Must Godlessness Have Political, Philosophical Implications?:
Atheism, which is the mere disbelief in the existence of gods, has no inherent philosophical or political implications. There are too many different and opposing atheistic philosophies and political positions for this to be possible. Godlessness, which covers more than just atheism, arguably can have implications because refusing to recognize or worship any gods may influence how we approach important issues. I will argue for some implications which people should draw from their godlessness.
Godlessness and Personal Autonomy:
The absence of gods in your life opens up the possibility of personal autonomy. If you worship a god, then you subsume your own desires, goals, and interests to whatever you imagine or assume that this god wants. Anyone who refuses to worship any gods — and this covers more than just atheists — is free to pursue their own interests and govern their own behavior as they see fit. Such personal autonomy is the basis for political autonomy as well as both personal and political liberty.
Godlessness and Moral Autonomy:
Whoever worships a god most likely also believes that their morality either was created by their god or is at least dependent upon their god’s commands. This cuts off most or any opportunity to develop morally and to make truly independent, moral decisions themselves. Morality is reduced to little more than following commands and trying to figure out what their god wants. Moral autonomy, however, means that one can make reasoned decisions which they can be held responsible for.
Godlessness and Political Liberty:
Autonomy is the basis for liberty: a community cannot be free to govern itself if we are not free to govern ourselves; democracy requires that we reason out our decisions and be held responsible for them. With personal and moral autonomy comes the possibility of real political liberty. Godlessness is not required for liberty, but it does open up more doors by making a person’s life independent of alleged commands or demands from any gods — and more importantly, a god’s alleged representatives.
Godlessness and Sexual Autonomy:
A person who doesn’t worship any gods has the liberty to govern their own sexuality however they see fit. The proclamations made by a few self-righteous human beings about what a non-human being thinks about human sexuality simply aren’t relevant — nor should they be. If anyone is to govern human sexuality, it should be those being governed and this means that people should be sexually autonomous, just as they are personally, morally, and politically autonomous.
Godlessness and Personal, Political Responsibility:
Liberty and responsibility go hand-in-hand: being free opens up more possibilities for action, but also forces us to live with the consequences of our actions. A godless person must us take responsibility for not only their personal behavior, but also the political community of which they are a member. This is because without any gods to fall back on, there isn’t anyone out there who will make things better and clean up after our mistakes. Our problems are ultimately our responsibility.
Godlessness and Justice:
Perhaps the most important problem which we human beings must take responsibility for in our human communities is establishing of justice: social, political, and economic. If a crime must be punished, it is our responsibility to do so. If people suffer economically, it is our responsibility to rectify things. If someone is cheated, we must balance the books. If someone is denied their rights, we must compensate. A godless person cannot hope that things will be made better in any other way.
Godlessness, Science, and the Natural World:
If we don’t worship and call upon any gods for help and knowledge, then we are basically on our own in the world — and this means that we if want to know more about this world, we have to use the best resources available to us. Thus far, that’s science. Methodological naturalism makes science godless and thus helps us better understand ourselves and our place in the universe without having to be concerned with gods, spirits, or anything else supernatural.
Godlessness, Life, and Afterlife:
If you don’t recognize or worship any gods, then it’s also unlikely that you believe there will be any sort of afterlife following this life. With no afterlife, there is no eternal punishment or reward for what we do now — thus justice must be achieved here and now. There is also no possibility for any experiences beyond what we have now, meaning that if we are going to live now we have to take responsibility for really living. We won’t get any other chances but this one.
Godlessness, Liberty, and Autonomy:
A dominant theme throughout the various implications I think people should draw from being godless is liberty — liberty coupled with responsibility, of course, but liberty nonetheless. It is not a coincidence that so many movements for political or economic liberty have also been coupled with anti-clerical arguments as well as atheism, or at least rejection of whatever religious forms passed for traditional and orthodox at the time. There isn’t anything about atheism or godlessness which requires that one advocate liberty and autonomy, or which would prevent a person from supporting repressive institutions. The value of autonomy has, however, been an important component of godless philosophy and politics throughout human history.
Autonomy is not quite the same as liberty, though they are closely related. Liberty means being free from external constraints; autonomy means being able to govern oneself. Liberty is required for autonomy, for you can’t be free to govern yourself if you aren’t free in the first place. At the same time, though, it can be argued that real liberty can’t exist unless people also have the freedom to govern themselves in various ways — thus the existence of liberty is also dependent upon the presence of autonomy. This creates a cyclic relationship in which neither is truly independent of the other.
Are liberty and autonomy possible in the context of theism and religion? Obviously it is possible to at least some degree, but there will always be constraints — not constraints created by and amendable by humans, but constraints attributed to gods and therefore placed beyond the reach of human reason or amendment. This necessarily creates limits for human freedom and autonomy which don’t exist in a godless context — a context where the existence of some god may not be excluded, but where the interests or wishes of any alleged gods are excluded.
