Is belief really just a matter of choice? A lot of arguments from Christians seem to assume that it is - they tell atheists that they have "chosen" not to believe in God and that they must now "choose" to be a Christian. But what if belief (and therefore disbelief) really aren't "choices" after all?
Read Article: Belief and Choice
Freedom From Religion
Our Declaration of Independence asserts for all men the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Most people will agree that the exercise of these rights must be limited to the extent that they deny or infringe on the rights of others. You are free to do as you please as long as it is not at the expense of someone else. At least this is what most of us profess. But is it what we practice?
Some would make a woman and her doctor criminals for aborting a pregnancy. Some think it is right that we have laws making a criminal of a woman for selling sexual favors, or of anyone who (1) plays cards for money, (2) smokes pot, or (3) uses cocaine. Some would have our public schools, school boards, county councils and Congress to conduct public prayer. Some would deny civil rights to gays and lesbians. Do any of these activities infringe on the rights of anyone else? If the motives for the above come from religious faith, then maybe Sam Harris is right. It is time for “the end of faith”.
The imposition of a reference to “God” on our coins, currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance is a further indication of our unwillingness to see that any expression of religion made by government encroaches on the liberty of some, in violation of the Constitution. De we really think that believers have rights that non-believers do not have?
Frank
Excellent post Austin.
I think Sam Harris had an article on this in which explained that people who “believe” have a different neural makeup than “non believers”.. or something like that.
Basically, those that believe find it easier to believe in most things than the rest of us.
I copied and pasted from chapter one, paragraph 10 From Thomas Paine’s book, The age of reason.
…….It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and, in order to qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive anything more destructive to morality than this?………..So, where does leave me? I find it impossible to believe that some of the people I know really believe some of the stuff they say they do.