Atheism as a fight against the immaterial world

Proportion of atheists and agnostics in countries around the world ( Cambridge University Press
, 2007) Richard Dawkins - What is militant atheism? // Understanding Factor Cultural Revolution - Atheism Is Immoral Debate: Richard Dawkins and Cardinal George Pall [58:56]

Atheism

(French
Athéisme
, from ancient Greek άϑεός - godless) - a term to designate: 1) various radical forms of denial of religious ideas, cults and belief in supernatural forces, which is based on the affirmation of the intrinsic value of the existence of the world and man; 2) systems of views that insist on the evidence of their criticism of religious ideology, aimed at refuting religious dogmas on the basis of contrasting the scientific and religious understanding of the world.

In other words, this is a belief system that rejects the existence of God or gods, belief in them, and any religious ideas. Supporters of atheism claim that they base their vision of the world on its scientific picture and always reject the picture of the world based on faith. Atheism is distinguished from agnosticism. The essence of atheism is often defined by the popular slogan “There is no God.”

[edit] Varieties of atheism

Sometimes several varieties of atheism are distinguished, such as scientific atheism, everyday atheism, atheism as the belief that there is no God (the latter idea of ​​atheism is typical for believers). There are also disputes about the definition of the phenomenon.

There are also radical atheism

, which completely denies any existence of God outside consciousness (there may be an idea, concept, idea of ​​God in consciousness), and
agnosticism
, which questions the idea that God, if he exists outside consciousness, can to some extent be known by people.
Radical atheism is characteristic of supporters of materialism, especially Marxism, and positivism. Agnostic atheism was common among Greek philosophers and was represented by some pre-Socratics (Democritus and others), sophists (Protagoras, Gorgias, etc.), Epicurus and his school, skeptics, etc. In modern ethics there is postulate atheism
, which proclaims faith in the Divine legislator incompatible with the ethics of human values ​​(German philosopher Nikolai Hartmann and others). Since the mid-20th century, the newest forms of atheism are represented in the works of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Isaac Asimov and others. Modern atheism views religion as a whole as an illusory form of consciousness.

What is spontaneous atheism?

It is impossible to find the exact author who came up with spontaneous atheism, since it is the common people. Therefore, this type is boldly called folk. It can be found in the oral works of ordinary people: songs, tales, proverbs and sayings, epics. They clearly present the basic principles of belief, which relate to the fact that religion only helps the rich who play the role of exploiters. Such creativity shows that religion, be it Christian or Buddhist, has always played on the side of the rich and the clergy. The same can be found in simple sayings that are known even today. Among them are famous such as: “God loves the rich” or “A man with a fry, and a priest with a spoon.”

For centuries, the concept of atheism has been with the Russian people. In one of the epics the image of the free-thinking Vaska Buslaev was presented. He rebelled against the unfair treatment of ordinary people by religion. The main character of the epic adhered only to faith in himself and his strength, and the hostile religious force was presented in the work as a monster - a pilgrim. To cope with the monster, Vaska Buslaev rang a bell located on the enemy’s head.

Spontaneous atheism is the name given to atheism that is based on a skeptical way of thinking and a lack of interest in religion.

Spontaneous atheists are very calm about any faith, due to a complete lack of interest in it.

[edit] History

Atheism originated in the era of antiquity. During the Middle Ages, elements of atheism were observed mainly in religious heretical movements. In the modern era (New Age), atheism was especially promoted by French thinkers (Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Julien La Mettrie, Jean Meslier and others). The promotion of atheism is mainly associated with the development of scientific knowledge. Historically, atheism played a large role in the establishment of the scientific method and thinking, the liberation and secularization of the state, morality, law, philosophy and politics from dogmatic forms of thinking. On the basis of atheism, scientific and historical ideas were formed that refuted the dogmas about the origin of power from God and about its sacred and inviolable nature, about the immutability of the existing social system. In the 19th century, a considerable number of representatives of the revolutionary and national liberation movements in the Russian Empire adhered to atheistic beliefs. The works of the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach had a great influence on the spread of atheism.

In the Soviet era (see USSR), atheism acquired a total, hypertrophied and vulgarized form, then large-scale atheist campaigns were carried out in the USSR to liquidate churches and monasteries, persecution of clergy and communities of believers, mass, violent introduction of atheism into education, everyday life and mass consciousness. In 1925, the Union of Atheists was created, and since 1929 - the Union of Militant Atheists.

Reasons for turning to atheism

People become atheists for many reasons. The most common facts are the following:

• dissatisfaction with the behavior of church ministers (blessing of weapons, approval of armed conflicts, participation in political life, money-grubbing);
• unsuccessful attempts to find solace in religion in difficult life trials (untimely death of loved ones, death of a child, serious illness);
• the presence of traditions that require great physical and emotional costs;
• the presence of social injustice and crime in society;
• the presence of episodes of imposition of a religious worldview;
• bloody conflicts and aggressive acts committed in the name of religion;
• religious fanaticism leading to situations dangerous to the life of a believer and his family.

Each person comes to an atheistic worldview in his own way.

Interesting: most studies reveal that the share of convinced atheists in the classical sense of this term in the modern world is quite insignificant. Most people with an atheistic worldview do not talk about denying God, but about denying the modern institution of the Church.

[edit] Atheism in the world

Atheism is widespread in developed countries and much less common in developing countries. According to census data in a number of countries such as Australia, Austria, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Finland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, the number of citizens who do not belong to any religion has been increasing recently. In the Netherlands the number of such citizens is 40%, and in the Czech Republic - 60%, which is the highest figure.[1] According to RIA Novosti, the most atheistic country in the world is Estonia, where the number of believers is only 14%; followed by Sweden (17%), Denmark (18%) and Norway (20%)[2]. In a number of Islamic countries, atheism is prohibited under penalty of death.

[edit] Atheism in Russia

In modern Russia, according to the Levada Center and other statistical centers, from 10 to 40 percent of the population are atheists. There are several active atheist organizations.

Atheists ignore the usefulness of religion.

By emphasizing the positive effects of religion, there will never be an awareness that they can explain the truth of religious doctrines. This is why atheists use expressions like “wishful thinking” or “self-deception.” Between the comforting error and the truth lies a deep gulf. Therefore, they believe that the positive effects of religion should be disputed. Atheists believe that religion gives people bad reasons to behave positively. How do you answer the question, what is more moral, to help those in need out of concern for their plight, or to do it because the creator of the universe wants it, and then receive a reward from him for this or punishment for inaction?

[edit] History of atheism

The history of atheism can be traced back to the times of the Ancient World, but then it remained the lot of philosophers, and only a few.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, atheism (and simply doubt about the existence of God, including a suspected one) threatened the fire and often appeared as one of the points of accusation in the trials of the Inquisition. The Renaissance meant the appearance of the first open atheists, and in the 17th-19th centuries, under the influence of scientific and technological progress, their number became more and more numerous. The real dawn of atheism in the world was the 20th-21st centuries, although in a number of countries at different times there was also a rollback of part of the population towards a return to religions.

At the same time, in China, Confucianism, widespread since ancient times, was more of an ethical and political teaching, rather than a religion obligatory for everyone with the veneration of a god or gods.

For atheists, life is meaningless

But this is far from the case; for the most part, it is believers who often worry that life is meaningless. They imagine that it can only be redeemed by the promise of eternal happiness beyond the grave. Atheists, in turn, are confident that earthly life is priceless. For atheists, it is filled with meaning if it is truly and fully lived. Relationships with those they love are meaningful, and they don't have to last forever to become that way. Atheists tend to consider the fear of punishment after death to be meaningless.

[edit] Quotes

Atheism is an effective worldview, the choice of brave, wonderful people. Nothing prevents a person, being an atheist, from being happy, balanced, deeply intelligent and highly moral.

Atheism is no excuse. On the contrary, they need to be proud, to hold their heads high, because atheism almost always indicates an independent, sound mind, or even a healthy mind. There are many people who know deep down that they are atheists, but do not dare admit it to their families, and sometimes even to themselves. This is partly because the word “atheist” itself has been persistently used as a creepy, scary label. — Clinton Richard Dawkins

Atheists have no spiritual experience

Of course, this is far from true. Atheists, like believers, experience love, ecstasy, delight and awe.

They value these experiences and seek them out quite consistently. But atheists are not inclined to make unfounded and unjustifiable claims about the nature of reality based on such experiences.

Of course, there are Christians who have changed their lives for the better by studying the Bible and praying to the Almighty. But this is just proof that some disciplines can deeply influence the human mind. But does the positive experience of Christians indicate that Jesus Christ is the only savior of mankind? People of other faiths, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and of course atheists experience positive experiences that give them experiences.

Not even all Christians on earth are sure that Jesus was bearded and had a light skin color. Also, not all of them are sure that Christ was born of a virgin. Such statements cannot be confirmed by spiritual experience.

[edit] Literature

• Mauthner F.
  , Atheism in the era of the French Revolution. M.-L., 1924;
• Grekulov E. F.
  , Secularization of church estates in Russia. M., 1928;
• Voronitsyn I.P.
  , History of atheism. Ryazan, 1930;
• Le-Dantec F.
  , Atheism. M., 1930;
• Questions in the history of religion and atheism, vol. 1-8. M., 1950-60;
• (English) Robertson JM
  , Short history of free thought. New York, 1957;
• People about religion. K., 1958;
• Frantsev Yu. P.
  , At the origins of religion and free thought. M., 1959;
• (Ukrainian) Tancher V.K.
  , Fundamentals of atheism. K., 1961;
• (Ukrainian) Feeding atheism: Interdepartmental scientific collection, VIP. 1-3. K., 1965-68;
• (Ukrainian) Voitko V.I.
  , Fundamentals of atheism. K., 1966;
• (Ukrainian) The Gates of Paradise: Collection of atheistic folklore of the Ukrainian population of the Carpathians. Uzhgorod, 1980;
• (Ukrainian) Golobin V. M. The historical decline of the Maniavsky monastery also contributed to the formation of free-thinking and elements of atheism. In the book: Progressive partisan political thought in the fight against feudal reaction and Catholic-Unitarian expansion in Ukraine. Lviv, 1988;
• Camus A.
  , The Rebel Man. M., 1990;
• Sartre J.-P.
  , Devil and Lord.
  In the book: Sartre J.-P.
  , Wall. M., 1992.

[edit] Links

• Atheism in the Wikireality encyclopedia
• Atheism in the Absurdopedia on Wikia

Religion and scientific atheism

As human knowledge about nature accumulated, scientific atheism gradually developed. Each era is famous for its proud and courageous personalities; they, despite possible execution for Satanism, were not afraid to confront religions and put science in first place. They had to flee from churches and religious followers who thought their views were horribly wrong.

Scientific atheism is very important for a materialistic worldview. In definition, it is a philosophical science that explains the essence of religion and criticizes it.