructionism does not require any belief in a deity, and certain popular Reform prayer books offer services without mentions of God.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in pre-state Israel, held that atheists were not actually denying God; rather, they were denying one of man's many images of God. Since any man-made image of God can be considered an idol, Kook held that in practice one could consider atheists as helping true religion burn away false images of God, thus in the end serving the purpose of true monotheism.

• Intro the thought of Rav Kook - Heresy in our day

• Intro the thought of Rav Kook - Heresy in our day - continued

See also

• List of religions.
• List of atheists
• The Godless Americans PAC
• Arguments for the existence of God
• Arguments against the existence of God
• Pascal's Wager
• Freethought
• rationalism.
• Irreligion
• Objectivist philosophy
• Naturalism
• Materialism
• Secularism
• Laïcité
• Secular Humanism
• Invisible Pink Unicorn
• Evil Atheist Conspiracy

External links

• Open Directory atheism links
• Catholic encyclopedia, entry on Atheism
• About.com - Agnosticism/Atheism
• The Secular Web
• The Atheism Web
• Positive Atheism
• American Atheists
• Atheism : the capital man
• Atheism defended
• The philosophy of atheism
• The Internet Infidels Discussion Forums
• The (British) National Secular Society
• The Infidel Guy Radio Show
• Atheist Network (Internet Radio)
• Freethinkers (NoBeliefs.com)
• Site of the Romanian association Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience - Romanian/ English
• Ebon Musings: The Atheism Pages

References

• Baggini, J. (2003). Atheism: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Buckley, M. J. (1987). At the origins of modern atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• d´Holbach, P. H. T. (1770). The system of nature. Electronic versions:
  • complete text (pdf)
  • complete text (html)
• Krueger, D. E. (1998). What is atheism?: A short introduction. New York: Prometheus.
• LePoidevin, R. (1996). Arguing for atheism: An introduction to the philosophy of religion. London: Routledge.
• Mackie, J. L. (1982). The miracle of theism: Arguments for and against the existence of God. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Martin, M. (1990). Atheism: A philosophical justification. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
• Martin, M., & Monnier, R. (Eds.). (2003). The impossibility of God. New York: Prometheus.
• Nielsen, K. (2001). Naturalism and religion. New York: Prometheus.
• Smith, G. H. (1980). Atheism: The case against God. New York: Prometheus.
• Stein, G. (Ed.). (1985). The encyclopaedia of unbelief (Vols. 1-2). New York: Prometheus.