by Jem Smith » 09 Mar 2024, 01:31
Today I once again came across somebody's mistaken idea of what atheism is, so I thought I might write up a simple breakdown about what it is and what it is not for anyone who is interested.
What atheism is:A lack of belief in any deity or deities.
What Atheism is not:A claim to know everything.To be an atheist is simply to believe that there are no deities. An atheist may state their belief ("there is no god") with certainty, in the same way that a member of another religion may state their belief with certainty (eg. a Christian might say "There is only one God"). Many scientists, who devote their lives to increasing the sum of human knowledge, are atheists, so obviously they do not believe that they already know everything there is to know about the universe.
A religion.
It's a religion the way 'bald' is a hair colour', or 'not collecting stamps' is a hobby. Atheism is not organised, and there is no membership, dress code, or rules atheists must follow to be atheists.
Ignorance.
Since babies are born atheists, with some acquiring beliefs in deities later when taught by their parents and community, there are at least some atheists who are unaware of the existence of religions or other ways of thinking. However, it is foolish to assume that because someone is an atheist they must be unaware of religions or arguments and discussions about the meaning and origins of life. Obviously plenty of atheists have thought about and discussed these things and length, and even written books about them.
An argument about or answer to the origin of the universe.
Atheism is not the Big Bang Theory or evolution. It doesn't answer the questions of where we came from. Individual atheists can have different ideas about these things, since the only thing all atheists have in common is a lack of belief in any gods.
A lack of awareness of death or the temporary nature of human existence.
Atheists (with the exception of babies) are aware that they will one day die. Individual atheists deal with this knowledge in many different ways. A common idea I have heard from atheists is that the knowledge that we will die helps to give our lives meaning, and encourages us to make each day count. Some people seem to make a better job of this than others, but since it's not a religion and doesn't have rules it's not something atheists police.
Lacking morality.
Atheism itself is not a moral position. A lack of belief in gods doesn't tell you anything about how to behave. However, that doesn't mean that individual atheists lack morality. It just means that their morality is not connected with their belief in any deity.
Humans have tried many different legal and moral codes over the centuries. There is even evidence from remains that people in the stone age practiced kindness, caring for the sick and infirm (people with healed broken legs, meaning that their tribe cared for them and fed them while they healed, elderly people with no teeth who had also been fed and cared for for some time after they would have been able to care for themselves. Kindness and compassion go back a very long way, and may simply be innate in our species.
https://www.denverpost.com/2012/12/17/archaeologists-find-prehistoric-humans-cared-for-sick-and-disabled/Humanism is " a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives". Many humanists are atheists. Humanist societies all over the world meet to do good in their communities.
https://www.humanist.org.au/queenslandGreedy or miserly.
Not belonging to a church or believing in a deity doesn't mean you use more than your share of resources, nor that you don't attempt to help your fellow humans or give to charity, it just means that if you do give to charity, you do it without expectation of reward in the afterlife or fear of damnation. Many secular charities exist, and many atheists donate money and volunteer their time to help others.
While I understand that the existence of a belief that is diametrically opposed to your own can be confronting, it is important to take time to truly understand other people's points of view instead of making assumptions and bad faith arguments. The better we understand each other, the better we can all get along.
Further reading:https://skepticink.com/dangeroustalk/atheism101Sophie's World (a novel) by Jostein Gardner
https://academic.oup.com/book/643/chapter-abstract/135342391?redirectedFrom=fulltext You will need a university login to read this one, sorry.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Good-Without- ... 006167012Xhttps://progressiveatheists.org/take-action/secular-charities/Of course this is not an exhaustive list of all the information out there about atheism, philosophical thought about human existence or secular morality. It's just a couple of helpful links to get you started if you are interested.
Podcasts:https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/Viewing:The Good Place (TV show, on Netflix)
Today I once again came across somebody's mistaken idea of what atheism is, so I thought I might write up a simple breakdown about what it is and what it is not for anyone who is interested.
[b]What atheism is:[/b]
A lack of belief in any deity or deities.
[b]What Atheism is not:[/b]
[b]A claim to know everything.[/b]
To be an atheist is simply to believe that there are no deities. An atheist may state their belief ("there is no god") with certainty, in the same way that a member of another religion may state their belief with certainty (eg. a Christian might say "There is only one God"). Many scientists, who devote their lives to increasing the sum of human knowledge, are atheists, so obviously they do not believe that they already know everything there is to know about the universe.
[b]A religion[/b].
It's a religion the way 'bald' is a hair colour', or 'not collecting stamps' is a hobby. Atheism is not organised, and there is no membership, dress code, or rules atheists must follow to be atheists.
[b]Ignorance[/b].
Since babies are born atheists, with some acquiring beliefs in deities later when taught by their parents and community, there are at least some atheists who are unaware of the existence of religions or other ways of thinking. However, it is foolish to assume that because someone is an atheist they must be unaware of religions or arguments and discussions about the meaning and origins of life. Obviously plenty of atheists have thought about and discussed these things and length, and even written books about them.
[b]An argument about or answer to the origin of the universe[/b].
Atheism is not the Big Bang Theory or evolution. It doesn't answer the questions of where we came from. Individual atheists can have different ideas about these things, since the only thing all atheists have in common is a lack of belief in any gods.
[b]A lack of awareness of death or the temporary nature of human existence[/b].
Atheists (with the exception of babies) are aware that they will one day die. Individual atheists deal with this knowledge in many different ways. A common idea I have heard from atheists is that the knowledge that we will die helps to give our lives meaning, and encourages us to make each day count. Some people seem to make a better job of this than others, but since it's not a religion and doesn't have rules it's not something atheists police.
[b]Lacking morality[/b].
Atheism itself is not a moral position. A lack of belief in gods doesn't tell you anything about how to behave. However, that doesn't mean that individual atheists lack morality. It just means that their morality is not connected with their belief in any deity.
Humans have tried many different legal and moral codes over the centuries. There is even evidence from remains that people in the stone age practiced kindness, caring for the sick and infirm (people with healed broken legs, meaning that their tribe cared for them and fed them while they healed, elderly people with no teeth who had also been fed and cared for for some time after they would have been able to care for themselves. Kindness and compassion go back a very long way, and may simply be innate in our species.
[url]https://www.denverpost.com/2012/12/17/archaeologists-find-prehistoric-humans-cared-for-sick-and-disabled/[/url]
Humanism is " a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives". Many humanists are atheists. Humanist societies all over the world meet to do good in their communities.
[url]https://www.humanist.org.au/queensland[/url]
[b]Greedy or miserly[/b].
Not belonging to a church or believing in a deity doesn't mean you use more than your share of resources, nor that you don't attempt to help your fellow humans or give to charity, it just means that if you do give to charity, you do it without expectation of reward in the afterlife or fear of damnation. Many secular charities exist, and many atheists donate money and volunteer their time to help others.
While I understand that the existence of a belief that is diametrically opposed to your own can be confronting, it is important to take time to truly understand other people's points of view instead of making assumptions and bad faith arguments. The better we understand each other, the better we can all get along.
[b]Further reading:[/b]
[url]https://skepticink.com/dangeroustalk/atheism101[/url]
Sophie's World (a novel) by Jostein Gardner
[url]https://academic.oup.com/book/643/chapter-abstract/135342391?redirectedFrom=fulltext[/url] You will need a university login to read this one, sorry.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Good-Without-God-Billion-Nonreligious/dp/006167012X
[url]https://progressiveatheists.org/take-action/secular-charities/[/url]
Of course this is not an exhaustive list of all the information out there about atheism, philosophical thought about human existence or secular morality. It's just a couple of helpful links to get you started if you are interested.
[b]Podcasts:[/b]
[url]https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/[/url]
[b]Viewing:[/b]
The Good Place (TV show, on Netflix)
