Austin's Agnosticism / Atheism Blog

It is commonly claimed by both critics and supporters that modern science is value-free. This is false, though it is true that science lacks many of the values traditionally ascribed to religion and doesn't make any value judgments about the use of scientific knowledge. On the other hand, the very ability of science to function as it does, and so successfully, is dependent upon a set of very important values. Some of those values are explained here.

 

Read Article: Values of Godless Science: Modern Science Needs No Religion or Gods for Values

All over the United States, radical Christians are pushing private organizations and public institutions to bow to Christian traditions under the guise of religious freedom. The truth, however, is that the ideology of such Christians accepts no sovereign over the world except their god, and so laws which fail to uphold their beliefs are not recognized as valid. This has been called "creeping theocracy" — that is, getting organizations and institutions to change policies so everyone ends up following Christian traditions whether they want to or not.

Curiously, some of these Christians have started to complain about Muslims who, they allege, are doing the same thing. I'm surprised they don't file a trademark or copyright infringement lawsuit. Read more...

Support for keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is popular in America. Even some atheists, as well as normally staunch defenders of secularism and church/state separation, question whether it's necessary or appropriate to remove "under God" from the Pledge. A variety of arguments and claims are offered by apologists for the current Pledge of Allegiance, all of which fail. Either they ignore the basic arguments of critics or they are historically and factually inaccurate. The best defenses and justifications for keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance offer no good reasons not to get rid of it.

 

Read Article: How to Counter Arguments Defending "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance

The question of whether or not some sort of god exists is not one which should necessarily occupy the minds of atheists all of the time. Theists - especially Christians - regularly challenge us with arguments and ideas which supposedly demonstrate that their god definitely exists. But prior to that, there is an even more important issue to address: is a god really important in our lives?

 

Read Article: Does God Matter?

According to research done by Ellen de Bruin, a Dutch psychologist and journalist, personal autonomy and freedom make people happier. That's the conclusion she draws from a study showing that Dutch women are both the happiest women as well as the most free. The fact that Holland is a relatively wealthy and democratic country surely helps a lot, but apparently personal autonomy is important above and beyond all of that. Is it coincidental that Holland is also relatively less religious? Read more...

Atheism isn't very widely accepted or thought of very well by large numbers of people, especially in the United States. As discussed yesterday, even some liberal areas can be filled with hatred and hostility towards atheists. Because of this, many atheists feel compelled to keep their atheism a secret, not telling anyone they don't trust. Even family members might be kept in the dark. Do you hide your atheism, or are you 'out of the closet' and open about things?

It would probably be better for more atheists to be more "out" and open about who they are and what they believe. The mere act of keeping it quiet helps reinforce the idea that atheism is something to be ashamed of and therefore is "wrong." In addition, the more contact people have with atheists, the easier it will be in the long run to dispel popular myths and misconceptions about what atheists believe, what atheism is, and so forth.

On the other hand, when people perceive legitimate threats to their livelihood, grades, or even health from god-fearing Christians in their community, it's difficult to tell them to come out of the closet anyway. For some atheists, being out and open just isn't a very realistic option. For that reason, I think that atheists who don't face any strong threats have a greater obligation to come out and those of us who are already out have a strong obligation to be more open about our atheism — we need to make up for those who can't and make it easier for them to eventually come out.

What does it mean to 'respect' someone's religion or religious beliefs? Many religious theists insist that their religion deserves to be respected, even by non-believers, but what exactly are they asking for? If they are simply asking to be let alone in their beliefs, that's not unreasonable. If they are asking that their right to believe be honored, then I agree. The problem is, these basic minimums are rarely, if ever, what people are asking for; instead, they are asking for much more.

 

Read Article: What is Respect? What Does it Mean to Respect Religion or Theism?

We have seen lots of reports and evidence of inappropriate behavior at the Air Force Academy where religion — specifically Christianity — has been promoted and pushed by officers and leaders towards cadets. Now there is growing evidence that similarly inappropriate behavior is occurring at other military service academies as well. So it looks like it's not just a problem with or at the Air Force, but instead a more widespread problem with the military and with Christians in the military. Read more...

The presence of more hostility towards and distrust of atheists than any other minority in America is fairly well known by now. What might not be so well known is the fact that naked hostility and aggression towards atheists is not limited to just those places where we find large numbers of conservative or fundamentalist believers. Even relatively liberal places can reveal an undercurrent of hostility which would make revealing your atheism a risky proposition. Read more...

A standard dictionary defines a freethinker as “one that forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially one who doubts or denies religious dogma.” What this means is that to be a freethinker, a person has to be willing to consider any idea and any possibility. The standard for deciding the truth-value of claims is not tradition, dogma, or authorities — instead, it must be reason and logic.

 

Read Article: Are Atheists All Freethinkers?