Atheism

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Atheism (from Greek: a + theos + ismos "not believing in god") refers in its broadest sense to a denial of theism (the belief in the existence of a single deity or deities). Atheism has many shades and types. Some atheists strongly deny the existence of God (or any form of deity) and attack theistic claims. Yet certainty as to the non-existence of God is as much a belief as is religion and rests on equally unprovable claims. Just as religious believers range from the ecumenical to the narrow-minded, atheists range from those for whom it is a matter of personal philosophy to those who are militantly hostile to religion.


Did you know?

"Positive" or "strong" atheism is the assertion that no deities exist while "negative" or "weak" atheism is simply the absence of belief in the existence of any deity

Atheism often buttresses its case on science, yet many modern scientists, far from being atheists, have argued that science is not incompatible with theism.

Some traditional religious belief systems are said to be "atheist" or "non-theist," but this can be misleading. While Jainism technically can be described as philosophically materialist (and even this is subtle vis-à-vis the divine), the claim about Buddhism being atheistic is more difficult to make. Metaphysical questions put to the Buddha about whether or not God exists received from him one of his famous "silences." It is inaccurate to deduce from this that the Buddha denied the existence of God. His silence had far more to do with the distracting nature of speculation and dogma than it had to do with the existence or non-existence of God.

Many people living in the West have the impression that atheism is on the rise around the world, and that the belief in God is being replaced with a more secular-oriented worldview. However, this view is not confirmed. Studies have consistently shown that contrary to popular assumptions, religious membership is actually increasing globally.


Contents [hide]
1 The Rationale of Atheism 1.1 Logical reasons
1.2 Scientific reasons
1.3 Personal and Practical reasons

2 Typology of atheism 2.1 Weak and strong atheism
2.2 Implicit and explicit atheism
2.3 Antitheism
2.4 Atheism in philosophical naturalism

3 Atheism and philosophy
4 Atheism and World Religions 4.1 Ancient Greek and Roman
4.2 Judaism
4.3 Christianity
4.4 Islam
4.5 Hinduism
4.6 Jainism
4.7 Buddhism
4.8 Confucianism
4.9 Daoism
4.10 Other Forms

5 Criticisms of atheism
6 See also
7 Footnotes
8 References
9 External links 9.1 General Philosophy Sources

10 Credits


The Rationale of Atheism

Atheism is a belief that is held for a variety of reasons.

Logical reasons

Some atheists base their stance on philosophical grounds, arguing that their position is based on logical rejection of theistic claims. Indeed, many atheists claim that their view is merely the absence of a certain belief, suggesting that the burden of proving God's existence is upon theists. In this line of thought, it follows that if theism's arguments can be refuted, non-theism becomes the default position. Many atheists have argued for centuries against the most popular "proofs" of God's existence, noting problems in the theist lines of reasoning. Atheists who attack specific forms of theism often claim it as being self-contradictory. One of the most common arguments against the existence of the Christian God is the problem of evil, which Christian apologist William Lane Craig has referred to as "atheism's killer argument." This line of reasoning claims that the presence of evil in the world is logically inconsistent with the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent God. Instead, atheists claim it is more coherent to conclude that God does not exist than to believe that He/She does exist but readily allows the promulgation of evil.

A form of atheism known as "ignosticism," asserts that the question of whether or not deities exist is inherently meaningless. It is a popular view among many logical positivists such as Rudolf Carnap and A. J. Ayer, who claim that talk of gods is literally nonsensical. For them, theological statements (such as those affirming god's existence) cannot have any truth value, since they lack falsifiability. This refers to the fact that claims of transcendence and of metaphysical properties cannot be tested by empirical means and must therefore be rejected as null hypotheses. In Language, Truth and Logic, Ayer stated that theism, atheism and agnosticism were equally meaningless terms, insofar as they treat the question of the existence of God as a real question. However, despite Ayer's criticism of atheism as a concept (perhaps using the definition typically associated with strong atheism), ignosticism is still considered as a form of atheism in most classifications of religious thought.

Scientific reasons

As a further development of the rationalist position, many feel that theories of divine creation blatantly conflict with modern science, especially evolution. For some atheists, this conflict is reason enough to reject theism. Evolutionary science, supported by a large body of paleontological and genomic evidence and accepted by the overwhelming majority of biologists, describes how complex life has developed through a slow process of random mutation and natural selection. It is now known that humans share 98 percent of our genetic code with chimpanzees, 90 percent with mice, 21 percent with roundworms, and seven percent with the bacterium E. coli. This humbling perspective is quite different from that of most theistic traditions, such as the Abrahamic religions, in which humans are thought to be created "in God's image" and are existentially distinguished from the other "beasts of the Earth." Similarly, astronomical facts, such as the recognition of Earth's Sun as only one undistinguished star among billions in the Milky Way, are seen by some atheists as rendering implausible the proposition that this universe was created with mankind in mind. Finally, some atheists argue that religion emerged as a pseudo-scientific explanation for natural phenomena and that, with the progress of human scientific endeavor, these etiological myths have been rendered unnecessary.

All this said, it is also true that there are many scientists, Newton and Einstein among them, who do not believe that science is incompatible with the existence of God. Darwinian evolution, for example, can be understood as a method God developed for the propagation of life.

Personal and Practical reasons

In addition to using philosophical arguments, there are those atheists who cite social, psychological, and practical reasons for their beliefs. Many people are atheists not as a result of philosophical deliberation, but rather because of the means by which they were brought up or educated. Some people are atheists at least partly because of growing up in an environment where atheism is relatively common, such as those who are raised by atheist parents. Some people are led to atheism by unpleasant experiences with their inherited traditions.

Some atheists claim that their beliefs have positive practical effects on their lives. For instance, atheism may allow one to open their mind to a wide variety of perspectives and worldviews since they are not committed to dogmatic beliefs. However, since rigidly-held atheism may be a dogmatic belief, those with an open mind are more likely to be agnostics. Such atheists may hold that searching for explanations through natural science can be more beneficial than searching through faith, the latter of which often draws irreconcilable dividing lines between individuals with different beliefs.

Typology of atheism

different beliefs.

Typology of atheism

The first attempts to define or develop a typology annotating the varieties of atheism occurred in religious apologetics, which typically depicted atheism as a licentious belief system. Regardless, a diversity of atheist opinion has been recognized at least since Plato, and common distinctions have been established between practical atheism and contemplative or speculative atheism. Practical atheism was said to be caused by moral failure, hypocrisy, or willful ignorance. Atheists in the practical sense were those who behaved as though God, morals, ethics and social responsibility did not exist.

On the other hand, speculative atheism, which involves philosophical contemplation of the nonexistence of god(s), was often denied by theists throughout history. That anyone might reason their way to atheism was thought to be impossible. Thus, speculative atheism was collapsed into a form of practical atheism, or conceptualized as a hateful fight against God. These negative connotations are one of the reasons for the (continued) popularity of euphemistic alternative terms for atheists, like secularist, empiricist, and agnostic. These connotations likely arise from attempts at suppression and from historical associations with practical atheism. Indeed, the term godless is still used as an abusive epithet. Thinkers such as J. C. A. Gaskin have abandoned the term atheism in favor of unbelief, citing the fact that both the derogatory associations of the term and its vagueness in the public eye have rendered atheism an undesirable label. Despite these considerations, for others atheist has always been the preferred title, and several types of atheism have been identified by writers.

Weak and strong atheism

Some writers distinguish between weak and strong atheism. “Weak atheism,” sometimes called “soft atheism,” “negative atheism” or “neutral atheism,” is the absence of belief in the existence of deities without the positive assertion that deities do not exist. In this sense, weak atheism may be considered a form of agnosticism. These atheists may have no opinion regarding the existence of deities, either because of a lack of interest in the matter (a viewpoint referred to as apatheism), or a belief that the arguments and evidence provided by both theists and strong atheists are equally unpersuasive. Specifically, they argue that theism and strong atheism are equally untenable, on the grounds that asserting or denying the existence of deities requires a faith-claim.

On the other hand, “strong atheism,” also known as “hard atheism” or “positive atheism,” is the positive assertion that no deities exist. Many strong atheists have the additional view that positive statements of nonexistence are merited when evidence or arguments indicate that a deity's nonexistence is certain or probable. Strong atheism may be based on arguments that the concept of a deity is self-contradictory and therefore impossible (positive ignosticism), or that one or more attributes of a deity are incompatible with worldly realities.

Implicit and explicit atheism

The terms implicit and explicit atheism were coined by George H. Smith in 1979 for purposes of understanding atheism more narrowly. Implicit atheism is defined by Smith as the lack of theistic belief without conscious rejection of it. Explicit atheism, meanwhile, is defined by a conscious rejection of theistic belief and is sometimes called "antitheism."

As it happens, Smith's definition of explicit atheism is also the most common among laypeople. For laypersons, atheism is defined in the strongest possible terms, as the belief that there is no god. Thus, most laypeople would not recognize mere absence of belief in deities (implicit atheism) as a type of atheism at all, and would tend to use other terms, such as skepticism or agnosticism. Such usage is not exclusive to laypeople, however, as many atheist philosophers, including Theodore Drange, use the narrow definition.

Antitheism

Antitheism typically refers to a direct opposition to theism. In this sense, it is a form of critical strong atheism. While in other senses atheism merely denies the existence of deities, antitheists may go so far as to believe that theism is actually harmful for human beings. As well, they may simply be atheists who have little tolerance for theistic views, which they perceive to be irrational/dangerous. However, antitheism is also sometimes used, particularly in religious contexts, to refer to opposition to God or divine things, rather than an opposition to the belief in God. Using the latter definition, it is possible to be an antitheist without being an atheist or nontheist.

Atheism in philosophical naturalism

Despite the fact that many, if not most, atheists have preferred to claim that atheism is a lack of a belief rather than a belief in its own right, some atheist writers identify atheism with the naturalistic world view and defend it on that basis. The case for naturalism is used as a positive argument for atheism. For example, James Thrower proposes a "naturalistic" interpretation of events in the world, which takes nature as the paramount explanatory cause. As this worldview does not assert belief in any god beyond nature, it is therefore atheistic. Similarly, Julian Baggini argues that atheism must be understood not as a denial of religion, but instead as an affirmation of and commitment to the one world of nature. For Baggini, all unnatural (and supernatural) causes must be dismissed: "God is just one of the things that atheists don't believe in, it just happens to be the thing that, for historical reasons, gave them their name.[1] This variation of atheism, then, denies not only god(s) but also the existence of souls and other supernatural entities.

Atheism and philosophy

Atheism has been historically used in two senses.

1. Atheism has been a label given to a broad range of perspectives including pantheism and agnosticism, primarily by monotheists or religious authorities. These perspectives did not necessarily deny mystical or spiritual aspects of the world or of certain deities. The term “atheism” in this sense was coined in the sixteenth century to criticize positions that did not comply with the authorized views of the Christian church. The term is now extended to a wide variety of views whose contexts are quite different.

For example, Baruch Spinoza was denounced and labeled as an “atheist” by both Jewish and Christian authorities for over a century and Johann Gottlieb Fichte was expelled from university for the charge of “atheism.” Even Immanuel Kant, a Christian thinker, was accused as being “atheistic.”

2. Materialism. This position denies the reality or existence of any deity, being transcendent or immanent. It should be sharply distinguished from pantheism, agnosticism, and religious naturalism. Materialist atheism has an explicit ontological commitment for the denial of the reality of spiritual or divine being in any form.

Those who held this position include eighteenth-century French materialists such as Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Baron d’Holbach, and Denis Diderot and their ideological successors in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, and Mao Zedong.

During the Age of Enlightenment, atheism became the philosophical position of a growing minority, headed by the openly atheistic works of d'Holbach. In the nineteenth century, atheism became a powerful political tool through the writings of Feuerbach, who claimed God was a fictional projection fabricated by man. This idea greatly influenced Marx, the founder of communism, who believed that laborers turn to religion in order to dull the pain caused by the reality of social situations. Other atheists of the period included Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud. The overall popularity of atheism in the nineteenth century led Nietzsche to coin the aphorism "God is dead." By the twentieth century, along with the spread of rationalism and secular humanism, atheism had become more widespread, particularly among scientists.

Materialistic atheism challenges any position, policy, institution, and movement that is based upon the assumption of the existence of a deity and spiritual dimension. The most radical and socially affective form of materialistic atheism in contemporary society is Marxism and its extensions. Furthermore, those materialistic atheists who actively seek to undermine existing religions are sometimes labeled as militant atheists. During the period of communist ascendancy, militant atheism enjoyed the full apparatus of the state, making it possible to attack religion and believers by every means imaginable with impunity. This included political, social, and military attacks on believers, and suppression of religion.

Atheism and World Religions

Ancient Greek and Roman





Socrates
The oldest known variation of Western-style, philosophical atheism is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus around 300 B.C.E. The goal of the Epicureans was mainly to alleviate fear of divine wrath by portraying it as irrational. One of the most eloquent expressions of Epicurean thought is found in Lucretius' On the Nature of Things (first century B.C.E.). He denied the existence of an afterlife and thought that if gods existed they were uninterested in human existence. For these reasons, they may be better described as materialists than atheists. Epicureans were not persecuted, but their teachings were controversial, and were harshly attacked by the mainstream schools of Stoicism and Neoplatonism.

Many other Greek philosophers critiqued the then-prevalent henotheistic beliefs. Xenophanes, for instance, claimed that anthropomorphic and often immoral portrayals of the many gods were merely projections of humanity upon the divine. Ionic naturalists provided (pre-scientific) explanations for phenomena that had been previously been attributed to the gods. Democritus put forth the thesis that all phenomena in the world were merely transformations of eternal atoms, rather than anthropomorphic divinities. The Sophists criticized the various gods as products of human society and imagination. Critias, a famed dramatist and contemporary of Socrates, had one of his characters put forth the view that gods existed merely to bolster and reify societal codes of morality. Atheist thought culminated in the Greek tradition with Theodoret of Cyrrhus, who was the first to explicitly deny all forms of theism and the existence of any type of god.

Politically speaking, these developments were problematic, as theism was the fundamental belief that supported the divine right of the State in both Greece and Rome. As such, any person who did not believe in the deities supported by the State was fair game to accusations of atheism, a capital crime. For political reasons, Socrates in Athens (399 B.C.E.) was accused of being atheos (or "refusing to acknowledge the gods recognized by the state"). Early Christians in Rome were also considered subversive to the state religion and were thereby prosecuted as atheists. As such, it can be seen that charges of atheism (referring to the subversion of religion) were often used as a political mechanism by which to eliminate dissent.

Judaism

Belief in god is an indispensable requirement of the Jewish faith. This is evidenced by Judaism's paramount prayer, the Shema Israel, which asserts the monotheistic nature of god. Nonetheless, some strains of atheism have still originated from within the Judaic faith. For example, Richard Rubinstein, a Conservative rabbi who spent three years of his youth imprisoned at Auschwitz, put forward the claim that God died at that very concentration camp. God's failure to save the Jews, according to Rubinstein, marked a severance in the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Hence, the Jews were to face the universe alone as atheists; however, Rubenstein implored the Jewish people to retain their identity by continuing to follow moral imperatives laid out by God before his demise. Due to the extremely pessimistic tone of this notion, and the theological difficulties that arise with the claim that God can somehow cease to exist, Rubinstein's atheism was largely rejected.

In many modern movements in Judaism, rabbis have generally considered the behavior of a Jew to be the determining factor in whether or not one is considered an adherent of Judaism. Within these movements it is sometimes acknowledged that it is possible for a Jew to strictly practice Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist. Some Jewish atheists reject Judaism altogether, but wish to continue identifying themselves with the Jewish people and culture. Jewish atheists who practice Humanistic Judaism embrace Jewish culture and history as the sources of their Jewish identity, rather than belief in a supernatural god.

Likewise, Jewish Reconstructionism is not dogmatic in many of its articles of faith, including belief in a deity, which is not required. As such, many Reconstructionist Jews adhere to deism, or else reject theism altogether and do not believe in any God. Sentiments toward atheist Jews are sometimes even quite positive. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first chief rabbi of the Jewish community in pre-state Israel, held that atheists do not actually deny God, but rather help toward a fuller realization of god. That is, atheists deny one of humanity'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 eschew false images of God, in the end serving the purpose of true monotheism.

Christianity

Christianity, as a theistic and proselytizing religion, views atheism as sinful. According to Psalm 14:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." Additionally, according to John 3:18-19, "He that believeth in him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." These passages suggest that those who reject the divinity of Jesus do so because of a proclivity to do evil, rather than evil being a consequence of their disbelief.

Islam

In Islam, atheists are categorized as kafir (كافر). This term translates roughly to "denier" or "concealer" and is also used to describe polytheists. In Islam, denial of god in such a way is one of the paramount transgressions, and as such, the noun kafir carries connotations of blasphemy and utter disconnection from the Islamic community. In Arabic, "atheism" is generally translated ilhad (إلحاد), which also means "heresy." The Qur'an is silent on the punishment for apostasy, though not on the subject itself. The Qur'an speaks repeatedly of people going back to unbelief after believing, but does not say that they should be killed or punished. Nonetheless, atheists have been subjected to such punishments throughout history in Islamic countries. Hence, atheists in such places frequently conceal their non-belief.

Hinduism

Several explicitly atheist schools emerged out of the writings of the Vedas, the texts that contain the core teachings of Hinduism. Of the six orthodox (astika) schools, Samkhya and Mimamsa, can be characterized as atheistic. Unlike other astika schools, Samkhya lacks the notion of a “higher being” that is the ground of all existence. Instead, Samkhya proposes a thoroughly dualistic understanding of the cosmos, in which two coexisting realities form the basis of reality: Purusha, the spiritual and Prakriti, the physical. The aim of life is the attainment of liberating self-knowledge through the separation of Purusha (spirit) from Prakriti (matter). Here, no God is present, yet Ultimate Reality in the form of the Purusha does exist. Therefore, Samkhya can be said to be a variety of Hinduism which falls into the classification of theistic atheism.

The Mimamsa schools focused their primary inquiry more upon the nature of dharma than the properties of a supreme deity. In doing so, they rejected theistic conceptions of the cosmos more outwardly than did the Samkhya. These rejections were developed in response to the theistic arguments being developed by the Nyaya and Vaisesika schools. The Purva Mimamsa school attacked their lines of reasoning vehemently, asserting no such god existed. Though Uttara Mimamsa (a sister school) was less forceful in its rejection of personal theism, it still viewed the concept of God as being ultimately illusory.

As well, Carvaka (also Charvaka) was an explicitly atheist school of Indian philosophy. It was not a religious tradition but rather a materialist school of thought, which rejected all sources of knowledge other than the senses. For the Charvakan, only the physical world exists, and therefore the only purpose of life is to live long and enjoy physical pleasures. There is no afterlife, no soul, and no God to them.

Jainism

Another heterodox school of Indian thought that is explicitly atheistic is Jainism. However, unlike the Carvakas, Jains acknowledge a spiritual realm beyond the physical, believing that the soul (jiva) is caught in an endless cycle of rebirth, and limited from its potential for eternal bliss by the material world. Jains follow a rigorous path of asceticism in order to release the soul from this cycle. The Jain cosmos is eternal, having no beginning and no end, which they believe obviates the necessity of having a creator. Additionally, Jain teachings provide a plethora of other arguments as to why there is no need for the conception of a god. These include many parallels with arguments for atheism from other traditions, including questions of divine mutability, perfection and accountability (theodicy). Hence, Jain philosophy denies all theistic sentiment.

While Jains have to some extent venerated Mahavira (the last prophet (Tirthankara) who achieved kevala—enlightenment or absolute knowledge—and systematized the Jain doctrine) throughout history (and still do at present), their gratitude toward him can hardly be considered the worship of a god.

Buddhism

While some schools of Buddhism—such as Theravada—are called atheistic, this label is misleading because Buddhism does believe in God but does not see them as eternal or creative forces in the origin of the universe. It also sees such gods as stuck in the wheel of samsara (rebirth and suffering). In the Pali Canon, earliest of the Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha criticizes the concept of a changeless deity as highly incoherent. Vasubandhu and Yasomitra, later Buddhist writers, note that if god is the singular cause of all things in existence, then all things should logically have been created at once. Since the world is constantly spawning new forms, however, one cause could never be considered adequate for the totality of existence. Further, since all things are created out of a succession of dharmas in a process called pratitya-samutpada, without exception everything is dependent on something else in order to come into existence. This precludes the possibility of an original cause without cause, as was popular in Aristotelian conceptions of God. Like the Jains, Buddhists also question a creator god's motivation for rendering the world, noting that god must enjoy human suffering, having created a world replete with it.

However, all canonical Buddhist texts affirm the existence (as distinct from the authority) of a great number of spiritual beings, including the Vedic deities. From the point of view of Western theism, certain concepts found in the Mahayana school of Buddhism (e.g. the characterization of Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land) may seem to share characteristics with Western concepts of God, despite the fact that Shakyamuni Buddha himself denied that he was a god or divine. Furthermore, both the Nikaya/Mahayana schools of Buddhism provide deep spiritual regard to bodhisattvas, highly enlightened beings who are dedicated to assisting all sentient beings in achieving Buddhahood. However, in all cases it is necessary to recall the tradition's dogmatic insistence on the fundamental impermanence of all things. As such, though Amitabha Buddha and various bodhisattvas may be venerated, they are never (doctrinally-speaking) seen as possessing eternal life.

Confucianism

Confucius viewed obedience to the will of Heaven (Tian) as tantamount to correctly following social and ritual prescriptions. Xunzi, a later Confucian, while hearkening back to the teachings of Confucius, developed the first genuinely atheistic system of thought in Confucianism. He claimed that heaven was little more than a designation for the natural processes of cosmos, whereby good is rewarded and evil punished. In this conceptualization of the universe, Xunzi denied the existence of supernatural beings and spirits, and claimed that religious acts have no effect, a view somewhat congruent with atheism. Neo-Confucian writings, such as those of Zhu Xi, are considerably vaguer as to whether their conception of the Great Ultimate is like a personal deity or not, and whether their metaphysical worlds are structured on impersonal forces (such as material force (qi) and principle (li) rather than on god-like entities.

Daoism

The Dao, literally translated as "way," represents for Daoists the normative ontological and ethical standard by which the entire universe is constructed. According to Laozi, author of the Dao De Jing, all things are emanations of the Dao, from which they originate and eventually return. The Dao, however, cannot be described in words and can never be fully comprehended, though it can be perceived ever so vaguely in the processes of nature. The atheistic bent of Daoism is even more pronounced in the writings of Zhuangzi, who stresses both the futility of metaphysical speculation and the (likely) finality of death.

Since the Dao is so impersonal and incomprehensible, and is therefore in marked contrast to theistic belief systems, Daoists could be considered atheistic. Some scholars have claimed otherwise, accepting the concept of the Dao as sufficiently parallel with “god” in the Western understanding. Although the Western translation of the Dao as “god” in some editions of the Dao De Jing has been described as highly misleading, it is still a matter of debate whether the actual descriptions of the Dao have theistic or atheistic undertones.

Other Forms

Although atheistic beliefs are often accompanied by a total lack of spiritual beliefs, this is not an essential aspect, or even a necessary consequence, of atheism, as is evident in the aforementioned religious traditions. In addition, there are many modern movements which do not believe in God, yet cannot be classified as irreligious or secular. The Thomasine Church, for example, teaches that rational illumination (or gnosis) is the ultimate goal of their sacraments and meditations, as opposed to relating to a conception of God. Hence, the church does not require belief in theism. The Fellowship of Reason is an organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, which does not believe in God or other supernatural entities, but nonetheless affirms that churches and other religious organizations function to provide a moral community for their followers. There is also an atheist presence in Unitarian Universalism, an extremely liberal and inclusivist religion which accepts Buddhist, Christian, pantheist and even atheist creeds into its fold, among others.

Criticisms of atheism

Throughout human history, atheists and atheism have received much criticism, opposition, and persecution, chiefly from theistic sources. These have ranged from mere philosophical contempt to full-fledged persecution, as seen in medieval polemical literature and in Hitler's murderous vendetta against them. The most direct arguments against atheism are those in favor of the existence of deities, which would imply that atheism is simply untrue (for examples of these types of argument, see ontological argument, teleological argument and cosmological argument). However, more pointed criticisms exist. Both theists and weak atheists alike criticize the assertiveness of strong atheism, questioning whether or not one can assert the positive knowledge that something does not exist. While the strong atheist can make the claim that no evidence has been found for the existence of God, they cannot prove God does not exist. Atheists who make such statements have often been accused of dogmatism. Ultimately, these critics believe that atheism, if it is to remain philosophically coherent, should keep an open mind that evidence confirming a transcendent deity could appear in the future, rather than writing off the possibility entirely.

Another line of criticism has frequently associated atheism with immorality and evil, often characterizing it as a willful and malicious repudiation of divinity. This trend, as discussed above, has a long history and is likely tied to the once-undeniable role of religion as sole source of moral instruction. The modern secularization of the world and the growing acceptance of the sciences are currently diminishing the validity of this particular critique.

Regardless of the attempts made by atheists to defend their philosophical stance and alleviate negative misunderstandings of their beliefs, atheism is still viewed rather negatively by the general public. A 2006 study by researchers at the University of Minnesota involving a poll of two thousand households in the United States found atheists to be the most distrusted of minorities. Many of these respondents associated atheism with immorality, including criminal behavior, extreme materialism, and elitism.

"Euphemisms, eh? Because "atheism" is considered by atheists to be an "undesirable label," atheists "abandoned the term atheism in favor of unbelief." Understandable, of course. I always abandon women when they become undesirable (broke, that is). The hell of it is, even if when start out as millionaires, they're always broke after I've known them for a couple of months, ya know?

There are other instances of groups denying what they are, because what they are is unpopular. For example:


http://www.glaad.org/reference/offensive

Whatever happened to Popeye, I wonder?: "I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam....."

Materialism, as a metaphysical doctrine that most atheists adopt, has some great advantages:



What could be more alluring than a minority having the power to attack a majority "by every means imaginable with impunity?" Where do I join!?

Just get in line behind all the other straw men . . . oh man . . . ah-hahahahahahahahahahahahaha . . . **** like this cracks me up . . .

Dialectical Materialism, Baby! Or is that Diabolical Materialism, I forget? Whatever, eh, it ROCKS!

Like good old Karl Marx, I too want a classless society.

The less class, the more better, I always say!

I see fields of strawmen---

Personally I've always felt that the strongest strawman is Pascal's Wager. And Pascal's Wager, when you consider its casual use of materialism, is effectively materialistic.

But then when I hear Pascal, I think of his footprints in reason, logic and mathematics. That is why I feel his strawman is so strong.

Rap

I agree with you. As is the case with gods and kings, authority clings to the "sage" like a badly made garment worn in a room full of tribesmen in skins. History affords us very few well-tailored minds.

I have no idea what the relevance any kind of "straw man" argument has to do with any of this, but I will note that it all started when hingehead tried to suggest that religious "extremists" were cold-blooded killers while atheist "extremists" were just fun-lovin good old boys.

Yeah, right, eh?

That's complete bullshit. You're a legend in your own mind. EB began posting long texts from an atheist web site, and everyone had long ago ignored your attempt to make that the topic of discussion.

So...you want to think I am playing games with words.

I want to call my guesses...guesses. And you want me to call them "beliefs."

And you want to think I am the one playing games with words!!!

Every time somebody mentions Pascal's Wager, I think of this: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html



Not a perfect match, but comparable, I think.

Littlek's opening statement is:




It seems to me that her statement can be open to an infinite amount of interpretations and subjects concerning atheism.

Second it is posted on a public forum, making it open to anyone.

Surely the mention of who are and who aren't being persecuted, Atheist or Theist, would invite counter arguments.

How could you fail to see that coming, especially where people of strong and varied opinions come to expressed themselves.?

And if Atheism is what we Atheist claim it to be it is a very limited subject. It is a subject concerning one thing and one thing only, a non-belief in god(s) void of tenets and dogmas.

So for better or worse I think this thread has followed its' inevitable course.

You are absolutely correct, Argome. Kris' opening statement left plenty of room for all kinds of conversations and diversions within the area of atheism/theism/agnosticism/andanyotherkindofism.

As you mentioned, anyone who didn't see all this coming...is naive beyond comprehension. Strong feelings were going to be generated in may directions...and people who had something to say were going to get their say.

The people who think non-atheist participation is invasion...or a disruption...simply do not understand how an Internet forum works.

Atheism








atheism


Portrait of Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723 - 1789) was an early advocate of atheism in Europe.
Atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and other philosophy reference works, is the denial of the existence of God.[1]

As far as individuals adopting an atheistic worldview, atheism has a number of causal factors which will be addressed shortly.

In addition, an examination of atheism will be offered and some of the historical events relating to atheism will also be covered. For example, since World War II a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the theory of evolution which employs methodological naturalism have been atheists or agnostics.[2] Furthermore, some of the effects of atheism on individuals and society will be addressed.


Contents [hide]
1 Types of atheism 1.1 Atheism and why do atheists state they disbelieve?
1.2 Some common manifestations of atheism
1.3 Atheist factions 1.3.1 Atheist infighting: Testimony of Blair Scott, former board of director of American Atheists

1.4 Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism

2 Biblical statements concerning atheism
3 Atheists have a low retention rate compared to other worldviews 3.1 Participation in the atheist community more difficult than in many communities

4 Atheism and education 4.1 Atheism in academia

5 Atheism and intelligence 5.1 Flynn effect on intelligence: Secular/religious countries
5.2 Intelligence trends: Secular countries and religious countries
5.3 Atheism and the theory of multiple intelligences

6 Claims about the conditionality of atheism and atheists' attitudes towards death 6.1 Atheism and death anxiety 6.1.1 Atheism and hell
6.1.2 Atheism and cryonics

6.2 Atheism and transhumanism
6.3 There are no atheists in foxholes

7 Denials that atheists exist 7.1 Atheists/agnostics and belief in fate/design

8 Atheism and communism 8.1 Atheists Karl Marx and Vladmir Lenin
8.2 The Russian revolution caused the most notable spread of atheism
8.3 Communism, militant atheism, repression, mass murder and Christian persecution 8.3.1 Atheistic communism and mass murder

8.4 Atheistic communist regimes and forced labor
8.5 Atheism, politics and related matters

9 Criticism of atheism and the atheist community 9.1 Commonly Cited Arguments Against Atheism and For Theism
9.2 Atheism and mass murder 9.2.1 Academic studies consistently challenge the link between religion and war
9.2.2 Darwinism and war

9.3 Atheism and uncharitableness 9.3.1 American atheist organizations focus on church/state issues and creationism - poor largely ignored

9.4 Irreligion and domestic violence 9.4.1 Secular Europe and domestic violence

9.5 Atheism and immoral views 9.5.1 Barna Group study on atheism and morality
9.5.2 University of Kentucky study by Will M. Gervais

9.6 Atheism and pornography
9.7 Atheism and child pornography 9.7.1 Atheistic Denmark and child pornography
9.7.2 Atheistic Japan and child pornography

9.8 Nontheistic Thailand and child prostitution
9.9 Atheism, pedophilia/pederasty and NAMBLA
9.10 Immorality of prominent atheists
9.11 Atheism and abortion
9.12 Atheism and lower empathy for others
9.13 Atheism and moral relativism
9.14 Atheism and profanity
9.15 Atheism and bestiality 9.15.1 Other issues relating to atheism and immorality

9.16 Atheism and hypocrisy
9.17 Why atheism is irrational
9.18 Atheism and meaninglessness
9.19 Arrogance of atheism/atheists 9.19.1 Why atheism is an arrogant ideology
9.19.2 Study relating the arrogance of New Atheists and discovery of errors by New Atheists
9.19.3 Militant atheism, arrogance and religious freedom
9.19.4 Pretentious monikers
9.19.5 Other instances of the arrogance of atheists

9.20 Angry and bitter demeanor of militant atheists and anti-theists
9.21 Atheism and miracles
9.22 Atheism and questions of origins
9.23 Atheists and the history of Christianity/atheism

10 Atheism and mental and physical health 10.1 Mayo Clinic, university studies, and other research
10.2 Religious belief and self-control
10.3 Atheism and suicide
10.4 Atheism and obesity 10.4.1 Atheistic areas of the world and obesity
10.4.2 Various generations and rates of irreligion/obesity

10.5 Atheism and alcoholism 10.5.1 Secular countries/regions and alcoholism
10.5.2 Militant atheism, alcoholism and anger
10.5.3 Irreligion, alcoholism and various generations in the United States
10.5.4 American Atheism, gender, race and alcoholism

10.6 Atheism and illegal drug use and drug addition
10.7 Atheism and loneliness
10.8 Sports performance: Religious faith vs. atheism

11 Atheism is a religion 11.1 Atheism is a religion and its legal implications relative to the teaching of evolution
11.2 Atheist cults

12 Atheism and women 12.1 Recent studies 12.1.1 Surveys by country
12.1.2 United States surveys
12.1.3 Large atheist group survey and atheist meetings

12.2 Sam Harris on atheism/women
12.3 Atheism and sexism

13 Atheism and marriageability 13.1 Atheism and rates of marriage in the United States
13.2 Atheist marriages
13.3 Atheism and interfaith marriages

14 Atheism and its inability to explain love
15 Atheist PZ Myers says atheists are largely a population of internet nerds and geeks
16 Western atheism and race 16.1 Atheism and race in the United States and Eurocentric naturalism
16.2 NY Times report about atheism and race in the United States
16.3 Atheism and evolutionary racism
16.4 Creativity Movement

17 Decline of atheism in terms of the global population 17.1 Sub-replacement levels of fertility of atheistic populations. High fertility of religious conservatives
17.2 Desecularization: An established global trend which will effect the Western World
17.3 Lack of significant global outreach by Western World atheists
17.4 Lack of significant outreach to racial minorities in the Western World
17.5 Expected religious and racial demographic changes in the Western World
17.6 Secular European drop in world's population percentage and rise of religious African population
17.7 Atheist movement's 20th century past and its present day lack of confidence
17.8 Growth of evangelical Christianity in secular geographic regions

18 Atheism and deception
19 Irreligion and superstition
20 Intellectuals increasingly rejecting atheistic ideology
21 Christian websites with a large focus on the topic of atheism
22 Liberal media - apostles of atheism and public relations efforts of atheists 22.1 Atheism and public relations

23 Causes of atheism
24 Atheism and the foundation of modern science
25 Atheism and debate 25.1 Creation vs. evolution debates

26 Atheist philosopher Michael Martin and the state of atheist apologetics
27 Notable atheists who became ex-atheists
28 Views on atheists 28.1 Americans and Canadians distrust atheists as much as rapists
28.2 Christian patience, forgiveness and long-suffering towards atheists
28.3 Hate crimes in the United States against atheists/agnostics are very low in number
28.4 Persecution of atheists
28.5 Atheophobia

29 New Atheism 29.1 Impact of the New Atheism

30 American Atheists
31 French Revolution and atheism
32 Atheism and homosexuality
33 Atheist population as a percentage of various countries' populations
34 Other well known proponents of atheism
35 Atheism quotes
36 Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian
37 See also
38 Online videos concerning atheism and related topics
39 External links
40 Recommended reading
41 Notes


Types of atheism

See also: Schools of atheist thought and Atheist factions





Diagoras of Melos was a 5th century BC. Greek atheist, poet and sophist.
Atheism and why do atheists state they disbelieve?

Atheists claim there are two main reasons for their denial of the existence of God and/or disbelief in God: the conviction that there is positive evidence or argument that God does not exist (Strong atheism which is also sometimes called positive atheism), and their claim that theists bear the burden of proof to show that God exists, that they have failed to do so, and that belief is therefore unwarranted (Weak atheism).

Some common manifestations of atheism

Below are three common ways that atheism manifests itself:
## Militant atheism which continues to suppress and oppress religious believers today (see also: Atheism and communism).
## Philosophical atheism - Atheist philosophers assert that God does not exist. (See also: Naturalism)
## Practical atheism: atheism of the life - that is, living as though God does not exist.[3]

Atheist factions

See also: Atheist factions and Schools of atheist thought and Atheist cults

Jacques Rousseau wrote in the Daily Maverick: "Elevatorgate..has resulted in three weeks of infighting in the secular community. Some might observe that we indulge in these squabbles fairly frequently."[4] An ex-atheist wrote: "As an Atheist for 40 years, I noticed that there is not just a wide variety of Atheist positions, but there exists an actual battle between certain Atheist factions."[5]

Atheist infighting: Testimony of Blair Scott, former board of director of American Atheists

See also: Atheist movement and Atheism and anger and Atheism and bitterness

Blair Scott served on the American Atheists board of directors.[6] Mr. Scott formerly served as a State Director for the American Atheists organization in the state of Alabama. On December 1, 2012 he quit his post as a director of outreach for the American Atheists due to infighting within the American atheist movement.[7]

Mr. Blair wrote:

“ I have spent the last week mulling over what I want to do at this point in the movement. I’m tired of the in-fighting: at every level. I am especially tired of allowing myself to get sucked into it and engaging in the very behavior that is irritating...me.[7] ”

Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism

See: Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism

Biblical statements concerning atheism

see also: Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian





The psalmist David wrote: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
The writers of the Bible considered the existence of God to be self-evident and Moses simply wrote: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).[8]

Accordingly, the psalmist David declared:

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." — Psalms 14:1 (KJV)

The psalmist David also wrote "The heavens declare the glory of God..." — Psalms 19:1

In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul declared:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. 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 1:19-20 (NKJV)

Atheists have a low retention rate compared to other worldviews





In 2012, a Georgetown University study was published indicating that only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.[9]
See also: Atheism has a lower retention rate compared to other worldviews and Desecularization

In 2012, a Georgetown University study was published indicating that only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.[9] Similarly, according to recent research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in the United States, a majority of those surveyed who were raised in atheist or agnostic households, or where there was no specific religious attachment, later chose to join a religious faith.[10] See also: Atheism and poor relationships with parents

A 2012 study by the General Social Survey of the social science research organization NORC at the University of Chicago found that belief in God rises with age, even in atheistic nations[11] See also: Atheism and immaturity.

In addition, in atheistic Communist China, Christianity is experiencing rapid growth.[12] On July 3, 2005, the New York Times reported concerning many countries in the former Soviet Union: "A return to religion in Romania and the region's other formerly Communist countries has in many places outrun the speed at which the church can screen and train clergy..."[13] See also: Desecularization

Participation in the atheist community more difficult than in many communities

See also: Atheism and loneliness and Internet atheism

In an essay entitled How the Atheist Movement Failed Me, an atheist woman noted that participation in the atheist community is often expensive due to the cost of attending atheist conferences and even local atheist meetings in restaurants and bars challenged her modest budget.[14] As a result of the challenges that atheists commonly have in terms of socializing in person, many atheists turn to the internet in terms of communicating with other atheists.[15] Often internet communication between atheists turns acrimonious and contentious (see: Atheist factions).

For more information, please see: Atheism and loneliness

Atheism and education

See also: Religion and education and Atheistic indoctrination and education and Atheism and intelligence and Atheism and academia and Atheism and academic performance

In the United States, religious belief is positively correlated to education; a scholarly study published in an academic journal titled the Review of Religious Research demonstrated that increased education is correlated with belief in God and that "education positively affects religious participation, devotional activities, and emphasizing the importance of religion in daily life."[16]

One of the reasons education is positively correlated with belief in God in the United States is that the demographics of people attending higher education has shifted due to more women and southerners attending higher education (these two groups are more likely to be theists. See: Atheism and women).[17]

Stijn Ruiter, senior researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, and Frank van Tubergen, a professor of sociology in Utrecht, analyzed 'religious participation' in 60 countries. Their research found no effect of education, but instead indicated that social/economic insecurity and the environment people grow up in have a significant impact.[18]

For more information, please see:
##Atheist indoctrination
##Religiosity and the growing use of vouchers and homeschooling

Atheism in academia





Alister McGrath
See also: Atheism and academia

In 2001, the atheist and philosopher Quentin Smith declared:

“ Naturalists [atheists] passively watched as realist versions of theism … began to sweep through the philosophical community, until today perhaps one-quarter or one-third of philosophy professors are theists, with most being orthodox Christians…. God is not 'dead' in academia; he returned to life in the 1960's and is now alive and well in his last academic stronghold, philosophy departments."[19] ”

In 2004, Professor Alister McGrath, professor of historical theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University declared, "The golden age of atheism is over."[20]

For more information please see:
##Atheistic indoctrination and education
##Religion and education

Atheism and intelligence





Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences.
See also: Atheism and intelligence and Atheism and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and Causes of atheism

Within various countries, standardized intelligence test (IQ) scores related to the issue of atheists/agnostics vs. theists intelligence scores yield conflicting results.[21][22] Part of the problem is that social scientists use variant definitions of atheism.[23] See also: Atheism, intelligence and the General Social Survey

However, within individuals, families and societies irreligion/religion can have an effect on intelligence - especially over time (See: Atheism and intelligence).

Flynn effect on intelligence: Secular/religious countries

The Flynn effect is the significant and long-sustained increase intelligence test scores measured in many parts of the world from roughly 1930 to the present.[24] In some secular, economically developed countries, the Flynn effect has ceased and their scores on standardized intelligence tests are falling.[25] However, the Flynn effect is continuing in developing countries which tend to be more religious (see: Intelligence trends in religious countries and secular countries).

Intelligence trends: Secular countries and religious countries

See: Intelligence trends in religious countries and secular countries

Atheism and the theory of multiple intelligences

See: Atheism and the theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner at Harvard University developed the theory of multiple intelligences which has identified various distinct intelligences: interpersonal, intrapersonal, visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, musical–rhythmic, bodily–kinesthetic, and naturalistic.[26] Gardner later suggested that moral intelligence may merit being included in his multiple intelligence model.[27]

For information related to atheism and various forms of intelligence, please see:
## Atheism and the theory of multiple intelligences
##Atheism and intelligence

Claims about the conditionality of atheism and atheists' attitudes towards death

See also: Atheists doubting the validity of atheism

Hannah More wrote: "[T]he mind, which knows not where to fly, flies to God. In agony, nature is no Atheist. The soul is drawn to God by a sort of natural impulse; not always, perhaps by an emotion of piety; but from a feeling conviction, that every other refuge is 'a refuge of lies'."[28]

Atheism and death anxiety





According to a study performed in the United States by researchers Wink and Scott, very religious people fear death the least.[29] See: Atheism and death
See also: Atheism and death and Atheism and cryonics and Atheism and Hell

On April 2, 2012, Science Daily reported that Death anxiety increases atheists' unconscious belief in God.[30] In a 2012 Psychology Today article, Dr. Nathan A. Heflick reported similar results in other studies.[31] Under stress, the brain's processing works in a way that prefers unconscious thinking.[32]

A United States study and a Taiwanese study indicated that the irreligious fear death more than the very religious.[33][34][35]

For additional information, please see the article: Atheism and death


Atheism and hell

See also: Atheism and Hell

The journalist and ex-atheist Peter Hitchens, who is the brother of the late atheist Christopher Hitchens, said upon seeing an art exhibit of Michelangelo's painting The Last Judgment he came to the realization that he might be judged which startled him.[36] This started a train of thought within Peter Hitchens that eventually led him to become a Christian.[36]

For more information, please see: Atheism and Hell

Atheism and cryonics

See: Atheism and cryonics and Atheist cults

Cryonics is a pseudoscience that tries to extend life or achieve immortality in a non-theistic way after a person is legally dead (Cryonic procedures are performed shortly after a person's death).[37] Atheists Robert Ettinger and Isaac Asimov played a notable role in the founding of the cryonics movement.[38] According to The Cryonics Society, Asimov said of cryonics, "Though no one can quantify the probability of cryonics working, I estimate it is at least 90%..."[39] For more information, please see: Atheism and cryonics

Atheism and transhumanism

See: Atheism and transhumanism

There are no atheists in foxholes





Reverend William T. Cummings is famous for declaring There are no atheists in foxholes.[40]
See also: There are no atheists in foxholes and Atheists doubting the validity of atheism

Reverend William T. Cummings is famous for declaring "There are no atheists in foxholes."[41] Chaplain F. W. Lawson of the 302d Machine Gun Battalion, who was wounded twice in wartime, stated "I doubt if there is such a thing as an atheist. At least there isn't in a front line trench."[42]On the other hand, the news organization NBC featured a story in which atheist veterans claimed that there are atheists in foxholes.[43]

Research indicates that heavy combat has a positive correlation to the strength of the religious faith in soldiers during the battles and subsequent to the war if they indicated their experience was a negative experience (for more information please see: There are no atheists in foxholes).

Also, due to research showing that death anxiety increases atheists' unconscious belief in God, Dr. Nathan Heflick declared in a Psychology Today article, "But, at a less conscious (or pre-conscious) level, this research suggests that there might be less atheism in foxholes than atheists in foxholes report."[31] Please see: Atheism and death

Denials that atheists exist

See also: Denials that atheists exist and Atheists doubting the validity of atheism

It has been asserted by various theists that atheists do not exist and that atheists are actively suppressing their belief and knowledge of God and enigmatically engage in self-deception and in the deception of others (see: Denials that atheists exist and Atheism and deception). In atheistic Japan, researchers found that Japanese children see the world as designed.[44]

Atheists/agnostics and belief in fate/design

See also: Atheists and belief in fate and in intelligent design and Atheism and beliefs

One of the most popular arguments for God's existence is the teleological argument. Derived from the Greek word telos, which refers to purpose or end, this argument hinges on the idea that the world gives evidence of being designed, and concludes that a divine designer must be posited to account for the orderly world we encounter.

Academic research and historical data indicate that a significant portion of atheists/agnostics often see their lives and the world as being the product of purposeful design (see: Atheists and belief in fate and in intelligent design).[45]





Jean Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the leading proponents of atheism of the 20th Century.

Yet Jean-Paul Sartre made this candid confession:

“ As for me, I don’t see myself as so much dust that has appeared in the world but as a being that was expected, prefigured, called forth. In short, as a being that could, it seems, come only from a creator; and this idea of a creating hand that created me refers me back to God. Naturally this is not a clear, exact idea that I set in motion every time I think of myself. It contradicts many of my other ideas; but it is there, floating vaguely. And when I think of myself I often think rather in this way, for want of being able to think otherwise [emphasis added].[46] ”

Furthermore, late in his life, the agnostic/weak atheist and evolutionist Charles Darwin often had overwhelming thoughts that the world was designed.[47]

See also:
##Atheists doubting the validity of atheism

Atheism and communism

see also: Atheism and communism and Militant atheism and Atheism and economics and Atheism and mass murder and Atheist cults and Atheism and Karl Marx





Vladimir Lenin
Atheists Karl Marx and Vladmir Lenin

Karl Marx said "[Religion] is the opium of the people". Marx also stated: "Communism begins from the outset (Owen) with atheism; but atheism is at first far from being communism; indeed, that atheism is still mostly an abstraction.[48]

Vladimir Lenin similarly wrote regarding atheism and communism: "A Marxist must be a materialist, i.e., an enemy of religion, but a dialectical materialist, i.e., one who treats the struggle against religion not in an abstract way, not on the basis of remote, purely theoretical, never varying preaching, but in a concrete way, on the basis of the class struggle which is going on in practice and is educating the masses more and better than anything else could."[49]

The Russian revolution caused the most notable spread of atheism

According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[50] Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists."[51] However, prior to this, the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution established an atheist state, with the official ideology being the Cult of Reason; during this time thousands of believers were suppressed and executed by the guillotine.[52]

Communism, militant atheism, repression, mass murder and Christian persecution

See also: Atheism vs. Christianity

The atheism in communist regimes has been and continues to be militant atheism and various acts of repression including the razing of thousands of religious buildings and the killing, imprisoning, and oppression of religious leaders and believers.[53]

The persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union was the result of the violently atheist Soviet government. In the first five years after the October Revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were murdered, many on the orders of Leon Trotsky. When Joseph Stalin came to power in 1927, he ordered his secret police, under Genrikh Yagoda to intensify persecution of Christians. In the next few years, 50,000 clergy were murdered, many were tortured, including crucifixion. "Russia turned red with the blood of martyrs", said Father Gleb Yakunin of the Russian Orthodox Church.[54] According to Orthodox Church sources, as many as fifty million Orthodox believers may have died in the twentieth century, mainly from persecution by Communists.[55]

In addition, in the atheistic and communist Soviet Union, 44 anti-religious museums were opened and the largest was the 'The Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism' in Leningrad’s Kazan cathedral.[56] Despite intense effort by the atheistic leaders of the Soviet Union, their efforts were not effective in converting the masses to atheism.[57]





With its large population, China has the largest population of atheists with 8 - 14% of Chinese being atheists.[58] The religious landscape of China is quickly changing, however, due to the rapid growth of Christianity. [12] See also: Global atheism
China is a communist country. In 1999, the publication Christian Century reported that "China has persecuted religious believers by means of harassment, prolonged detention, and incarceration in prison or 'reform-through-labor' camps and police closure of places of worship." In 2003, owners of Bibles in China were sent to prison camps and 125 Chinese churches were closed.[59] China continues to practice religious oppression today.[60]

The efforts of China's atheist leaders in promoting atheism, however, is increasingly losing its effectiveness and the number of Christians in China is rapidly growing.[12] China's state sponsored atheism and atheistic indoctrination has been a failure and a 2007 religious survey in China indicated that only 15% of Chinese identified themselves as atheists.[61]

North Korea is a repressive communist state and is officially atheistic.[62] The North Korean government practices brutal repression and atrocities against North Korean Christians.[63]

Atheistic communism and mass murder

It has been estimated that in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 to 259,432,000 human lives.[64] Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.[65] Richard Dawkins has attempted to engage in historical revisionism concerning atheist atrocities and Dawkins was shown to be in gross error.

Atheistic communist regimes and forced labor

In atheistic communist regimes forced labor has often played a significant role in their economies and this practice continues to this day (see: Atheism and forced labor).[66] [67][68][69]

Atheism, politics and related matters
##Militant atheism
##Atheism and mass murder
##Atheism and communism
##History of atheism
##Atheism and politics
##Decline of the secular left
##Atheism and economics

Criticism of atheism and the atheist community

See also: Resources for leaving atheism and Christian apologetics and Rebuttals to atheist arguments

The word apologetics comes directly from the ancient Greek word apologia which is a derivative of a word meaning to speak in one's defence.[70] Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology which focuses on the evidence and arguments for Christianity and the evidence and arguments opposing other worldviews.

Commonly Cited Arguments Against Atheism and For Theism





Anselm of Canterbury's version of the ontological argument appeared in his work Proslogium.
See also: Christian apologetics and Rebuttals to atheist arguments

In relation to the debate between theism and atheism, theists often criticize atheism as being contrary to persuasive argument and have a number of arguments against atheism. Arguments for the existence of God include:

## Teleological argument: The universe exhibits overwhelming evidence of deliberate, intelligent, purposeful design, which implies an intelligent designer. See also: Arguments against evolution and Origin of life
##Lack of objective moral standards. Not possessing a coherent basis for morality, atheists are fundamentally incapable of having a coherent system of morality.[71] See also: Atheism and morality and List of the moral failures of the atheist population and Atheism and hedonism and Atheist hypocrisy
## Cosmological argument: Every event in our universe necessarily has a cause. However, it is impossible that there should be an unending chain of causes going back. Therefore, there necessarily must be a cause distinct from the universe as we know it which is capable of causing all things and is itself uncaused. Atheism denies that that first cause is God. The scientific evidence demonstrates that the universe is not eternal and Christians point out that the question "Who created God" is an illogical question.
##Atheism and irrationality - Atheism cannot account for the laws of logic, consciousness or human reason.
## Bible prophecy
##Atheism and the Problem of Evil (see also: Atheism and hell and Pascal's wager)
## Historical arguments for the existence of God. For example, arguments stemming from historical accounts such as Christian historical apologetics, Christian legal apologetics and archaeological evidence such as Bible archaeology
## Atheists lack a coherent and compelling ultimate basis for knowledge. See: Atheism and epistemology
##Common arguments against atheism
## Ontological argument: According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that God exists, from premises which are supposed to derive from some source other than observation of the world — e.g., from reason alone."[72]





Dr. Greg Bahnsen became known as "the man atheists fear most" due to Michael Martin's cancellation of their scheduled debate.[73]## Experiential arguments for the existence of God: Arguments based on personal experience and human intuition. According to philosopher Alvin Plantinga belief in the existence of God exists is a "properly basic" belief and not based on inference from other beliefs but is rationally justified due to one's circumstances of immediate experience of God.[74]
## Various social science studies, historical data and other data, demonstrate that atheism often has a harmful effect on individuals and societies. See: Atheism statistics
##Presuppositional Apologetics
##Atheism and love. Atheists cannot give a satisfactory/robust explanation for the existence of love.[75]
##Argument from beauty[76] See also: Atheism and art/music and Atheism and wonder
##Atheism and Miracles
##Atheists doubting the validity of atheism
##Bible scientific foreknowledge
## Lack of proof and evidence that atheism is true contrasted with the strong evidence supporting Christianity. A popular YouTube Christian channel has flustered the internet atheist community by asking atheists what proof and evidence they have that atheism is true.[77] Atheism requires blind faith. Atheism is a faith based religion and it is a worldview which has no evidential support.[78]
##Atheism and the Bible
##Various Christian apologetic resources focusing on atheism
##Atheism and the suppression of science
##Argument from desire
##Atheism vs. Christianity
##Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian


For more information, please see: Refutations of atheism

Atheism and mass murder





The militant atheistic regime of Joseph Stalin killed tens of millions of people.See articles: Atheism and Mass Murder and Atheism and communism and Atheism and sadism and Atheism and forced labor
Christian apologist Gregory Koukl wrote relative to atheism and mass murder that "the assertion is that religion has caused most of the killing and bloodshed in the world. There are people who make accusations and assertions that are empirically false. This is one of them."[79] Koukl details the number of people killed in various events involving theism and compares them to the much higher tens of millions of people killed under regimes which advocated atheism.[79] As noted earlier, Richard Dawkins has attempted to engage in historical revisionism concerning atheist atrocities and Dawkins was shown to be in gross error.

Koukl summarized by stating:

“ It is true that it's possible that religion can produce evil, and generally when we look closer at the detail it produces evil because the individual people are actually living in a rejection of the tenets of Christianity and a rejection of the God that they are supposed to be following. So it can produce it, but the historical fact is that outright rejection of God and institutionalizing of atheism actually does produce evil on incredible levels. We're talking about tens of millions of people as a result of the rejection of God.[79] ”





Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was asked to account for the great tragedies that occurred under the brutal communist regime he and fellow citizens suffered under.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote:

“ Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
Since then I have spend well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."[80]
”





Vox Day
In 2008, Vox Day notes concerning atheism and mass murder:

“ Apparently it was just an amazing coincidence that every Communist of historical note publicly declared his atheism … .there have been twenty-eight countries in world history that can be confirmed to have been ruled by regimes with avowed atheists at the helm … These twenty-eight historical regimes have been ruled by eighty-nine atheists, of whom more than half have engaged in democidal acts of the sort committed by Stalin and Mao …
The total body count for the ninety years between 1917 and 2007 is approximately 148 million dead at the bloody hands of fifty-two atheists, three times more than all the human beings killed by war, civil war, and individual crime in the entire twentieth century combined.

The historical record of collective atheism is thus 182,716 times worse on an annual basis than Christianity’s worst and most infamous misdeed, the Spanish Inquisition. It is not only Stalin and Mao who were so murderously inclined, they were merely the worst of the whole Hell-bound lot. For every Pol Pot whose infamous name is still spoken with horror today, there was a Mengistu, a Bierut, and a Choibalsan, godless men whose names are now forgotten everywhere but in the lands they once ruled with a red hand.

Is a 58 percent chance that an atheist leader will murder a noticeable percentage of the population over which he rules sufficient evidence that atheism does, in fact, provide a systematic influence to do bad things? If that is not deemed to be conclusive, how about the fact that the average atheist crime against humanity is 18.3 million percent worse than the very worst depredation committed by Christians, even though atheists have had less than one-twentieth the number of opportunities with which to commit them. If one considers the statistically significant size of the historical atheist set and contrasts it with the fact that not one in a thousand religious leaders have committed similarly large-scale atrocities, it is impossible to conclude otherwise, even if we do not yet understand exactly why this should be the case. Once might be an accident, even twice could be coincidence, but fifty-two incidents in ninety years reeks of causation![81]
”

See also:
##Militant atheism
##Atheism and communism
##Atheism and forced labor
##Soviet Union and morality
##Secular left
##Atheism and politics





A comprehensive study by Harvard University professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are more charitable than their irreligious counterparts.[82]
Academic studies consistently challenge the link between religion and war

See also: Irreligion/religion and war/peace

Louise Ridley (assistant news editor at the Huffington Post UK), Vox Day and others point out that academic studies and other research consistently challenge the link between religion and war.[83]

Darwinism and war

There is historical evidence indicating that Darwinism was a causal factor for WWI and WWII (see: Irreligion/religion and war/peace and World War I and Darwinism).