Atheists, imagine a world without a religion?

Question

I'm sure it's safe to generalize all of you weren't born an atheist......if you were then I'm not really talking about you.

Anyways, I'm sure you have your own set of morals and ethics, so,
do you or do you not think the newborns in a society with no religion would be the same as you?

Can someone born into a society understand your concept why they shouldn't have a God while they don't really know what God is in the first place?

Do you think Atheism should remain a personal choice or should you encourage it to others.....just like any other religion that's looking for converts?

Would there still be war in this world if it was without a religion?

Answer 1

Imagine there's no countries... a brotherhood of man...

I think that many atheists would view it as the triumph of atheism if children didn't know what atheism--or theism--was. People who truly are opposed to religion or belief in God long for a day when "atheism" will be as meaningless a word as "aleprechaunism", because of its universality.

Anyway, in a world without religion, my personal view is that everyone should be free to pursue whatever beliefs they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone. People should have the freedom to believe in God, or Santa Claus, or anything else that makes them happy. Besides, it's important for people to explore a wide variety of different views so that they can both settle in on what they themselves believe, and learn to be tolerant and understanding of others' differences. And yes, there would always be dramatic differences in the world, even in a world with no religion.

People shouldn't be "encouraged" to be atheists, anymore than they're encouraged not to believe in Santa Claus, or ghosts; they should be given all the information that will help them make an informed decision, including many different views on the matter. Then they should be allowed to pick what their own beliefs will be, without suffering for it.

And yes, there would still probably be war in a world without religion. Though there might be less of it. Dogmatism, not religion per se, is what encourages war, since it's what discourages tolerance and an open, non-violent exchange of ideas.

Answer 2

"I'm sure you have your own set of morals and ethics"

I do, and you'd be surprised how similar they are to 95% of my contemporaries. That is because morals come from society, parents, friends and peers.

"the newborns in a society with no religion would be the same as you"

Not really, babies are atheist 'by default' and I have consciously reviewed and rejected all the various gods.

"your concept why they shouldn't have a God"

This is not my concept. My concept is you should not go hating, killing, avoiding, and do all kinds of negative stuff over god(s).

"Do you think Atheism should remain a personal choice"

yes.

"Would there still be war in this world if it was without a religion"

absolutely.

Answer 3

The problem is, as I mentioned in another answer, atheism by itself has no content. Now a world based on rule of law, science and reason, representative government and human rights would probably be great without religion. But the USSR was a society without religion and was not such a great place.
I don't believe in proselytizing for atheism because I can't predict what effects a rapid and widespread loss of religious faith would produce.

Answer 4

I think that being an atheist is your choice. I agree with the statement, that you dont have a religion when your born. A religion is somthing that you believe in, and you dont know anything when your younger, and your not old enough to know what you believe in.
I also think that even if their wasnt religion that there would still be war. I think there would be less war but there will always be more reasons for war then just religion.

Answer 5

I feel that everybody has the right to make up their own minds about whether or not they want to be religious or Secular aka non religious. Secularism aka non religious such as Atheism, Agnosticism, Humanism, FreeThought are personal decisions that should be made by people based on their own personal preferences and not because people are Evangelizing it.

Answer 6

Religion is just an expression of human nature. "morals" is just a term we call expression of human nature. You may ask "but morals often repress human nature i.e. sexuality" but they are just a demonstration of how human desire for power is strongest. Religion is a reflection of how we seek power and control above all else. So yes, there would still be pain and war. just in someone elses name.

Answer 7

we're all born atheist and remain so until we learn to speak and understand abstractions.

We should always teach what we know, or what we are fairly sure we know.

War would be less common without religion.

Answer 8

I don't think atheism should be chosen ignorantly. I think people should examine all their options when it comes to religion. They should at least look into each one briefly before deciding that they don't believe in any of them.

Answer 9

That would be a world with two 108-storey office blocks in Manhattan.

Answer 10

A lot less wars/ no wars.


The Iraq war, the problems in Ireland, Israel's current state-
Look at CHAVEZ!!!!! He took advantage of his religion to say that
"Bush is the devil."