Atheism on the Move

by Jason Stotts

Apparently during the Super Bowl (I say apparently because I don’t care about sports and didn’t watch it) there was a commercial for Atheism:

[UPDATE – apparently this was a video for scientology (another nonsense religon) that someone edited to be for atheism.]

I think it’s great that religion is losing it’s grip on people and fading away.  I sincerely think that faith is the single most evil thing ever thought by humans.

Another example of the fading away of religion is “Atheist Churches” that attempt to salvage the good parts of organized religion with the irrationality of religion.  There is a great value in gathering together in friendly groups to enjoy each other’s company, to learn and think with each other, and to experience a sense of community and belonging.  After all, we are, as Aristotle says, political animals (he means “social”).

Although I applaud these efforts, one major problem still remains: atheism is the lack of a belief.  As I argue in “The Irrationality of Atheism,” being an “atheist” just means you don’t believe in a god.  It is not itself a belief.  The problem with this, as I argue in “Shattered Illusions,” is that atheism is a cognitive void.  People can’t just lack beliefs, they need to believe in something. This is one reason why when we, as Objectivists, argue against religion, we must do so in a positive way that replaces that anti-life ideas of religion with pro-life ideas and values that will help people live good and happy lives.  This point can’t be stressed too much and is the same point I made in “Inspirational Philosophy“:

If we don’t take a positive tack, if we don’t take the moral high-ground and argue on moral terms, if we merely attack and never build, then we lose.  In order to win, to truly win, an argument or a culture, you must present positive reasons why your course of action is the better one, how it is the moral one, and give people something to believe in and to fight for.

In order to win the world, you must give people a morality worth living for: you must help them find meaning.

Ultimately, I’m glad “atheism” is growing, but we need to exploit this while it’s happening and show people that they can still have moral and meaningful lives without religion and its antiquated morality.