America’s Christian Right complains often about godless liberals and godless liberalism, presuming that neither politics nor law can be pursued without a basis in a monotheistic religion – preferably Christianity or Judaism. This is incorrect. Not only is there nothing contradictory about pursuing politics and law from a godless perspective, but the results are not obviously worse, less moral, or less humane than the alternatives. Indeed, it’s possible to argue that godlessness has advantages.
Throughout human history, people have believed that their community or tribe had been divinely chosen to carry out some great task, but this is untenable and unacceptable in the modern world. All human communities are also human creations and exist for the sake of human needs. We humans are social animals and create communities because want and need them, not because any gods demand it of us. Some do a better job than others, but none has a divine mandate.
Fundamental to any human community is a system of rights and laws, all of which are created by humans as rules and norms which help regulate their communities. No rights or laws are created by any gods and imposed upon us; instead, they are created out of our experiences of the good and ill which humans are capable of. No rights or laws are absolute, but some are fundamental and necessary in order to avoid significant problems or suffering.
Politics is a human system by which communities regulate themselves. In a free and democratic society, the people are sovereign and have the final say, thus gods have no place in the system. No decisions can be made which reference any alleged gods or their desires. Politically, we are answerable to each other, not to any gods. Politics is necessarily a process where compromise plays an important role and religion is notoriously inept at compromising on basic issues.
Whatever the problems are which face human communities, they are necessarily human problems. The origins might lie in human actions, human nature, or the natural world; none are supernatural in origin. There are no demons or spirits plaguing us or causing us misery. Because our problems are our own, only we can solve them, and we must do so using our reason, science, and technology. There are no problems which are in principle insoluble, though some may cause us more trouble than others.
The existence of an afterlife may not be impossible, but the existence of this life is beyond question. It would be immoral to focus so much on a possible afterlife that we sacrifice the life we have. This includes sacrificing the people’s lives or happiness, as well as the integrity of the natural world around us. Individuals may value the prospect of an afterlife, but politics, law, and public policy can pay it no attention and cannot be based on it in any way.
Godless politics means doing politics without reference to gods or religious dogmas. It is not itself a political party, philosophy, or dogma; instead, it can exist as part of other political parties and various political philosophies. A godless political philosophy can be dogmatic, but those who pursue godless politics should work hard to avoid this. Dogmatism and extremism are among the vices of absolutist religions which godless politics must overcome.
Because godless politics focuses on finding human solutions to the human problems of this world, there is no room for prayer or wishful thinking. Decisions and policies must be based upon hard data and, insofar as possible, scientific research. Solutions must emphasize practical action and lay out the means by which problems are overcome. Under no circumstances should any policies be based upon the dictates of an ideology divorced from evidence and data.
Contrary to popular prejudice, godlessness does not make one any more immoral than being a theist makes one moral. Just as not believing in any gods doesn’t make one immoral, pursuing politics without reference to any gods or any religion doesn’t mean that the results will end up being immoral. Godless politics certainly isn’t infallible, but there is nothing about it which should cause people automatic fear, concern, or suspicion.
On a practical level, there is a liability for anyone who openly pursues godless politics because so many prejudices persist about secularism, godlessness, and atheists. Overcoming these prejudices will not be easy, but it must be done not only because it’s fundamentally wrong, but also because a godless perspective has positive advantages to offer any political party or philosophy.
Perhaps the most important advantage which godlessness can bring to politics is the absence of fanaticism and dogmatism. Being godless does not make one immune from fanaticism and dogmatism, but it does remove one of the most serious causes of these problems. Theistic religions — in particular, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam — establish absolute systems which effectively deny the validity of compromise; politics, however, is established on the principle of compromise.
It’s obvious that religious believers in the political realm are able to compromise on things, but often this means refusing to make their religious commitments the basis for public policy. In effect, they end up behaving in godless manner — something which some religious believers complain about.
Furthermore, being godless or behaving godlessly can release a person from many of the suspicions and conflicts which have traditionally plagued religions. The various theological complaints between Jews and Muslims or between Christians and Jews are simply irrelevant for a godless politician.
Finally, being godless or at least behaving godlessly forces one to ignore religious demands that one accept ideas and ideology on faith. All that is left is the use of reason, empiricism, and science. They may be used imperfectly or with prejudice, but ultimately they are the only means by which good solutions to our human problems will be found. If politics is to mean anything and be a force for good, it must be focused on finding practical solutions to human problems and in this, both theism and religion can hinder as much as help.
