What were some of the alternate atheist theories in the 1950s?

Question

In 1994 the Invisible Pink Unicorn got started on message boards, and in 2005 the Flying Spaghetti Monster was an idea incorporated in a letter to the state of Kansas regarding the states desires to put Intelligent Design into the schools.

Just for those of you who are unfamiliar, an alternate atheist theory is a fake mythology meant to illustrate the absurdity of religions/religious belief.

Answer 1

This may not be considered an alternate theory, but existentialism was quite popular in the 50's.

Note: I just received my IPU (blessed be her holy hooves) emblem in the mail. Can't wait to put it on my car!

Answer 2

I'm not sure about atheism but I have heard of the "Flat Earth Society" and the "League of Animal Decency" which were begun as jokes about that time. In both cases I read that both societies were inundated by people who either believed the Earth was flat or wanted to clothe animals, to the consternation of the founders.

Irony was not absent in the 1950s, even in the USA, which has been famous for it's relative absence. A good read if you can find it is T. Pynchons "V" which was written in about '59 and set about 1954 partially in New York. Give you an idea about some aspects of the decade. The "whole sick crew" were not generally into family values and regular churchgoing.

By and large the 1950s were more religious than today, but there was less insistence I think on moronic creationism by some churches. Many churches had nothing to say about the issue at all, and still do not.

Answer 3

Teapots!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot

Answer 4

I think that there was less of that kind of thing in the fifties becaue Ironic humor was much less commonplace.
You might look to the seventies at the Church of the Subgenius.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot

Answer 6

atheists say God doesn't exist, yet they repeatedly feel the need to create gods to prove their point?


what?