RELIGION & ATHEISM
Misconceptions About Atheists
An open letter to my Midwestern hometown and the religious-right
I have sat on this article for quite some time, probably too long, because I don’t really think of myself as a confrontational person, and by putting this out there I feel like I’m opening myself up to confrontation. I also worry about my parents who are leaders in my community, and anyone that knows me knows them. My parents are religious (though not really conservative) and take it seriously, being essentially biblical scholars. I worry about them being accused of not raising me correctly. But I was well exposed to faith, and I did it all: I went to church, youth group, Sunday school, even various bible camps and getaways. I believed it. I really did. Now I don’t.
Honestly, I don’t even know how many people in my community know that I’m an atheist. Truth is, probably most of them, and this is the type of town where people will not confront you with their opinions about you, but talk behind your back. So I think my fears of confrontation are a bit unfounded.
The point of this piece is to help my friends and neighbors understand me a little bit better. At times, it can be kind of scary to be an atheist in the rural US, and I want to feel like I’m accepted for who I am, feel like I am being listened to, if not agreed with. And I want my atheist neighbors to feel like they have allies in this little town. Truth be told, I’m not even saying anything new, just adapting things more prolific atheists have said to my own experience, and hopefully, it will all sound a bit more palatable to my friends, family, and neighbors.
It’s easy to make assumptions about a community of which you are not a part; I am guilty of this as well. And I understand that when I pen these misconceptions about atheists I am making some assumptions about what Christians assume about me. But please bear in mind: I don’t think every Christian thinks these things of me, just that some do. So, in no particular order, here are some of the more common myths and misconceptions about atheists.
Atheism is not an assertion that there is NO God
Let’s get the definition out of the way. Atheism is lack of belief in a god or gods. Full stop. I understand the assumption that it is an assertion of a specific truth, because Christianity and other religions assert specific truth claims about reality. It’s natural to assume that atheism is an assertion of the opposite. The simple truth is that atheism is a lack of belief.
Some individual atheists may make the claim that god does not exist, but it is not a part of the definition. I don’t know for a fact that there is no God, how could I? I don’t think there is one, at least no religion has given me enough reason to believe in their version of God. Moreover, it is vital to keep in mind that any opinions, assertions, or other claims about religion and its role in our everyday lives made by atheists are not essential truths or dogma that come with atheism. Christopher Hitchens is not a prophet. The God Delusion is not a holy book.
To be an atheist or self-identify as such, one need only lack belief in any supreme being. Even regardless of what your apparently “militant” atheist friend says or believes, atheism is quite simple. Do not assume that atheists claim certainty as much as you do.
Atheists do not lack morality
This is a particularly frustrating one and comes up far too often, and is not a fringe opinion (even if it is not the majority opinion in the US). As the first example I can think of, take a look at this video of Steve Harvey where he expresses such an opinion.
Another version of this claim is that atheists do have morality, but that they have no explanation for human morality outside of God. Though less personally offensive it is theologically troublesome and an interesting topic of religious debates.
The simple fact is atheists live their lives mostly like the rest of the population. I think it’s an unfair point to bring up because religious people of different faiths and sects have different moral systems. Again, other atheists will not have the same morality, but I base my moral framework off the simple question of what alleviates the most suffering? You’ll be surprised how far that gets you. I want to do the best for my species as a whole. I think often about the long-term prospects of humanity. How do we carry humankind into the future without causing suffering and building a world in which we can feel our children and grandchildren are safer than we are, and can achieve their own happiness? Simply, I want to make life better for myself and everyone.
There are Christians that respond that an atheist’s morality is appropriated from Christianity. But this is a weak argument, because Christianity does not have a monopoly on morality. The ancient Hebrews were not the first culture to invent the idea of not stealing or committing murder. Moreover, Christians do not necessarily share the same morality either. One quick example is abortion. I know Christians on both sides of this issue.
Regardless, this isn’t really the forum to get into the specifics of social contracts or philosophical and sociological theories on morality. If you want to know more about my specific morality, you should just ask me. Those who claim all of the awful things they would do if they were an atheist are saying less about atheism, and more about their own moral shortcomings.
Atheists do not worship the Devil
Satan isn’t our thing. It’s yours. Again, atheists do not believe in God, and though Satan may not be God, he is a demi-god of sorts. He falls under the umbrella of gods that an atheists does not believe in.
Now, the Satanic Temple is mostly made up of atheists and agnostics, but they do not believe in a literal Satan. They use the symbol of Satan as a means to hold a mirror up to religion in the US. If I were to read you the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple without telling you they were the tenets of the Satanic Temple, I imagine that most of you would agree with nearly all of them:
I
One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reasonII
The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.III
One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.IV
The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.V
Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.VI
People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.VII
Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
You can’t scare me into believing
This is more specifically directed at the use of Hell as evangelism. You believe in Hell, I do not. You can’t threaten me into joining your religion by telling me about Hell, because in order for that to work I would have to first believe in Hell, in which case I’d be a Christian.
The doctrine of Hell is just silly, for two reasons. First, it is an infinite punishment for a finite crime. If a human lived for a billion years, there is no amount of suffering they could cause that would balance out an infinite amount of torment. Secondly, I don’t see how Hell is a punishment. Punishment only works in order to change an individuals future behavior, but if someone is stuck in Hell, there is no chance for their behavior to change. It’s simply torment for the sake of causing suffering.
So don’t “kindly remind” me that I’m going to Hell. It’s just a way to be vindictive towards me and is no way to build a healthy relationship between us. You may think it’s a form of love, but it isn’t.
And on that note…
Please stop telling me about Pascal’s Wager
Many of you may have used Pascal’s Wager or some form of it without knowing. It goes something like this: if you don’t believe, you are either right and nothing happens when you die, or you are wrong, and go to Hell. If you do believe, then if you are wrong, nothing happens when you die. But if you are right, then you get into Heaven. Therefore, one should believe.
It’s surprising that Pascal, intellectual giant that he was, presented such a flawed argument. It breaks something as important as your faith (or lack thereof) down to hedging your bets. I don’t see belief as a matter of conscious choice. For myself, I didn’t choose to be an atheist, it just sort of happened. I just realized that I didn’t believe it anymore.
The argument also disregards all the other faiths that exist, presenting Heaven, Hell, and oblivion as the only choices. If Christians are wrong, and Islam is the one true faith, then you and I will be in Hell together. If the Hindus or spiritual Buddhists are right, then we’ll reincarnate in some other form (something I also once believed). If one wants to play on the safe side in terms of afterlife, then one should logically, believe in the God with the scariest Hell. This logic also applies to any religion that has existed, and any religion that could possibly exist in the future. Which God should one believe in to hedge their bets?
Like Hell evangelism, this argument boils faith (your faith, the one I know you hold very dear to yourself) down to a threat. If I am correct about my atheism, I don’t want myself, or anyone, to turn their own life into a living Hell by spending their short number of years of existence in fear of God. It ruins the human experience, and Christians threatening me with Hell does the same. When you bring up Hell to an atheist, it turns the conversation hostile. If you believe in Hell, then you must think I deserve the same, because if you don’t believe it’s what I deserve, then why would you follow a God that thinks I do?
I don’t care that you believe
Again, I can’t speak for all atheists, but it doesn’t bother me that religious people and I share space and interact. I don’t care that people go to church, and have no intention of standing in the way of people’s right to believe.
I’ve been in the hospital three times because of health issues in the past, and each time, people came and prayed over me. I just let them do their thing. It doesn’t bother me, and I’m not trying to take over the town and make churchgoing illegal. You believe what you believe, and that’s fine with me. Don’t view me as a threat, and I hope I can do the same.
My parents are very religious people, and I have no desire to deconvert them from Christianity; it just wouldn’t be a productive conversation. I simply try to live harmoniously with them in a way that doesn’t disrespect their beliefs. You can have different beliefs than someone else and still respect them… If you think otherwise, then that’s probably why you view atheists as a threat.
None of this is here to be combative, just to help you understand me, your neighbor, a little better. I don’t want to actively try to change your mind, nor do I wish any harm to you. I would just like to be seen and heard for who I am, and I want to be respected as someone that shares this community with you.
There’s plenty of misconceptions I want to address in the future, so I may write a part two of this piece. But in the meantime, I hope that this helps you know me a little better and dispels some misconceptions about who I am and what I believe. Most importantly, what I’ve just written is only an outline, so if you really want to know exactly what I think and what I believe, then talk to me. Only I can tell you what it’s like to be me. Just come prepared to offer me some dignity when you do.
Get to know me. I think you’ll find that there is depth to my life and my perspectives, and I am not the two dimensional person that many might have you believe I am. If you want to see a little bit from my perspective, then let me close by turning you to the words of late astrophysicist Carl Sagan:
