(Posted November 23, 2018)
The rise of atheism in America is no longer a matter of debate and can no longer be dismissed as a cultural anomaly. Although the number of atheists is still a matter of considerable debate, the fact that the numbers continue to trend upwards is unquestionable. Furthermore, recent research suggests that the number of self-identifying atheists is most likely under-reported, perhaps as much as 10 times under-reported. A recent study out of the University of Kentucky used a novel technique to estimate the degree of under-reporting and applied this technique to two nationally representative populations of 2000 adults in each sample. The results were eye-opening, estimating that as many as 26% of US adults identify as non-believers.
Although pleasantly surprised, I don’t find these numbers totally unexpected. As a student of history and a proponent of cultural evolution, the conflict between secularism and religious belief has been a perennial theme throughout human history. Much like a teenager’s indifference, or even hostility towards his parents, our history is littered with doubters, skeptics, and heretics.¹ That indifference often transformed into open rebellion and murderous intent to destroy the divine incompetence, to kill the god that’s failed to deliver on promises of mercy, compassion, and everlasting paradise. And now we’re entering the next stage of human development, an epiphany of sorts… the inevitable realization that trying to kill god is like shadow boxing, like throwing counter-punches at a ghostly projection of yourself. The rise of spirituality over the culture of religious dogmatism is the inevitable progression from human self-awareness towards a cosmic consciousness.
Understandably, the inexorable march towards a more secular world creates a lot of angst among the faithful. However, I would argue that their prophecies of moral anarchy are not only unsubstantiated but are contradicted by the historical evidence of the last several hundred years. As societies began to separate religious belief from public policy, governments began to recognize their responsibility for protecting the interests of all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. As the laws of man overshadowed the capricious laws of gods and kings, reason and empiricism started to overshadow religious doctrine, myth and superstition. The “rule of law” is the cornerstone of every modern democracy, and no sane citizen questions its value and legitimacy in a civilized society.
By no means am I advocating that everyone abandon their faith. Personal belief is a singular, individual choice. However, inasmuch as the world is becoming increasingly smaller, I am advocating for a world that accepts the alternative views posed by atheism. And, most importantly, I am advocating for a clear demarcation within the public sphere between the personal truths of faith and the objective truths of critical thought. The Founding Fathers and their contemporaries examined religious belief and found flaws in all of the varieties of their day. They agreed that a secular state offered the clearest path to a free and flourishing society.
As non-belief becomes an increasingly more common and viable personal choice, there will be many who will attempt to sow seeds of fear and paint a picture of a dystopian future. One example of many is the spurious claim that lack of school prayer has contributed to moral decay and a host of societal ills. Anyone who has raised a child knows that developing moral character and integrity cannot be accomplished simply by a daily prayer. Easily dismissed is the naïve notion that outsourcing our personal ethics to any church or creed will ensure a more civil society, as evidenced by the hateful outcries of the Westboro Baptist Church.
From a societal perspective, I’m buoyed by the fact that many are choosing to unshackle their minds and are willing to challenge the prevailing views of uncompromising dogmatism. However, there is no guarantee that abandoning faith will automatically lead to a worldview of optimism and hope. Just as parents struggle to guide teenage angst into emotionally resilient, self-assured adults, the spiritual journey of doubt and discovery takes patience, discipline and effort. In his book ‘If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him’, Sheldon Kopp beautifully defines the journey that faces the spiritual pilgrim:
“The contemporary pilgrim is a person separated from the life-infusing myths that supported tribal man. He is a secular isolate celebrating the wake of a dead God. When God lived, and man belonged, psychology was no more than ‘a minor branch of the art of storytelling and mythmaking.’ Today, each man must work at telling his own story if he is to be able to reclaim his personal identity.”
For those struggling with their own nagging doubts and skepticism, a secular world does not assume a less moral world. A secular world does not assume a less spiritual world. Atheism is not the denial of god. On the contrary, atheism is the freedom to see the divine in everything at every moment. But, like any freedom, there is always a choice… and sacrifice. And the choice is not a singular decision in time, and the sacrifice is not a one-time bargaining. Like the flowing stream, the choices are never-ending and each moment requires personal resolve.
Do you choose to see and hear the divine in less obvious places? Are you willing to sacrifice the comfort of familiarity, the security of the known, the blissful denial of accountability? Are you willing to accept that there is no pre-constructed wall between humanity and evil? Are you willing to accept that light and darkness comingle within the human spirit and that we are all sinner-saints?
These are the questions that atheism has forced me to confront, and some of the daily contradictions I’m forced to reconcile. However, seeing the world through the clear lens of reason and confronting the daily contradictions with the tools of critical thinking have opened up a world of infinite possibilities. Contrary to conventional wisdom, laying waste to the comforting balm of religious doctrine does not open the door to a litany of neuroses and fears. The freedom to experience the world untethered by dogmatic window dressing has allowed me to view the world more honestly, more optimistically, and more joyfully. My fidelity to science has not stripped the world of beauty, awe and wonder. On the contrary, science continues to reveal to me a world of mystic beauty. The discipline of cause and effect reinforces an interconnected universe of constant, unending change and transformation. We are immersed in a boiling cauldron of life and death, of transformation and rebirth.
Knowing that the rising sun is not the creative inspiration of a singular architect does not diminish the awe and beauty of a new day. We are star dust, created and fueled by the same forces that give rise to the first light of a new day. The spirituality of atheism is an affirmative spirit of union and connectedness, a profound sense of belonging… directly challenging the religion of separation wherein man and woman were tossed out of the Garden of Eden, forced to wander as strangers in a strange world.
Every element of the universe is connected and every human being is part of the same great turning wheel of life and death. There is not a single human being who has never suffered, therefore our suffering is shared… we are not alone in our suffering. The word compassion literally means “to suffer together”. We are all made of the same star dust, we are subject to the same forces of the universe…
“We do not ‘come into’ this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean ‘waves’, the universe ‘peoples’. Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.”
Alan Watts
Atheism has not denied me anything. On the contrary, atheism has provided me with profound joy, with a deep sense of connection to everything around me. And, most importantly, atheism has given me the freedom to be kind to everything and everyone, the freedom to experience our shared suffering, and the optimism to know we are surrounded by joy… if we only choose to open our eyes.
¹For an extremely comprehensive view on the history of skepticism, I would highly recommend Jennifer Michael Hecht’s book ‘Doubt: A History’.