Atheism and Secularism

This page:

1. Atheism
   1. Implicit and Explicit
   2. Is Atheism a Religion to Some People?
   3. Atheist Religions
   4. Intellectualism
2. Secularism
3. The History of Atheism
4. Links

1. Atheism

1.1. Implicit and Explicit

Atheism is not a religion or a philosophy. Atheism simply means "without belief in god(s)". There are two types of atheist:

1. Implicit atheist (lower case atheism) is a person who has not yet learned about god(s), theism or religion. All people are born implicit atheists.

2. Explicit Atheist (upper case Atheism) is an atheist who understands what a god is and who has concluded that no such beings exist.

Atheism is not a moral stance or a moral choice, and individuals (including theists and atheists) adopt morals from their surrounding culture according to their own conscience.

1.2. Is Atheism a Religion to Some People?

Some people argue that non-religious atheists are actually religious. Some say that in order to be an atheist you have to "deny God" and by doing so, you admit that God exists. This is obviously daft - most people also deny that unicorns and tooth fairies exist. Likewise, some say that "not believing in god" is automatically a "religious" belief, and that all atheists are therefore religious. This is not demographically correct, as there are many millions of non-religious atheists. Also, people who don't believe in other things (such as unicorns and tooth fairies) can hardly be said to be religious because of a lack of belief. Nonetheless the argument that atheists are religious in nature is best articulated by William James:

“[The more fervent atheists] have often enough shown a temper which, psychologically considered, is indistinguishable from religious zeal.”

"The Varieties of Religious Experience"
William James (1902)₁ [Book info / quotes]

But however fervent someone is about things that don't exist, it doesn't make it religious. Take football. The psychology and emotionality of followers can be very intense, and we can easily imagine William James say the same thing about football fans as he does about some atheists. The truth is that 'zeal' is a trait that can be applied to any human activity where there is enough enthusiasm. You might as well say that 'religious people, psychologically speaking, have often shown a temper which is indistinguishable from football fanaticism'. In other words, just because there is a strong drive, it doesn't make it a religious drive. This is the case with the most 'fervent' atheists: their zeal does not make them religious.

There are exceptions, of course, because there are some religions that are non-theist.

1.3. Atheist Religions

There are some religions that are atheist. This means, there are some religions that specifically hold that there are no gods. Most other atheists are not members of any religions.

Atheist religions include:

• Buddhism
• Confucianism
• Taoism

See "Buddhism is atheistic" by Vexen Crabtree (2003).

There have also been many sects, cults, and schools of thought, religious or not, that have been atheist. For example many UFO cults are atheistic. The Raelians were founded by Mr Vorilhon when fluent French-speaking aliens told him that we had mistranslated the Bible, and in fact everything on Earth was built by the aliens.

Atheist and poly-theist religions have the kinder record as far as wars and atrocities are concerned. The mono-theistic beliefs are particularly prone to bouts of genocide and war in their endless attempts to wipe out competing deities. Polytheism is better off as it naturally assumes a less violent attitude towards other Gods, and atheism because there is no 'god' to use to justify wars against other religions on religious grounds.

1.4. Intellectualism

Atheist religions and philosophies are normally more intense intellectually - philosophy and wisdom are core elements. This was still the case with Greek and classical anti-religious writers before popular monotheism arose. It is probably true that without a belief in god, the mind is freer to pursue philosophical and scientific enquiries as there is no "god" to simply attribute cause to, when a phenomenon is not understood.

2. Secularism

"Secular" is "not of religion". A secular government is one that caters for the needs of all religious people without assuming to know if any particular religion is correct, and a secular education is one that is uncorrupted by religious agendas. "The secular West" refers to the phenomenon that religion as a whole has become largely irrelevant to most Westerners (although the USA is an exception).

“Secularisation theory states that as modern society advances it will become increasingly secular, and religion will become increasingly hollow. Since the rise of science in the 17th Century, sociological commentators have realised that religion may be in a permanent decline, and some have proposed the science and intelligence, both rooted in the Enlightenment, are anathema to religious faith. Karl Marx (1818-1883), Durkheim (1857-1917), Max Weber (1864-1920), the founders of sociology, and William James (lectures from 1901-1902) are four eminent men who all noted this decline.”

"Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?" by Vexen Crabtree (2006)

“...the ongoing, growing, and powerful movement called secularism, a way of understanding and living that is indifferent to religion -- in fact, not even concerned enough to pay it any attention, much less oppose it.”

National Council of Churches (~1998)₃

3. The History of Atheism

“[Atheism:] Unlike monotheism it did not spread from a single point. In India it antedates the Buddha and the Jina and is found in the Upanishads; in China it was codified by Confucius while a different version was laid down by Lao-tze ... [continues] ... while the atheism of the Buddha and the Jina is admitted frequently Lao-tze's is usually passed over in silence, and the teachings of the Upanishads are glossed over as pantheism.”

"Critique of Religion and Philosophy" by Walter Kaufmann (1958)₄

“The presence of evil and suffering in the world has even been argued by some philosophers from Epicurus (341-270bce) to David Hume (1711-76ce) to cast doubt on the existence of God. Other more modern writers such as Freud and Marx sought to show that religion's explanations of the presence of evil and suffering were based on delusions.”

"The Phenomenon Of Religion: A Thematic Approach"
Moojan Momen (1999)₅ [Book info / quotes]

400BCE to 200BCE
Epicurus (341-270BCE), Leucippus and Democritus (4th and 5th centuries BCE), were listed by Francis Bacon as examples of atheist philosophers. Founding atomic theory, they held that the universe was formed from natural causes; atoms coming together by chance, not by the will of a creator. The Epicurean School, a secluded and austere following called The Garden, has been criticized and ridiculed by Christian authors due to their hatred of Epicurian thought:

“The school was much libelled in antiquity and later. [...] In Christian times, Epicureanism was anathema because it taught that man is mortal, that the cosmos is the result of accident, that there is no providential god.”

Who's Who in the Classical World (Oxford)

16th-17th Century
Francis Bacon (London, 1561 - 1626), a proponent of modern scientific techniques was an avowed theist who wrote ignorant rhetoric against atheists shows us that atheism was strife in this period, and bothers himself to attack it. Francis Bacon was also a devout scientist and he wrote passionately of the need to separate science from religion in order to let science flourish. He was right - but even so he didn't consciously accept the underlying fact that religion, as it stifles truth, also hindered science.

• "The Essays" by Francis Bacon (1625) includes text on the problems with schismatic churches, war in the name of religion and on atheism and morality in general.

"The Phenomenon Of Religion: A Thematic Approach" by Moojan Momen (1999) name-drops the prominent philosopher Hume who argued against the evidence for a real God.

The historian Darren Oldridge says that as some people in history were too scared to criticize the powerful church, they would raise some of their doubts while 'possessed'. One such story was compiled by Powell as part of a collection of stories in 1652. A woman called MK thusly voiced her doubts about theism by saying that Satan made her say it:

“There is no God to save thee or punish thee, all things were made by nature, and when thou dyest there is an end of all thy good and bad deeds. Thou talkest of the scripture, and of a God and of a Jesus which thou hast heard of there. See thy simplicity now. How canst thou prove the scriptures to be true? Alas, they were made by man's inventions, there is no hold for thee to take there.”

"The Devil in Early Modern England" by Darren Oldridge (2000)₆

18th Century and onwards
Since the 1700s history provides a series of atheistic books, politicians, etc, such as the group who wrote the first Encyclopedia, led by Denis Diderot (1713-1784), Jean D'Alembert (one of the founders of Positivsm), Baron d'Holbach, Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade (in 1782 wrote an atheist book), the physician Matthew Turner also wrote a book in 1782. Some of these authors and people were imprisoned for blasphemy because of their atheism, but from this time onwards largely it has been safe to call yourself an atheist, and the major sciences have since flourished.

Two Christian Bishops provide testimony to the state of Christianity in the UK in the 18th Century. Bishop Butler in 1736 wrote in his Analogy of Religion that no-one bothered with Christianity, "its fictitious nature being so obvious", and Bishop Watson wrote that "there never was an age [...] in which atheism [is] more generally confessed".

The Victorian Era (1839-1901) as noted by Steve Bruce below, was the time was atheism has been at a height of prominence. In much of Europe, atheism is more popular than theism.

"The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James (1902) is the text of lectures from 1900-1901. It clearly demonstrates that the author, 100 years ago, lived in an era where atheism and irreligiosity was strife, particularly in academic circles, and also that there are large numbers of secular-living people, not just in the UK where the lectures were delivered but also in his home country, the USA.

The sociologist of religion Steve Bruce states "it should be no surprise that, though there are more avowed atheists than there were twenty years ago, they remain rare. Self-conscious atheism and agnosticism are features of religious cultures and were at their height in the Victorian era. They are postures adopted in a world where people are keenly interested in religion"₇.

4. Links

• National Secular Society
• British Humanist Association
• The Richard Dawkins Foundation - Foundation for Reason and Science.
• Religious Tolerance.org: Essays on atheism
• The American Humanist Association website.
• Infidels.org atheism links page
• Austin Cline's Guide to Atheism and Agnosticism on the Web .
• A Guide to Agnosticism
• Council for Secular Humanism homesite
• Arguments in Favor of Atheism by Dr. Niclas Berggren.
• Mark Vuletic on infidels.org: Is atheism logical?
• The Evil Atheist Conspiracy home page
• Adrian Barnett's atheism page
• The UK's Leading Atheist Page, Steven Carr's home page.
• Atheist-Community.org
• Atheist Empire.com