Valeriy Sterkh "Atheism as Religion"

Atheism as Religion
Valeriy Sterkh

Why is Atheism a religion? What characteristics of religion are inherent in Atheism? What are atheists wrong about? Can an atheist have meaning in life? This book tackles all these questions and a few other relevant topics.

Atheism as Religion

Valeriy Sterkh

Dedicated toВ Richard Dawkins

Переводчик Evgeniy Terekhin

© Valeriy Sterkh, 2022

© Evgeniy Terekhin, перевод, 2022

ISBNВ 978-5-0056-1142-0

Создано в интеллектуальной издательской системе Ridero

Introduction

Why is Atheism aВ religion? What characteristics ofВ religion are inherent inВ Atheism? What are atheists wrong about? Can an atheist have meaning inВ life? This book tackles all these questions and aВ few other relevant topics.

As aВ worldview, Atheism is opposed toВ theism or, toВ put it another way, toВ the belief inВ the Divine. Atheists deny the existence ofВ God and any supernatural beings and powers. Can such aВ worldview be called religious? Let us think aboutВ it.

The basis of any religion is faith. The basis of science is knowledge. But what is the basis of Atheism – faith or knowledge? The main tenet of Atheism says that God doesn’t exist, so let us first examine if such a statement is religious or scientific in nature.

As Creator of the universe, God must be outside of space and time. Hence God is transcendent and incomprehensible to our experiential knowledge or scientific inquiry. In other words, it is impossible to obtain objective proof of God’s existence or non-existence. And where there is no proof, there is no knowledge. In other words, this denial of God is not based on knowledge, but rather on faith. Atheists simply believe that God does not exist, even though they are unable to scientifically prove his non-existence. Therefore, Atheism is unscientific in its nature and is, essentially, a belief in the «absence of God,» which means that Atheism is a religious worldview.

But let us not be too hasty inВ declaring Atheism aВ religion. There are several other aspects that we must consider before drawing conclusions.

Chapter 1: Origins and types ofВ Atheism

Atheism emerged at the very dawn of civilization. Philosophical schools of Atheism date back to the ancient world – cosmogony myths of the ancient East, Buddhism and Charvaka of ancient India, Yang Zhu of ancient China, the Ionians, Eleatics, and Diagoras of Melos in ancient Greece.

The early atheistic philosophies seem to have arisen as a reaction to Paganism. Indeed, for someone with an analytical mind, it was obvious that pagan myths were replete with fables and fictions, so it’s hardly surprising that intellectuals rejected them and pursued atheistic ideas instead.

It is not in the scope of this book to do a detailed analysis of how Atheism came about. A rather comprehensive (although incomplete) overview of this topic is given in Ivan Voronitsyn’s book The History of Atheism.

OfВ all the ancient atheistic philosophies, only Buddhism, commonly referred toВ as aВ religion, has survived toВ this day. But Buddhism, strictly speaking, is also aВ type ofВ Atheism because it denies the existence ofВ God. The logical question is: why do modern atheists recognize Buddhism as aВ religion but do not consider their own views as religious? After all, if one type ofВ Atheism is considered religious, then its other types (Pantheism and Naturalism) must be stemming from the same root.

Pantheism denies the existence ofВ aВ personal God and says that God and the universe are one and the same thing. As we see, this atheistic philosophy readily calls itself religion.

Naturalism is aВ doctrine that denies the existence ofВ God and postulates that everything that happens inВ the world is ofВ material nature. It is easy toВ see that the only difference between Naturalism and Pantheism is that the former does not poetically deify the universe.

Often, the term В«AtheismВ» or, more precisely, В«modern AtheismВ» refers specifically toВ Naturalism. InВ what follows, we will not distinguish between Atheism and Naturalism unless otherwise stated.

Chapter 2: The Ten Commandments ofВ Atheism

When talking about religious commandments in general, the first thing that comes to mind is the Ten Commandments found in the Bible. They could very well be called the ten main religious statements. So, let’s review how Atheism deals with these ten maxims.

The first commandment ofВ Atheism: there is noВ God

The rejection ofВ the idea ofВ God is the central tenet ofВ Atheism and the basis for the atheistic creed. OfВ course, atheists will come up with various arguments toВ give their claims the appearance ofВ science, but these attempts can hardly be called successful. We will discuss them later.

The paradox ofВ Atheism is that it is impossible toВ scientifically prove В«the non-existence ofВ GodВ». Yet, Atheism will not accept this fact. As soon as an atheist accepts the impossibility ofВ determining whether God exists or not, he or she will immediately cease toВ be an atheist and become an agnostic, which is the end ofВ Atheism.

The second commandment ofВ Atheism: worshipping idols and images

Having rejected faith in God, Atheism has not escaped worshipping objects. Atheists have always bowed down to «idols and images» – famous singers, movie stars, scientists, composers, politicians, etc. In honor of those idols, they have opened museums, erected monuments, and created other sacred objects. People have brought them flowers, asked for their help, and have often done the most insane things just to get closer to their «star». Often, they create legends associated with those idols.

Inanimate objects can also become a cult – through obsessive attachment or Mammon-worship.

At this point, one might object that the cults described above are impossible in pure Atheism. But this is not entirely correct. First, Atheism has never existed in a vacuum, so in examining its characteristics we must rely on verifiable facts, not theories. Second, cults existed even in the most atheistic societies. For example, in the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin’s mummy was the object of worship for the whole nation. The worship of dead leaders is practiced in China and North Korea to this day.

The third commandment ofВ Atheism: engaging inВ emptyВ talk

The concept of the cultural norm is rather bendable in Atheism. So, profanity, vulgarity, toilet humor, etc. are widespread among atheists. Another form of empty talk is using filler words, swearing by God’s name, or even taking God’s name in vain blasphemy. If anything, blasphemy is one of the things that Atheism encourages.

The fourth commandment ofВ Atheism: holidays

Every religion has its holidays, and Atheism is no exception. One cannot help but notice that some of the features of atheistic holidays correlate with religious festivals. «New Year’s Day» is a substitute for Christmas; «Independence Day» is a substitute for Easter, etc.

The fifth commandment ofВ Atheism: neglecting your family duties

Atheists have aВ somewhat vague concept ofВ family values. Therefore, atheistic societies predominantly consist ofВ nuclear families with aВ focus on live-in relationships. InВ atheistic families, children have no respect for their parents (and vice versa), and it is not expected ofВ them.

On the other hand, an atheistic society cannot just let things run their course without exercising some control. That is why they create nursing homes, boarding schools, orphanages, and juvenile justice institutions.

The sixth commandment ofВ Atheism: legalized murder

InВ Atheism, murder is not seen as something immoral. Some atheistic societies legitimize certain forms ofВ murder (such as abortion and euthanasia), and people have no qualms aboutВ it.

The seventh commandment ofВ Atheism: condoning adultery

Atheistic morality does not preclude various forms of sexual immorality and perversions (prostitution, promiscuity, homosexuality, etc.). The scope of such practices is somewhat limited by society’s legal system. However, the law usually restricts only the most egregious travesties.

The eighth commandment ofВ Atheism: it is okay toВ steal

Even atheistic societies consider stealing aВ criminal offense. But atheistic morality has its own slant. The typical reasoning goes like this: В«You are not aВ thief until you are caughtВ», В«If you are going toВ steal, steal millionsВ», В«great capital cannot be created without breaking the lawВ».

The ninth commandment ofВ Atheism: lying isВ okay

InВ atheistic societies, politics is based on deception and hypocrisy. ToВ aВ certain extent, the same is true ofВ the lives ofВ ordinary people.

The tenth commandment ofВ Atheism:В envy

Atheistic morality does not forbid envy. More than that, the so-called В«admiring envyВ» is quite acceptable. InВ other words, there is nothing wrong with envying someone В«inВ aВ good wayВ».

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