3.23.2008

Day of Mockery: The Obligatory Easter Post

Easter is an excellent day for mocking Christian beliefs. I'm not advocating the mockery of Christians, and I wouldn't even suggest that all their beliefs deserve mockery. I suspect that most Christians are what could be called "Christian in name only" because they do not actually believe much of the core Christian doctrine. They merely find it familiar and haven't bothered to question much of it. I save my mockery for the beliefs of those who do actually believe this nonsense, rejecting reason, science, and even common sense in pursuit of delusion.

I realize that the claim that most so-called Christians do not believe the central dogma is controversial. It requires support, a task on which I and others in the atheist blogosphere are working (also see The Prime Directive). In a nutshell, our argument is that the majority of persons who identify as Christian do not live their lives as if they truly believed what they claim to believe. However, this claim is not my focus for this post. Rather, I'd like to focus on those few who do actually believe this garbage.

The Importance of Church-State Separation

religious freedom stamp

Maybe it is a little silly for me to participate in the annual "Blog Against Theocracy." After all, this isn't a once-a-year topic for me but one I address quite frequently. Still, this does give me an excuse to reflect on the issue of church-state separation and that can't be a bad thing. I'd like to make this contribution more of a personal one by focusing on why I am passionate about preserving the separation of church and state, even widening the gap between them.

In taking an honest look at why I am so devoted to church-state separation, I think it is probably accurate to say that I can boil it down to two reasons. First, I am an atheist, and as such, I recognize that I have no safety in a religiously-infused government. I know full well what proponents of theocracy think of atheists. It is in my self-interest to fight for the separation of church and state because I am imperiled by the alternative.

The second reason for my ongoing focus on church-state separation is that I am convinced that the introduction of religion into government is bad for everyone because religious belief is inherently irrational and destructive. I am for the separation of church and state, in part, because I recognize the costs of religion and consider them excessive.

Those who oppose the Constitutional separation of church and state which has been among America's most important contributions to global politics are unlikely to be swayed by any rational arguments. They want their particular religion, nearly always evangelical fundamentalist Christianity, to be given special status. While they naturally oppose the blending of any other religion with government, they are convinced that theirs is the exception because they are the ones with "the truth."

Even though moderates of many religious traditions recognize that merging religion and government is as bad for religion as it is for government, the Christian extremists who strive for Christian theocracy are willing to take that risk. Remember, these are the sorts who routinely argue that the laws of their god should take priority over our laws. Sounds a bit too much like Iran for my taste.

I'll continue to blog against theocracy year-round, defending reason from those who attack it in the name of religious delusion and opposing Christian extremism as a threat.

For more on this important topic, see The Separation of Church and State Is an Important American Value.

3.15.2008

How Many Atheists Are There? We May Never Know

pedestrians

There is reason to believe that surveys conducted to identify the number of American atheists provide low estimates, but let's assume for a minute that we can trust these data as being reasonably accurate. A commonly reported number is that 1.6% of Americans identify themselves as atheists. If the U.S. population is approximately 303.5 million, this means that there are at least 4,856,000 atheists in America who identify as such. That is a lot of atheists!

Given that the number of Americans reporting no religious affiliation is 16.1%, we can assume that there are at least some people out there who are atheists but who do not want to identify themselves as atheists for a variety of reasons. As a quick example, combining the number who identify themselves as either atheist or agnostic gets us to 4% (roughly 12,140,000 people).

3.05.2008

All Children are Born Atheists

Three Unknown Elizabethan Children

Anyone who understands the definition of atheism must acknowledge that all children are born atheists, including those born to Christian parents. Atheism is nothing more than the lack of acceptance of the theistic belief claim (i.e., some god or gods exist). A theist is one who believes that god(s) exist; an atheist is one who does not share this belief. The newborn child cannot even entertain such possibilities and thus lacks theistic belief. Atheism is the default position, and this is where we all begin.

In order for Christians to argue against the reality that all children are born atheists, they must distort the meaning of atheism. They must convince themselves and their audience that atheism is a religion, a philosophy, or a worldview. They claim that atheism is an explicit repudiation of religion and that it involves "faith" that no gods exist. Such distortions in the meaning of atheism allow them to claim that children cannot be born atheists because atheism requires the same sort of deliberate choice required by religious belief.

3.04.2008

Exposure to Atheism Does Not Always Strengthen Their Faith

cross on a tree

It seems nearly impossible for Christians to discuss atheism without eventually making the claim that encountering atheists strengthens their faith. Of course, this should be no surprise. Material that contradicts one's belief system often strengthens one's belief in the "truth" one thinks one has, especially when one refuses to question the assumptions behind this "truth" (i.e., refuses to exercise reason). And yet, many ex-Christians report that exposure to other atheists and/or atheist-oriented material had exactly the opposite effect. They will often tell you it helped them break free from irrational belief.

3.03.2008

Baptists At My Door

I don't remember a time when I did not despise religious proselytizing. Growing up in the Western part of the United States, the door-to-door peddling of superstition was mostly restricted to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. We simply did not have anything like the evangelical Christians who now surround me. Since moving to Mississippi, I have become accustomed to frequent visits by evangelicals. And yet, it seems to irritate me more each time it happens. I think that is mostly because they keep coming no matter what I do.

When I added a large "No Soliciting" sign to my front yard, positioned so that most people would be able to see it before getting out of their cars, I expected it to help a little. I knew that the most rabid evangelical Christians would not see it as applying to them. They were here to convert me and not to sell me anything. Still, I figured the sign might have some impact. While it did end most non-religious door-to-door sales, it had no measurable effect on Christian proselytizing.