1- What do atheists think happens to us when we die?
Atheists lack a belief in a god or gods, and thus do not believe in any religious concepts of an afterlife. The majority of atheists believe that the life we currently have is the only one we will have. When we die, that’s it! This view tends to emphasize how precious and special our lives are here. In some ways a belief in an eternal afterlife cheapens the life you have now. Some religious people endure tremendous suffering and guilt on a daily basis due to their faith, always looking ahead to their heavenly reward and the eventual forgiveness from their god. In this way, they totally miss the opportunity to be happy in the life they have right now. There are a few atheists who believe in other possibilities, such as reincarnation, but these beliefs are no better supported than a belief in a supernatural god.
2 – Aren’t atheists a tiny minority? How can it be a valid stance on life if almost everyone believes in God?
(info below adapted from alabamaatheist.org)
Atheists are not as much of a minority as you might think.
While atheists are certainly the minority in the United States, that is not necessarily the case worldwide. For now, we will stick to the United States.
Recent studies by several research foundations have concluded that 14.3% (14.1% and 13.9% in other studies) of Americans are non-religious. Non-religion is the fastest growing “religion” in the world.
Over the past 30 years, Christianity in the United States has only grown 1.2%. Non-religion in that same period has grown 127% (using the 14.3% total).
One thing that the 14.3% does not take into account is the religious atheist. One third of all the world’s religions are atheistic in nature, meaning they worship no deity (Taoists, Buddhists). Many spiritualists do not worship a god or believe in any deity (New Age, Confucians).
Taking only the 14.3% that means there are twenty-seven million non-religious people in the United States.
America seems to be the last bastion of religiosity (except in areas where scientific awareness is limited or access to information is restricted by theocratic societies) – especially in the South where religion permeates everything. It is no coincidence that the eight states with the lowest test scores in the nation (Department of Education, 1999) are all in the Bible Belt?
Barna (A Christian-based research organization) advises that the 14.3% is probably too low, because they concluded that an average of 7% of all churchgoers are non-believers that only go as “show” or in order to prevent family from knowing they have “left the fold.”
“Non-religious”, in the terms of the study, indicated individuals that described themselves as non-religious. This included self-described atheists, agnostics, humanists, Buddhists, Freethinkers and others.
If you take into account the non-believers that are hiding in the pews in fear of retaliation or discrimination that brings the figure to around 21% of the population of the United States claiming to be non-religious or no belief in a god.
3 – Why is atheism so much in the news lately? How is it getting so much attention?
There are multiple answers to this question. I will touch on the two I think are most pervasive. First of all, the internet! Never before have we had such free and fast access to a vast cornucopia of uncensored ideas. With a few quick searches, we can find a wealth of information on various religious and non-religious points of view. Using the internet, for example, I stumbled upon the writings of Robert Ingersoll. I had never once seen any of his writings in school libraries or even heard of him, but through internet archives I was able to take in his ideas. Secondly, and perhaps as a result of the internet freethought movement, there is an appetite in the general public for books about atheism. Contemporary authors such as Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins and Christopher hitchens have all written books from the rational perspective, criticizing the effects of organized religion in one way or another. The fact that these books are selling so well adds creedence to the idea that the public at large is interested in (at least) learning more about atheism and the atheist perspective. It’s likely most of the brisk sales are due to purchases by people who are already non-believers or at least exploring a move in that direction.
4 – How can an atheist be ‘moral’ without God?
This is a very frequently asked question, and it’s actually a pretty easy one to answer. Let’s start by asking a Christian where his/her moral beliefs originate from? Some might say, the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament:
To paraphrase them…
1- Have No other gods
2- Do not create idols
3- Do not speak God’s name in vain
4- Remember the Sabbath
5- Honor your parents
6- Do not kill
7- Do not commit adultery
8- Do not steal
9- Do not falsely accuse
10- Do not covet
If we look at these, most of them either overlap one another or pertain to making sure that Yahweh is the only god you worship. The first 3 commandments simply reinforce God’s position and command that he be respected. His worship day is the sabbath so add that in, for a total of 4 commandments that have nothing to do with morality. The only ones that really apply to moral behavior are – thou shalt not bear false witness….thou shalt not kill….thou shalt not steal….thou shalt not commit adultery. These precepts have been seen before in written codes of ethics, at least as far back as the “Code of Hammurabi”.
When we examine the Old Testament, we see many violations of these commandments. Repeatedly, God sanctions the killing of enemies during war and especially sanctions the extermination of defeated enemies. In various Old Testament scripture, many barbaric ideas are presented – from the stoning of unruly children to the advocacy of allowing one’s children to be raped to protect angels from God (story of Lot) One might rather assume that God’s emissaries would be well-able to protect themselves. In other Old Testament stories Yahweh tells his followers that they have his sanction to keep captured virgin women for themselves, after killing all other inhabitants of a defeated city. So here, not far from where Moses shows up with these commandments – their god is giving them contrary instructions…..the point of this, is that wherever you may feel you get your moral cues from, they certainly do not come from emulating the behavior seen in the Bible. The Bible, though it provides the 10 commandments, is in no other way suitable as a moral guide for anyone.
In the New Testament, we get a few better ideas, but many more that conflict! Jesus urges us to honor our parents, but also says that to follow him, you must leave your parents and your family behind. He himself is seen in the synoptic gospels being rude to his mother….we see him use his godly powers to “curse” a fig tree, simply because it had no fruit for him when he was hungry. Why am I rattlling off these few examples? (of many) Because I want to highlight the fact (again) that wherever you feel we get our morals from, they most certainly do NOT come from the bible. I will argue that moral structure has evolved as human society has evolved. The most basic teaching of treating others the way you want to be treated is part of that. Repect for personal property and families is vital to the community as a whole.
Comedian George Carlin has a great piece on the 10 commandments:
