I am a 16 year old, proud, Israeli atheist. I see the damage the religions have caused all through history, and I see how people follow it blindly.
I study at history how easy it is to “change the world” – from the colonial ages, to the french revolution, and all the brave rebels, everywhere, and with every lesson – I just wonder why aren’t the atheists doing anything –
The atheist people include: the richest, smartest, most rational and creative thinkers in the world! How come almost nothing is done?
Posted: May 23rd 2009
Dave Hitt www
Ah, the impatience of youth, I remember it well. We see something that’s wrong and we want to fix it right now. That’s perfectly natural at your age, but rapid fixes are almost impossible to implement, and if anyone tries they are doomed to failure. For instance, some governments have tried to ban religion, only to discover that persecution makes it flourish.
The world is slowly, very slowly, too slowly, coming around to a rational point of view. It would be great to snap our fingers and have everyone suddenly convert from a superstitious point of view to a logical, rational point of view, but that would require magic, which rational people know doesn’t exist. Instead we have to take the long, tortuously slow approach of educating people and encouraging them to exercise their natural curiosity, one person at a time.
As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced superstitious societies will find themselves at a huge economic disadvantage, and this will help pressure them to change.
If mankind is to survive we need to abandon superstition. I’d love to live in a world where 90% of the population was ruled mostly by logic and reason, and the 10% who were still religious were considered sad and silly. Like you, I’d like to see this happen now, right now, not next year or next week. But realistically, we’re not going to happen for a century or two. But you, and I, and every other rational person can help contribute toward that goal, one person at a time.
Posted: May 26th 2009
Eric_PK www
First off, it’s hard to unite people around non-belief.
But even if you could, what is the “something” that you are alluding to?
Posted: May 24th 2009
brian thomson www
In my view, this question is all about the future, since history has demonstrated that meaningful change is a slow process. If you push an agenda too hard, there’s often a reactionary backlash. You mention the French Revolution in your question: that was a classic example of how revolution can not be sustained.
About four years after the storming of the Bastille, there was the Thermidorian Reaction to the excesses of the Reign Of Terror, and revolutionary leaders such as Robespierre were arrested. They had gone too far, and too quickly, and by the end of the decade, Napoleon Bonaparte was ruler of France. Five years later he set himself up as Emperor, starting a new Monarchy to replace the old. Some good did come of the Revolution, since Napoleon reformed the legal system along more modern principles, but France still reverted to Monarchy.
In general, I am not looking to impose my views on people who would not choose them of their own accord. Religion alone is not the fundamental (!) problem in my view, and atheism is but one instance of a wider opposition to ideology and dogmatism of all sorts. Racial and ethical prejudices are other examples, ones to which atheists are not immune. Personally, I did not give up one irrational belief system just to adopt another one, far less force it on people. I think we should do all we can to free the next generation from the delusions of their parents, whether those delusions are religious delusions or not.
Posted: May 23rd 2009
logicel
The change is happening now. And no significant historical change has ever been easy. We have no ability to predict the outcome (The French peasants could not either, we can only look back and then examine the interlocking factors leading up to the Revolution in hindsight).
I want to emphasize that secularism is the goal, not eradication of religion. Think of it as a version of the British and largely bloodless equivalent of the French Revolution.
The Net is one factor in educating people in the importance of secularism and advancing secularism in our non-virtual lives. As a young person, you can play an active role.
How do I know the change is happening? There has been an significant increase of young people in America (a very religious country) who consider themselves as irreligious (despite the unfair and widespread advantage of religious indoctrination from birth). You and they will still be around when I am long gone along with a lot of religious folks who will no longer be here either.
Numbers of religious believers will continue to dwindle because the type of intrusive, rigid, divisive religion is truly losing its appeal. As education and literacy increases, the importance of religion will continue to decrease. So do everything you can to promote secular education and literacy in your generation.
Let secularism do our job for us. It will allow people to continue to be religious but not in the public, tax-paying realm. Choice of religion or none will be the province of adults. This has already been achieved in France and Northern Europe. The changes are in process for Ireland, Spain, and Italy. And you, yourself (and others like you, find them!), represent the brightest and best hope for Israel. Embrace secularist activism.
Posted: May 23rd 2009