Atheism
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Revision as of 22:11, 24 August 2007
Atheism is the absence of belief in gods, including the Abrahamic God. The terms "God" and "god" are used somewhat interchangeably here.
Contents |
Types of Atheism
There are many ways to describe different types of atheism. Some of these are explained below.
Pragmatic
Pragmatic atheism (sometimes equated with "weak atheism" or "implicit atheism") describes the state of living as if no god exists. It does not require a positive statement of God's non-existence. Natural phenomena are explained through science without resort to supernatural explanations, and morals are not based on religious precepts. See also apatheism.
Theoretical
Theoretical atheism (sometimes equated with "strong atheism" or "explicit atheism") makes an explicit statement against the existence of gods. Often, theoretical atheism specifically combats religious beliefs and other arguments for belief in God (or gods), such as Pascal's Wager, and argument from design.
Types of Arguments for Atheism
Logical
An example of a logical argument for atheism is that the existence of a God would defy the known laws of physics, demonstrated in all other aspects of the Universe.
The argument from design is often given as proof of a Creator, but it begs the following logical question: if the world is so complex that it must have had a creator, then the creator must be at least as complex and must therefore have a creator, ad infinitum.
Evidential
An evidential argument for atheism would be saying that all evidence points towards there being no God, or at least that there is no evidence pointing to a God.
Moral
One important ethic stressed by many is "truthfulness", and many atheists believe that religion presents an inherent attack on truth.
Atheists sometimes ask the question:
- "Can you think of an evil act committed by a good man because of his religion?"
The answer to this is clearly,"Yes". and it invites the obvious follow up question:
- "Can you think of an evil act committed by an atheist because he is an atheist?
Biblical View of Atheism [1]
The Bible, not surprisingly, takes a dim view of those who do not believe in either it, God or Christianity.
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - Psalm 14:1 (KJV)
In addition, the Bible states:
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse... - Romans 1:20 (KJV)
(Other religions are invited to add reasons why their holy books have the only revealed truth.)
Atheistic View of the Bible
Since atheism is not a unified belief system ("religion"), there is no single "atheistic" stance on most topics other than the nonexistence of God. Atheists may view the Bible and other religious works as literature, myth, epic, philosophy, agit-prop, or combinations thereof. Many atheists see religious works as interesting historical records of the myths and beliefs of humanity. By definition atheists do not believe any religious text to be divinely inspired truth. In other words, "Dude, it's just a book."
Atheism and the American Right
Taken from the Conservapedia article of the same name, research in the American Sociological Review finds that atheists are the group that Americans least relate to for shared vision or want to have marry into their family. What is slightly more worrying about the responses in this table is that it shows that 27.2% of Americans seem to be racists. Statistics eh, you put them in to prove one thing and they end up showing another. I mean, I could insinuate that there is a direct link between Conservative Christian values (the dislike of atheists) and racism (no way is mah child marrying one of dem thar coloured folk, get mah gun out Sharleen). You read it here first folks, the truth that Conservapedia DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW!
| This Group Does Not At All Agree with My Vision of American Society: |
I Would Disapprove if My Child Wanted to Marry a Member of This Group: | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Atheist | 39.6% | 47.6% | |
| Muslim | 26.3% | 33.5% | |
| Homosexual | 22.6% | NA | |
| Conservative Christian | 13.5% | 6.9% | |
| Recent Immigrant | 12.5% | Not Asked | |
| Hispanic | 7.6% | 18.5% | |
| Jew | 7.4% | 11.8% | |
| Asian American | 7.0% | 18.5% | |
| African American | 4.6% | 27.2% | |
| White American | 2.2% | 2.3% |
Famous Quotes
I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.[2] — George H.W. Bush
We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further &mdash Richard Dawkins
Yeah I know because there' s no fing 'cause I can't see it. Nathan reckons there's no God, its [religion] bollocks innit? Vicky Pollard
Atheist Demographics
Many studies put atheists in the higher intelligence group of the population. A recent meta-analysis of 39 eligible studies from 1927 to 2002 was published in the Mensa magazine, and concluded that atheists are more likely to be of higher intelligence than their non-religious counterparts.[3] Specific research on atheists conducted in 2006 suggests that the true proportion of atheists is 4% in the United States, 17% in Great Britain and 32% in France. According to an article in the prestigious science journal Nature in 1998 the belief in a personal God or afterlife was very low among the members of the U.S. National Academy of Science. Only 7.0% believed in a personal God as compared to more than 85% of the general U.S. population.[4] This also suggests that the more intelligent subjects are more unlikely to believe in god or supernatural powers.
A recent study published in the Annals of Family Medicine suggests that atheist doctors are more likely to care for the underserved compared to religious ones. (35% vs 31%)[5]
References
- ↑ This section relies heavily on the Conservapedia Atheism article, available here
- ↑ http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/aa011.htm
- ↑ Bell, Paul. "Would you believe it?" Mensa Magazine, UK Edition, Feb. 2002, pp. 12–13.
- ↑ Larson, Edward J.; Larry Witham (1998). "Correspondence: Leading scientists still reject God". Nature 394 (6691): 313.
- ↑ http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/5/4/353