6 Common Myths About Atheism
If you want to piss off an atheist, tell him or her that atheism is a religion just like any other. Michael Nugent, chairman of Atheist Ireland, attempts to clear the record on what many of those who “willfully unbelieve” really believe about faith, certainty and morality.
If you want to piss off an atheist, tell him or her that atheism is a religion just like any other. Michael Nugent, chairman of Atheist Ireland, attempts to clear the record on what many of those who “willfully unbelieve” really believe about faith, certainty and morality.
“Atheism is not a religion,” Nugent assures. “Religions typically have creeds supposedly revealed by supernatural beings, while atheists form our own beliefs. Atheist groups claim to speak only on behalf of our members, not on behalf of the creator of the universe.”
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Wait, before you go…The Irish Times:
Atheism does not require certainty. Strictly speaking, we cannot be certain about anything. But we can be as certain that the Christian god does not exist as Christians are that Thor or Zeus do not exist. Give us reliable evidence and we will change our minds.
We do not need religion for meaning. We each determine our own sense of meaning. We have evolved to notice patterns in nature, which helped previous generations to survive. This can cause us to mistakenly see patterns and ascribe agency, including to gods, that are not there.
We do not need religion for morality. Morality is a natural process of our brains, based on empathy, compassion, reciprocity and reason. It enables us to distinguish good moral ideas in the Bible, such as love thy neighbour, from bad moral ideas in the Bible, such as killing people for gathering sticks on the Sabbath.
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Americans’ discomfort with other peoples' religious faiths goes hand in hand with Islamophobia. Americans’ discomfort with other peoples' religious faiths goes hand in hand with Islamophobia.
"The majority of Americans identify technically as Christians,” writes Amanda Marcotte at AlterNet, “but a deeper look at how our people act, believe, and think shows that we’re not at all a ‘Christian nation,’ but a largely secular nation that suffers a small but vocal minority of theocracy-minded conservatives.”
People who knew the man accused of gunning down three Muslim American students in North Carolina -- an act many suspect to be a hate crime motivated by cultural differences -- describe him as angry and lacking compassion.
Primatologist Frans de Waal pays religion the ultimate atheist compliment: Religion is so great that we humans acquired it through the natural process of evolution.Primatologist Frans de Waal pays religion the ultimate atheist compliment in his book: Religion is so great that we humans acquired it through the natural process of evolution.
"The appearance of atheists, a growing wariness of religious controls on society, as well as the continuing lure of jihad and ultraconservatism signal a breakdown in the conformity and consensus that has marked the Saudi religious field in the recent past," Caryle Murphy writes at GlobalPost.
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