The Path to Atheism

A Letter to Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga.

A not uncommon criticism leveled at atheists by some Christians is that we have “taken the easy way out.” In these believers’ views, atheists avoid the effort and commitment it takes to be a Christian. Atheism is seen as morally lazy or selfish. We think ourselves “better than god” or “too smart for god” or are even morally bankrupt for having “rejected god.” Just like the child who excels in math or science is branded a “nerd” by his secretly envious classmates, the conforming theist declares themselves more “virtuous” than the atheist.

In an extreme case, the atheist will be accused of being under the influence of “Satan” or of promoting immorality. The satanic accusation is absurd. Atheists do not believe in Satan and more than we do god. That is why we are atheists. To the atheist, the concept of an evil ground-spirit called “Satan” is every bit as preposterous as the idea of a good sky-spirit called “God” and even more “cartoon-esque” and childish.

As to “morality,” there is absolutely no correlation between theism and the personality traits we describe as “morals.” Moreover, in my experience, morality, particularly in the field of sexual conduct, is very often nothing more than ignorance or jealousy with a halo. It is the closet drunk who most loudly proclaims the virtues of abstinence. As loudly, perhaps, as Ted Haggard or Larry Craig.

In reality, it takes a critical, thinking mind and a degree of emotional courage to be an atheist. Your typical atheist is raised in a religious household and a religious society, where parental, familial and peer pressure exert a constant retarding drag against any emergence out of theism. In effect, an intellectual “glass ceiling” is often imposed upon the head of the aspiring atheist by the theists around him/her. They are effectively “dumbed-down” by family and peers. It takes guts and brains to question and escape this.

As the atheist grows, and learns of science and the scientific method, of the vastness of the Earth and its myriad beliefs and cultures, of its age and the evolution of its life, god becomes an increasingly distant, unnecessary and meaningless concept. By the time one hits their early twenties, and a college education and a basic knowledge of the vastness and complexity of the Universe kicks in, a religious explanation for everything is fast becoming childish, inadequate, and inept. The Bible competes with the latest texts on paleontology, math, philosophy, and astronomy, along with a myriad of others. It is out of its league, boxing well above its weight class. As such, an atheist does not reject god. Oh no, it goes much deeper than that. God just shrinks away. He “goes out.” There isn't even anything left to reject.

I had a god
But then he died
Upon my logic he was crucified
(With apologies to Cold Chisel)

With a growing awareness of the World, man's motivation for creating god also starts to make sense. As one is learning the nature of the Universe, one is also learning the nature of mankind, with all our shortcomings and weaknesses. The more one understands the former, the less reason there is to believe in a god. The more one understands the latter, the more one understands why millions of us still do. There is a simple comfort to the Great Pretend.

To be a believer, however, is a very simple task. It takes no emotional or intellectual effort whatsoever. All one need do is accept what one was taught as a child and never question it. Most of us were spoon fed religious dogma of one kind or another when our young minds were too undeveloped to spot its rank absurdity. To maintain this status quo, just sit back, refuse to be challenged and coast along like a donkey with blinders on. The lord will always be your shepherd, for so long as you conform like a sheep.

In this sense, religion is really the ground floor, the starting point. It is the lowest level of theological or philosophical development possible, accessible to a five year-old's mind. It is as simple as it gets. It is philosophy with Down's Syndrome.

The stories in the various religious texts are, indeed, written to be accessible to the simplest of minds. If they weren’t, the faith would not have been understood 2,000 years ago by illiterate herders. This does not mean all theists are simple. Far from it. But it does mean that the simpler the message, the more people it can reach.

In this vein, I reject the oft heard criticism of religion that it was “invented” to “control the masses.” While religious beliefs can easily be manipulated by astute politicians, and are every day, this does not explain their source. Without fuel, there can be no fire. The fact is that the various religious texts were themselves written by simple, unsophisticated people from a bygone, scientifically illiterate age. They honestly believed what they wrote. They based their texts on the prevailing superstitions of their times and whenever they didn’t understand something, they simply attributed it to “god”. Once again, “I don’t know” equaled god. What a shock it must have been to learn that their first heaven was 80% nitrogen.

Creation myths, miracles like a man walking on water or ascending into heaven (be it on a horse or otherwise) promises of constant love and forgiveness by a kind sky-god, and of living happily ever after, all have a very simple, shallow appeal to them, comforting and accessible to most minds.

Likewise, poverty is generally seen as a virtue in most creeds, simply because the vast bulk of religion’s audience (and authors) were, and are, impecunious souls. I am yet to hear of a religion that does not laud the prevailing characteristics of its followers. If Wall Street wrote the Bible for an audience of investment bankers, the profit motive would be a sacred virtue and insider trading would be a sacrament. Similarly, if farming was more popular than herding in Middle East 2,000 years ago, Christians in mass on Sundays would mechanically recite how “The Lord is my scarecrow, I shall not want”.

A stark example of the sheer dominance of intellect over religion is afforded by the long running war in Afghanistan. The science of the United States’ military technology is nothing short of frightening. Advances in electronics, telecommunications, aerodynamics and a host of other recognized sciences enables a US military worker to control a an unmanned drone aircraft stalking the skies above Northern Pakistan with a joystick, spot his prey from 10,000 feet and take out a nest of enemy combatants – all from his air-conditioned office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He can kill twenty Taliban in the morning and be home for lunch with his wife and children. The greatest risk he faces is a fender-bender on the way to work or a coffee stain on his new shirt.

Meanwhile his prey, the religion-drunk Taliban, has come from an education system that, for the last thousand years has involved little more than reciting the Qur’an. They scurry around rocks like crabs, trying to avoid the drone, armed with Soviet era rifles, a rug on which to bow to Mecca and a life expectance measured in months. The fact that science works and religion jerks is why ex-Mujahedeen are not remotely bombing San Francisco and New York from the safety of a cave in Kandahar.

However, many of us do not even have the chance to question our religion, particularly in poorer countries. Putting social pressure and even the threats of physical violence aside, many will never have the access to the education and knowledge that extinguishes dogma. Even in wealthier more liberal nations, where the knowledge is accessible and the threats of violence much lower, many of us lack the intellectual ability and/or emotional fortitude to seriously question our core beliefs on our own. This is not a criticism, it is just a fact. Not all of us will reach the upper echelons in a corporation, politics or academia either.

This is where I think the atheist movement in the USA needs to re-examine how it approaches the religious. I so often see religious debates degenerate into the atheist calling the theist an “idiot” or a “moron.” This is not helpful. If the end game is to enlighten and to free minds from the Great Pretend, it makes one’s task all the more difficult if one comes across as arrogant and overly critical. Rarely does the successful salesman close a sale he opened by telling the client how stupid he is. It is also simply not true. Many theists are smart, astute people. They just rarely question their beliefs.

That said, I accept that some theists are beyond reach. There is an intellectual threshold and education level below which atheism is simply out of reach. Atheism is largely predicated upon a working knowledge of science and the World around us. As unfortunate as it may be, those below this line will always be confined to believing in simple, happy superstitions. In their case, this may not necessarily be such a bad thing. However, like a fire rescue squad in a disaster with limited resources, or an overworked teacher with a large class, the atheist movement must concentrate its resources on the vast bulk of theists who can be reached. Every exhortation to a deaf ear is a waste of breath.

Further, it is not an all or nothing affair. Few people graduate immediately from theism to atheism. It is a process, a gradual enlightenment. Even sowing a small seed of reason in a superstitious mind is better than overreaching and being rejected out of hand. Patience, realistic expectations and an indefatigable preparedness to debate, to engage and to explain are called for. While we may not be in the majority for the foreseeable future, we can certainly do our part to push back the cloak of superstition and sow the seeds of reason, some of which are bound to germinate. Who knows, one day we may even need our own scarecrow.