Solutions to the Problems of Faith

In a recent post, vjack of Atheist Revolution made this call to atheist bloggers:

In this post, I call for the beginning of a shift toward a greater focus on solutions to the problems we have identified. We are right to continue addressing the problems until they are more widely acknowledged. However, religious belief endures through the ages in part because it satisfies human needs that are not easily met by the alternatives. Thus, I believe that increased attention to solutions is required to achieve real change.

I have been concerned that as atheists we are often stereotyped as just angry, pissed off malcontents who will nit-pick theism without offering alternatives. Perhaps this stereotype is deserved in some instances, but I believe any anger that we express is out of a sense of frustration and not out of hatred or malice. It is mind-blowingly frustrating to witness the carte-blanche free pass that religious organizations get when it comes to their illegal and immoral practices while we are labeled as 'evil' or without morals.

Take the case of the Catholic Church pedophilia epidemic and coverup. Imagine any other organization, public or private that sent known pedophiles into communities where they knew the pedophilia would be in close and private contact with children. Imagine that this organization paid bribe or hush money to silence victims and continuously moved these pedophiles from one city to another, not warning the future victims or their families. If any organization did this, other than a religious organization, then all involved from the bottom to the top of the organization would be in prison. The organization would simply cease to exist.

This is just one example of the double standard applied in the United States and most of the world to religious organizations. I think that reminding members of these groups about the actions of their leaders and members is an important job for us. 'God' knows that the media aren't going to do a good job of it. Furthermore, it is very hard for those of us who can view these organizations from a rational viewpoint to simply ignore what is going on. It does make us angry and definitely makes us frustrated to hear believers excuse these horrible actions.

In my view, bringing these things to the attention of believers and challenging their beliefs and preconceptions are, in their own way, solutions. We certainly are never going to be able to compete with the promise of a paradise after death or dozens of virgins waiting for you when you die. I think that the best thing we can do is to encourage believers think, to get them to question aspects of their faiths that they may never have considered. Someone who has been in a deep sleep may not be awakened by a light touch on the shoulder, they may need a good shake. There is a lot at stake, our very survival as a species, and a subtle approach to our message may not get through in time.

Living your life without faith and lies is much harder than living your life believing in fairy tales and a magical friend who is always there to help you. We non-believers will never be able to compete with that. What we can do is to show believers that there are 10's of millions of us who are living happy, productive and moral lives without the need for faith and to point out that the credit they give their faith for the positive aspects of their lives is not deserved. We need to show them that they are the reason that good things happen to them; that they are in control of their lives.

Let's face the facts. For most people, believing is easier than being skeptical. I know it doesn't make sense to us, but for them it does. If we are going to make any difference, it is going to be gradual and on a one by one basis. In my own case, my journey from religious faith was triggered by a very small event. We are basically planting the seeds of reason within the minds of our readers. Whether these seeds take root or not is unknown. While it may not seem we are winning the battle for reason over ignorance, I don't think it is going to be an easy thing to measure. All that we can do is to chip away at it little by little.

Tagged as:
faith
religion
atheist