Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Atheism: the default ethical position of humanity

By David Nicholls - posted Tuesday, 8 July 2008


Atheism promotes all persons as being equal before the law; to have a fully rounded education available for everyone; to cast out all kinds of ideological indoctrination; to ensure that religion and politics remain separate identities; and that every mature citizen retain the right to choose or not choose a religion without adverse consequence.

The imperative of adherence to a religion must be that its practice be a private concern between consenting adults and that any of its precepts, if not conforming to rational conclusion, are not politicised.

There is no grand plan for an atheist empire. The wider acceptance of atheism does not advantage anyone with large-scale power, kudos or money.

Advertisement

Some people see the promotion of atheism as a threat because many religions have dwindling numbers of adherents. This loss of control and thus sway over people’s lives and politics is the reason for the frightened panic. Many religious authorities and followers therefore look for the downside of atheism where it does not exist. Wild stories of the immorality of atheism suddenly emerge and become real to those alarmed by the unstoppable rise of a system of thinking repressed for centuries.

Believing in a god or higher force has a history as long as consciousness, which has embedded it deeply in the human psyche. It has evolved from times when limited knowledge of nature had its only answers in supernatural explanations. Fears of the certainty of eventual nothingness, of wishing for a better life, and indeed, of just surviving the next winter, war, drought or famine, powerfully influenced the worldview of our forebears. A few hundred years of scientific discovery is not going to yield easily to thousands steeped in superstition. It is foolish to think otherwise.

There is, however, a hope that a majority of civilisation’s numbers will eventually see the emperor of religion has no clothes. We need to look at the immense problems faced by the planet with minds unhampered by faith driven imperatives, many considerably adding to the sum total of misery and strife. The main negative influence is their inherent divisive nature, giving unhelpful support to tribal feelings of them and us.

The argument that without religious belief, people would have no morals is specious. A brief look at other higher animals especially shows how humans have evolved utilising co-operative traits, which benefit all. Love, friendship, protection of young, mother-offspring relationships, and so on, all correspond to human behaviour. These characteristics are inherent and if they were missing, we could not have possibly evolved, rather, we would be extinct eons ago. If people need the imagined presence of a god to control aberrant attitudes, one has to wonder how other animals have survived, as they do not have dependency on any supernatural beings for their mores.

The added advantage afforded humans and not other creatures are we can codify and improve upon our inherent helpful propensities as a way of ensuring the controlling of wrongdoing as a matter of law.

The observation of parliaments or governing bodies worldwide reveals that the less religious interference, the better off is its citizens. To suggest that one needs a god for an ethical outlook is really an accusation against those promoting such a position. If a religious person found proof that a god did not exist, would they suddenly go on a rampage of murder, rape and pillaging? As a high proportion of atheists were once religious and no statistics support such a notion, the answer is, of course not.

Advertisement

On a cautionary note, as stated, atheism is demonstrably the default ethical position of humanity but it does not carry a guarantee of saving the planet. The only definitive statement worthy of consideration, to paraphrase Winston Churchill judging democracy against various political systems, is that as a social advantage, atheism “is better than the rest”.

A study by Peter Singer & Marc Hauser concluded that choices made by religious and non-religious individuals facing ethical dilemmas are remarkably similar. This is an example of the quandaries confronted:

A runaway boxcar is about to run over five people walking on the tracks. A railroad worker is standing next to a switch that can turn the boxcar onto a side track, killing one person, but allowing the five to survive. Flipping the switch is ______.

The blank space needs filling in with, “obligatory”, “permissible”, or “forbidden”.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. 3
  5. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

64 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

David Nicholls is the president of the Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by David Nicholls

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 64 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy