There seem to be an awful lot of questions that are directed at atheists in this section that are science related. Atheism is a lack of belief in God(s) and is nothing more. There is no big bang or evolution involved. These things are only personal thoughts of an individual.
2007-10-13 10:08:59 · 16 answers · asked by ML 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There's no causal relationship, but there is correspondence. If you want to find the reason for the correspondence you have to look at the underlying metaphysics, and you'll find that atheism and modern science are often built upon a foundation of rationalism and empiricism: Whatever can be verified and demonstrated is True.
Peace to you.
2007-10-13 12:19:12 · answer #1 · answered by Orpheus Rising 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Discovery atheists
This is the most common path taken to atheism. The individual discovers their lack of belief in a god or gods by way of examining the definition of and the beliefs surrounding the existence of a god or gods. The disbelief or lack of belief is found either by concluding that the god cannot exist or that there is no reason to believe that the god exists.
Reactionary atheists
The individual finds that the beliefs of a particular religion does not fit them or has let them down and rebels against it by heading in the opposite direction towards non-belief.
Indoctrinated atheists
This situation is where atheism is freely or forcibly taught to the individual. It is also possible for an individual to indoctrinate themself.
Natural (Unknown concept) atheists
This is probably the least common path to atheism taken by adults. This is due to the aggressiveness and commonness of religion. When the concept of the existence of a deity is unknown, the individual is an atheist. A newborn baby is an atheist; the idea of a god is something that is taught or discovered.
2007-10-13 11:10:04 · answer #2 · answered by chocoerin 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well the thing is there is a HUGE correlation between the two. The more educated in science you are, the more likely that you are an atheist. This is to the point that better than 90% of the National Academy of Science, and 60% of scientists in general are atheists. Compare that to about 10% in the general population.
Now I agree with the basics of your statement. Not every atheist is going to be a scientist. But the correlation is so strong that it is really easy to see how people make it.
2007-10-13 10:17:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
well atheists do tend to be scientifically literate, and justify their lack of belief in scientific terms. so if one doesn't know much about science, it is perhaps only a little leap to think that science and atheism are the same thing. it is bad enough that people fear what they don't understand, but if they have mistaken ideas such as "science is founded on atheism", that can account for a lot of distrust of science i think. this presents difficulties for me personally, because i would like to inform people about science but i don't want to lie about being an atheist. c'est la vie.
2007-10-13 10:27:03 · answer #4 · answered by vorenhutz 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because many people assume that believing in god is the default position, and that if you don't have this belief, it is because you are a "believer" in science. People think you should be willing to back up your atheism using science to defend your position, since they feel that you are turning away from the default position and must show proof of your atheism in order for it to be valid. In actuality, since there is no evidence of gods, atheism is in fact a default position, and really it should be theists who have to put forth the proof.
2016-05-22 06:32:21 · answer #5 · answered by ute 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"These things are only personal thoughts of an individual." This could describe atheism or any religion or theory that is based on conjecture or known facts. Whether I, as an individual, choose to argue the facts or theories or simply buy stock in them is entirely up to me. Sit down and behave yourselves.
2007-10-13 10:48:42 · answer #6 · answered by midnite rainbow 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion and science deal with different fields of the human knowledge.
They are not mutually exclusive, but you cannot use religion to disprove science or the other way around.
Science cannot consider God into any equation, because it would be non-scientific, and faith can deal with any scientific discoveries, provided the ancient texts are not taken literally but for their spiritual messages only.
2007-10-13 10:20:27 · answer #7 · answered by PragmaticAlien 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you have to know anything about science to be an atheist.
We might perpetuate that thinking though. I, and many other atheist are very interested in science and sometimes use it to defend their lack of belief in gods.
It is not necessary, pure logic, a discipline of philosophy is all we need to justify our position.
2007-10-13 10:16:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it depends on what science. I know a lot of religious people who specialize in physics and math. I think those sciences don't interfere with religious beliefs. On the other hand, many people who study-specialize in biology or chemistry and handed too much proof that the stories in the bible aren't true.
2007-10-13 10:14:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You make a good point but the two are often related...
Science does not permit one to make claims about things without having good reason to do so. Believers exhibit the antithesis of this.
2007-10-13 10:14:54 · answer #10 · answered by skeptic 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋