truth 2 Resolving Doubts. Renewing Purpose. Reasons for God

Is Atheism a Religion?

At The Richard Dawkins Foundation For Reason and Science you can find a witty and urbane video of TV host and comedian Bill Maher. In the video Maher is primarily arguing that “atheism is not a religion.” Maher contrasts the difference between atheism and religion like this:

When it comes to religion, we’re not two sides of the same coin, and you don’t get to put your unreason upon the same shelf as my reason. Your stuff [religion] has to go over there, on the shelf with Zeus, and Thor, and the crackin’. With the stuff that is not evidence based, stuff that religious people never change their mind about, no matter what happens.

What keeps atheism from being a religion? Because atheism is based on reason, but religion is based on faith and lacks evidence.

Can Atheists Find Meaning in Life?

In a recent opinion piece for The Washington Post, Paula Kirby writes about how she and other atheists find meaning and purpose for their lives. As she sees it, their appreciation of life’s meaning comes from a number of sources, including the inherent satisfaction of doing good work and the built-in empathy that is explainable by “psychology and evolutionary biology.” Along the way she contrasts the empathetic and caring approach of the atheist with her own harshly negative stereotypes of Christian belief.

The Atheistic Leap of Faith

In the course of having thousands of conversations about the ultimate issues of life, I’ve encountered many skeptics who, out of a deep respect for their religious friends, are reluctant to explain their objections to faith. These skeptics have noticed that, for their friends, the practice of religion is fundamental to filling their lives with meaning, purpose, joy, and service to others. Out of a gracious and loving spirit they decide, “Hey, if that works for you, that’s great. I don’t want to mess with something that’s so beautiful to you.” Also to their credit, when sincerely invited to be open and direct about their perspective, these skeptics have been excellent conversation partners, and we’ve had rigorous, intriguing conversations about our respective beliefs.

Reason, Science and Progress: Who Wants it More?

In recent years, many atheists have prominently championed their allegiance to intelligent thought. For instance, there is “The Richard Dawkins Foundation For Reason and Science” and Sam Harris’ book “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason.” Atheists sometimes refer to themselves as “freethinkers” and “brights.”

The public perception that these atheists are working hard to strengthen is the idea that there is a cavernous divide between “faith” and “reason” or between “faith” and “progress.” The strategy is obvious: atheists are to champion their love for reason and progress while highlighting stories of religious people who evidently hate reason and fight for culturally regressive values. Over time, this strategy is intended to further displace religion and develop a far more secular perspective around the world.

The Problem of Blind Faith

In talking with skeptical students around Boston, I have learned that few things drive them as crazy as Christians with a blind faith. They are perplexed: “How can your core convictions be completely divorced from reason and logic?”

Three examples, just from the past year, illustrate the problem:

If you were born in another country, would you still be a Christian?

One very common question about Christianity goes like this:  “If you were born in another country, a place like Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Iran, would you still be a Christian?”

The presumptive answer, from an honest look at the demographics, is simple: it would be very unlikely. (Though you might be surprised to learn that in 2000, 60% of all Christians lived in Africa, Latin America, or Asia).

Arguments that Hurt

Our experiences, perhaps more than anything else, powerfully shape our lives and our beliefs. There’s a reason “love at first sight” is a cliché, but “love after multiple, rational deductive tests” is not.

If you’ve been hurt by a church or by Christians, you know what I’m talking about.

Is God an Unknowable Mystery?

The search for God can seem so puzzling and so difficult that many people feel like, “All that God-stuff is a mystery, and no one really knows what’s true.”

If this is how you are feeling, it makes sense to dig into this instinct and see if this objection to faith can withstand a rigorous investigation. Let’s start by considering some of the main reasons why the search for God seems strange and even impossible.

How Can We Know If Christianity Is True?

According to some estimates, there are about 2.1 billion Christians in the world, or around a third of the world’s population. Whether you are a Christian questioning your faith or simply curious about the world’s largest religion, you’ve probably asked yourself: how can we know if Christianity is true?

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Atheists and Doubt

Another great quality of many atheists, which is too often unappreciated by Christians and other religious people, is an openness to doubt, a flexibility to look at the world from different angles, and an interest in the rational critique of established positions.

Of course there are atheists, who as much as some Christians, seem to display a boastful overconfidence about the evident certainty and obvious conclusions of their positions. But in general, my experience has been that there are very many atheists who are self-critical, open-minded, and interested in the rigorous examination of worldview claims.