What would atheists do without religion?

Question

Seriously, it seems to be the raison d'etre of most of them. I asked a question on Yahoo Answers recently, in which I specifically asked them not to bother replying (since they don't accept its premise), but loads of them did. If you press them, they'll claim that they live in a religion-dominated society that won't let them ignore it, that they wish they could. This is patent nonsense; our society is almost entirely secular, and any residual Christian trappings of public life are trivial and ceremonial. I suspect that, even if Christians hid in private chapels and churches, atheists would still obsess over them and seek them out. Richard Dawkins wanted to write The God Delusion for years. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is one of the bitterest tirades I've ever read; it has no ideas beyond hitting out at Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Carl Sagan's Cosmos, after all the soapsy-sudsy humanist rhetoric, ends with a rant against religion. Isn't their zeal rather question-begging?

So Oy Vey thinks that without religion:

maybe we'd make more progress in science? actually stop global warming? turn to alternative energy sources? the list goes on and on..

Um, is global warming caused by censers, or the white smoke the papal conclave send up? Is there a biblical injunction against wind power? Does the Archbishop of Canterbury have a veto on NASA's research? What on earth are you talking about?

And Achilles Tendon thinks having a mention of God on money is violating his civil liberties. You know, I'd happily drop all mention all God from public life. But you know and I know that wouldn't be enough, don't we?

And do pretend that popular opposition to gay marriage (of which I'm in favour; interesting how everybody presumed I'm a Christian, isn't it?), genetic engineering, euthanasia, abortion and other charming practices are based on Christianity is just an assumption. They're based on prejudice or moral intuition. Because a popular stance coincides with Christian ethics does not mean it stems from Christianity. I thought atheists believed in logic?

Iceni Queen, I read all those books because I'm open-minded. I took them at their face-value. Only gradually did the shrillness and hysteria with which they were written make me realise something other than rationality motivated them. I wish to God we had a fully secular society tomorrow. What would you do then?

Everard G: thank you for your kind comments. There are no mentions of God on my money (is that really such an imposition, anyway? really?) because I live in Ireland. I've never been asked to take a pledge of any kind and I have no idea what religion my elected representatives are. Does that answer your oh-so predictable questions?

It's instructive to go into the Q&A of the people who gave stridently hostile answers to my question, and see how many of them pertain to religion. It seems like thousands for some. Obsession, moi?

Everard G: I'm afraid you're wrong AGAIN. Divorce is legal in Ireland. Abortion is not but-- as I've said already-- it's a lazy assumption to link that to religion. Besides, it's a majority belief. Isn't that just democracy? Or would you have the people's will overridden when you suspect religion might be motivating them?

So, as an Australian, all the "oppression" that makes you so angry (and BOY are you angry) is because they say a prayer before parliamentary sessions? Now THAT'S funny! I think you're angry about something else, sonny Jim, probably in your own life.

Answer 1

Go down the pub more often

Answer 2

Short answer: we wouldn't be known as atheists cos, as you suggest, theists wouldn't exist.

"claim that they live in a religion-dominated society"
And, if you don't see that it is so, I'm not surprised you're a fundie - with blinkers so effective the only other thing you could possibly be is a fundamentalist Muslim.

I suppose you haven't noticed, among many other examples, the god stuff on the money, in the pledge and prayer before every congress sitting and the fact there are few of your elected officials who will admit to being atheist for fear of being side-lined.
Into which orifice have you shoved your head?

[edit]
My mistake - I'm so used to dealing with USians.

LOL & Ditto cos I'm in Oz.
Nothing on our money and our elected officials stay away from religion cos we're funny that way BUT each session of parliament IS opened with a prayer to the invisible man in the sky which I find rather archaic and totally quaint in the 21st century.

Ireland, huh?
Is that the same place where divorce is against the law as is abortion?
Yeah; Ireland - completely divorced from religion.

Did I mention I come here for the laughs.
Fundies never let me down.
Thank YOU!

Answer 3

What planet do you live on where "society is almost entirely secular, and any residual Christian trappings of public life are trivial and ceremonial"?

I suppose it is not the Christian majority trying to create a constitutional amendment to ban gay people from being married. And all those people at the abortion clinics are just minding their own business carrying those signs. It's secular people, I'm sure, who want their god on the currency and in the schools.

Answer 4

We wouldn't have to worry about all the crap that religious people give us.

From the point of view of a fundie our society may seem downright secular but it doesn't seem that way if you're not religious though of course different societies have different levels of religious crap. Even in advanced countries like England, most of Europe, Australia, etc where religion is obviously in decline the religious still affect politics with their outdated superstitions that delay medical science.

Now get to a backwards country like the United States of America (or more correct, one part of North America) where people in the south even try to drive atheists out of town.

Then there's the Muslim world which bought us such great things as the September 11 attacks, the Madrid train bombings, the London underground bombings, the Mumbai train bombings, etc.

We'd like to get on with our lives and not bother anyone but when crap like that happens someone has got to take a stand against it.

Answer 5

Why do you care. They have not printed "God Does Not Exist" on your money. Or inserted a statement to that effect into your Pledge of Allegiance.
I doubt if any of your ancestors were burned at the stake for not believing in your atheism.
It is simply so wrong to be accusing others of persecuting Christian when the truth is so wildly different.
Please read some history.

Answer 6

we do live in a mostly secular society, but we are among the most religious countries in the world..certainly far more so than Europe or the UK.....but we are also confronted with religion at every level...from JW's at the front door to Christians pushing religion in the Pentagon to W in the White House claiming that God speaks to him. What do they do w/o religion? What do people do w/o astrology or wizardry or animal sacrifice? I'm not an atheist..at least not yet...I think I'm more of a deist like most of the founding fathers of the USA, believeing in God, but not religion. To me, god IS creation....creation IS god. I just read God Delusion..it's good, but I don't like all of it.

Answer 7

Could it be that Christian and moral values are just inherited by our family and forefathers?

Without the guidance I have had in my life, I could easily be on the wrong side of the law (whether legal or moral).

However, I was lucky enough to have had a moral family in my life. They taught me good values, and let me learn from my own mistakes in life.

Many children don't have guidance, or advice. They have to seek their own existence.

No wonder so many adults are lost. And they consider themselves as atheists, they have no idea why they should follow any path when they have never been shown a path to follow.

Don't condemn any man, woman or child, until you have seen life through their eyes.

Answer 8

Take back the 5% or so of my brain that I have to waste on doing what I can to help prevent nutjobs from taking over my government, courts and education systems.

I would love to breath a sigh of relief and get on with my life without the fear of utter stupidity replacing reason and common sense.

Answer 9

dont kid yourself
ill tell you what ...........
i dont need you but we cant get away from all of you because whenever there is an event /situation in the news some dummy who believes in a thousand fairy stories so devolved from modern living, pushes to the fore declaring he has a mandate to speak.
Also what would religious people do without atheists?
you seem to have read all these books, if its rot why read it ?
physician heal thyself i think

Answer 10

well that's an interesting perspective. do you really think that atheists have nothing better to do? dawkins, for example, has 'public understanding of science' in his job title. could it be that he thinks religion is one of the main stumbling blocks? but he's written a dozen books over the years, god delusion is just one.

Answer 11

My society is called secular but it's not very. I had to pray in school, politicians here are pushing for Intelligent Design to be taught to kids and Christianity permeates the laws here, so our indignation is quite understandable.
But poking holes in your backward reasoning is fun too!