08 "OK, you may think there's a philosophical justification for atheism, but isn't it still a religious belief?"
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This article is from the Atheism FAQ, by mathew meta@pobox.com with numerous contributions by others.
08 "OK, you may think there's a philosophical justification for atheism, but isn't it still a religious belief?"
One of the most common pastimes in philosophical discussion is "the
redefinition game". The cynical view of this game is as follows:
Person A begins by making a contentious statement. When person B
points out that it can't be true, person A gradually re-defines the
words he used in the statement until he arrives at something person B
is prepared to accept. He then records the statement, along with the
fact that person B has agreed to it, and continues. Eventually A uses
the statement as an "agreed fact", but uses his original definitions
of all the words in it rather than the obscure redefinitions
originally needed to get B to agree to it. Rather than be seen to be
apparently inconsistent, B will tend to play along.
The point of this digression is that the answer to the question "Isn't
atheism a religious belief?" depends crucially upon what is meant by
"religious". "Religion" is generally characterized by belief in a
superhuman controlling power -- especially in some sort of God -- and
by faith and worship.
(It's worth pointing out in passing that some varieties of Buddhism
are not "religion" according to such a definition.)
Atheism is certainly not a belief in any sort of superhuman power, nor
is it categorized by worship in any meaningful sense. Widening the
definition of "religious" to encompass atheism tends to result in many
other aspects of human behaviour suddenly becoming classed as
"religious" as well -- such as science, politics, and watching TV.
"OK, maybe it's not a religion in the strict sense of the word. But
surely belief in atheism (or science) is still just an act of faith,
like religion is?"
Firstly, it's not entirely clear that sceptical atheism is something
one actually believes in.
Secondly, it is necessary to adopt a number of core beliefs or
assumptions to make some sort of sense out of the sensory data we
experience. Most atheists try to adopt as few core beliefs as
possible; and even those are subject to questioning if experience
throws them into doubt.
Science has a number of core assumptions. For example, it is generally
assumed that the laws of physics are the same for all observers (or at
least, all observers in inertial frames). These are the sort of core
assumptions atheists make. If such basic ideas are called "acts of
faith", then almost everything we know must be said to be based on
acts of faith, and the term loses its meaning.
Faith is more often used to refer to complete, certain belief in
something. According to such a definition, atheism and science are
certainly not acts of faith. Of course, individual atheists or
scientists can be as dogmatic as religious followers when claiming
that something is "certain". This is not a general tendency, however;
there are many atheists who would be reluctant to state with certainty
that the universe exists.
Faith is also used to refer to belief without supporting evidence or
proof. Sceptical atheism certainly doesn't fit that definition, as
sceptical atheism has no beliefs. Strong atheism is closer, but still
doesn't really match, as even the most dogmatic atheist will tend to
refer to experimental data (or the lack of it) when asserting that God
does not exist.
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