I dislike categorising people into only two groups, but the conclusions I will draw in this article I find to be independent of this particular distinction, hence let us consider the assuredly religious and the decidedly non-religious. Of the many traits that separate the two groups, one which appears to be crucial, and which arises [...]
This is something which Peter Atkins once brought up in a debate with William Lane Craig. It is the idea that because we can explain why so many people are religious using evolutionary biology, sociology, and psychology, that therefore there is even less reason to think that religious statements are correct. Certainly the fact that [...]
Clearly in order to answer this question we’re going to need to define extremism. Extremism is a relative description. One thing is extremist with respect to another. To label something extremist is to state that it is very different compared to the average. One could suggest that it is as different as something could possibly [...]
Even the religious are starting to notice that one of the natural philosophical partners to science, is atheism. Bizarrely, this seems to confuse some religious people, as though they weren’t expecting it. Any atheist will tell you, that atheism is the only logically valid philosophy with regards to the existence of gods. It is the [...]
Generalisation is a method used a lot in logic. The easiest to understand definition is when a concept is applied to a broader range of situations. We hear the principle of generalisation in debates most often with regards to extremism. One person might suggest that the views of the extremist reveal a flaw present in [...]
When citing the evidence they have for the existence of a god, many religious people will give examples of their own personal experience. On every such occasion, these references are discarded. The reason is simple. In science, all measurable effects are measured several times, often in several different ways by different scientists. The methods are [...]
This question may seem, on first inspection, to be simple, but it’s not. We will see that this question is phenomenally complex. Indeed this seems to be a pattern of many questions on religious topics. Once more, the complicated nature of the question is revealed through the definitions used to express it. We need to [...]
No. Here’s why. The first thing we must do is define respect. This is quite tricky; it’s common usage gives it quite a loose definition. Generally people would say that it is to not arbitrarily criticise or insult someone, or to be unjustifiably condescending. One might also consider respect to be conversational equality. Clearly it [...]
It is frequently remarked, that as most major holidays in the western world have strong religious significance, atheists should not celebrate them. The two obvious ones are Christmas and Easter. The simplest response to this question is that both of these holidays have essentially very little religious significance left for the population as a whole. [...]
Some of the most controversial cases to have come about in recent years on the subject of religion are those involving people who were banned from wearing certain items of religious symbolism at work. But in each case, nobody knows what the result will be, because nobody is sure how to resolve such cases. Initially [...]
This is a misleading question because it suggests that a person’s philosophical standpoint is always an accurate and reliable indicator of someone’s intelligence. Through consideration of the arguments and evidence for and against the existence of most definitions of gods, there is only one reasonable conclusion that a person can come to: we simply cannot [...]
This question partially depends on one’s definition of a god, but is more effected by other beliefs and doctrine that one holds. Let’s consider a single god, who is simply a god of the gaps, whose purpose is to create the universe and possibly have some interaction with it as well. With this definition, the [...]
The secular principle denotes that all people are entitled to freedom of religion, including freedom from religion. However, many argue that this promotes atheism, and is therefore not unbiased towards all religions. This is not the case, and here’s why. Firstly, atheism is not a religion. (There are several other articles on this site that [...]
Of all the insane religious people on the planet, the creationists, despite their extreme stupidity, seem to have managed to achieve much more than the others in terms of forcing their doctrine upon other people. The intelligent design mob have, in a way that’s almost commendable, managed to obscure their drivel so much underneath scientific language, [...]
The phrasing of this title quite deliberately suggests something that atheists will probably dislike, and it’s the word convert. Convert brings up some rather evil connotations as it is usually used to refer to what are sometimes aggressive tactics used by a few pushy religious people. It’s often pointed out that atheists seem to want to [...]
Unquestionably, the world is more atheist now than it used to be. Some of the most developed countries in the world have incredibly high percentages of atheists among their population. Some studies have estimated that countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland have atheist or agnostic majorities. Atheism is gaining momentum. Let’s envisage some [...]
So frequently in our analysis of the arguments for and against the existence of a god do we rely on our ability to use logic, that we might forget the requirement of logic that we question even logic itself. Logic is used to propagate beneath assumptions so as to find out whether they are reliable. [...]
You would not believe how many times I have seen this question written around the internet. Although actually, you might well believe it, but I certainly couldn’t. So I thought I’d answer it. The first and most fundamental point that I must make is that this question is very badly worded. Though this is the [...]
One of the most popular arguments for the existence of a creator, is that the universe could not have happened of its own accord. The universe required some simpler, enduring object to create it. This is one of the favourites of our enemy William Lane Craig. It is perhaps one of the stronger arguments, simply [...]
It is the stance of new atheism, that religion should in some way be actively opposed. Different people take that statement to different degrees of how much one should criticise it. I would go as far as saying that religion should always be challenged; it should always be rigorously scrutinised and its many flaws pointed [...]