I have met quite some interesting people in the internet lately.
Because I am new at atheism, I joined the forums at Atheist Republic Manila Consulate. Atheist Republic is an online entity, it has active members in different countries and the Philippines is one of them. Because I live in Manila, I joined the Manila Consulate.
I am not very sophisticated when it comes to having an online life. In fact, I did not even have internet access at home until a year ago. At one point in time, I even felt blogging was beyond me. I became versed with online activity because of necessity. Like a lot of people, sometimes it is more convenient, safe and speedy to connect with people online.
I joined Atheist Republic Manila Consulate primarily to be in touch with people who share the same non-religious beliefs as me. But I have to do it without disrupting the set up at home and my job. Initially, I planned to go out and meet these actual people called atheists. But I found out that most of them are more vocal online than in “real” life.
So into the deep I plunged. I joined the Facebook group, chatted up people in conversations, and did some interviews.
I see the world in the vantage point of a psychologist. This is my go-to mode. Because of this default of mine, I am examining this phenomena called “atheism” and these people called “atheists” in terms of my discipline. I can’t help it. Specifically, I would like to answer the following questions:
- Atheists do not believe in no god. Isn’t this an anomaly? Everybody needs a god, right?
- What psychological needs are fulfilled if you believe in God? How do atheists fulfill these needs if they do not have a god?
- Where do atheists get their morals and values if they do not get them from a religious source?
Here are my answers:
- Human beings think. We are thinking beings and we think in certain patterns. Psychologists call the phenomenon of thinking “cognition”. The patterns of though we usually follow are called “cognitive patterns”. We develop cognition gradually, from birth to adulthood. This scene constantly changes, but it changes in predictable, measurable parameters. Recent studies have shown that we are cognitively primed to believe in god. In other words, we are preprogrammed to believe in a supernatural power, a “god” who is in control of the chaos and magnanimity of life. This tendency towards god belief has its roots in the evolution of the human brain. For the sake of the survival of the species, we had to have a god concept. If you look at it this way, atheists are anomalies. Because we do not conform to the cognitive tendency to believe in god, we choose to question. Being in this spot is uncomfortable. We throw out the acceptable, banal belief systems espoused by the predominant culture and we are left with existential questions. “What is my purpose in life?” “Does my life need to have a purpose?” “Why am I here?” Trust me, we atheists love having these discussions.
- There is a psychological need for god. (Fellow atheists, do not burn me yet, read on.) This psychological need is something as understandable as wanting “Someone” to help you out. We all needing an Authority Figure. We all need to ask an expert for advice. Recent studies in neurology have shown that when we refer to the spot that lights up in the brain when we think about a god is the very same spot that lights up when we think about the authorities. God is a reference point. God is a comfortable, predictable, socially acceptable reference point. To jump out of this comfort zone is hazardous to our mental health. When we atheists do this, other people feel unease.
Second point: our psychological need for a god comes from a human compulsion to find meaning in unrelated, random events. Humans need to hear a story from the beginning to the end. We like having conclusions, we like closure. When something puzzles us, we want to have a clear answer. This tendency varies with people, but inherently, we all want a promise to be fulfilled. Either it is a good ending or a bad ending, it doesn’t matter. If things are too vague, there is no sense in engaging in it. Something in the human brain avoids that. We see patterned where there are none because question marks are intolerable. Especially when something awful happens. Questions like “Why did this happen to me?” “Why me?” are usually answered with “Because it is God’s plan for your life” and “God chose you because to whom much is given, much is expected.” Contrast that to the following non-religious answers, “Random things happen to random people , we do not have control over our lives” and “You are just a collection of atoms in the universe. Actually, you do not matter at all.” What sounds more comforting?
Religious people are found to be more at peace.
- Atheism is having a millennial moment. Beginning 2008, more and more people identified themselves as atheists. This recent spike in interest has been called “New Atheism”. Compared to “Old Atheism”, new atheism is vocal and popular, in our language today, we can call it “trending”. In the past, only a few people have the right to publish and distribute news. Now, we can all do it with a push of a button (just hit “share”). And so, a relatively obscure speech about philosophy gains popular support, and in seconds spreads worldwide. My friends cite the following people/entities as influential in convincing them to the call of atheism:
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, namely:
- Dark Matter 2525 – a You tube Channel that has videos poking fun at Christianity
- Athenewins – born Bachir “Chiren” Boumazaa is an online personality and social activist
- Bill Maher – an American comedian
- George Carlin – another American comedian
- Atheist Moment – a weekly webcast and cable access television show in Austin, Texas. Their hosts include Matt Dillahunty, Jeff Dee, Martin Wagner, Russel Glasser, Don Baker, Tracie Harris and Phil Session.(You can listen to their show via podcast.)
- Isaac Asimov – An American author and professor. He has written well-received science fiction and popular science
- Paul Kurtz – Respected American Humanist and credited as founder of the Secular Humanist movement
- Carl Sagan – An American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, and author
(Important note: not all of these people are atheists. By all means, this list is not exhaustive. I have yet to chat up more people in my group.)
The individuals cited above are widely covered in social media. Most of them have an online presence. In the past, if you are an atheist or you have “atheist-like” views and you want to be heard, you have to be affiliated with an educational institution or some other established institution who will sponsor your work. All of the individuals mentioned above come from diverse backgrounds, what binds them together is the way they share their “teachings” is through the internet. Their multimedia presentations spread, are topics of discussions in online forums, where some people finally learn that they are atheists all along. Some atheists I chatted with say that they never knew what to call themselves before they got into atheist forums. Vaguely, these people see themselves as “questioning” or in some cases, “doubters” or “disbelievers”. It was only when they went online to do research that they found a term to match their observations about their non-belief.
At this point, I would like to say that my atheist friends vary so much in what they believe within the context of atheism itself. (My next blog about this topic will cover atheism vis a vis the developmental stage of a person, and what this has to do with the broad range of atheist convictions.) Meanwhile, I can broadly speculate that what my friends and I accept and what we reject depends on our personalities, needs, life stages and background. In a way, there is not just one type of atheist, there are many. Depending on who you ask, our grounds for cultivating moral values vary. For example, I am drawn to humanistic philosophies. I go by the works of Abraham Maslow and to an extent Karl Jung. Most of the friends I know, however, are fans of the works of the Four Horsemen. If you think about it, this divergence in belief even among a group who shares a common belief applies to Christians too. Or Hindus. Or Muslims. You get my drift.
The best definition I have of the term “Atheism” comes from a book written by Jessica L. T. Devega & Christine Ortega Gaurkee, entitled All You Want to Know But Didn’t Think You Could Ask: Religions, Cults, and Popular Beliefs. Here it is:
“Atheism is a philosophical position which is based upon the assertion that no supreme, supernatural beings or forces exists. Instead, atheists contend that all phenomena in the universe, including human thought and morality, are products of nature and do not have divine origin. Atheists also do not believe in the existence of a human soul which survives death.”
The American Atheists, a well-organized, outspoken group of atheists adds,
“The only common thread that ties all atheists together is a lack of belief in gods and supernatural beings. Some of the best debates we have ever had have been with fellow atheists. This is because atheists do not have a common belief system, sacred scripture or atheist Pope. This means atheists often disagree on many issues and ideas. Atheists come in a variety of shapes, colors, beliefs, convictions, and backgrounds. We are as unique as our fingerprints.”
Before I finish this blog, let me say something very important to me. Some of us atheists commit the assumption that being an atheist makes us superior above people who believe in a god or gods (people who believe in a supreme being are called “theists” in our circle). Within this assumption is the belief that theists are stupid. They are stupid enough to be lured into the belief of a supreme being. So stupid, they cannot escape the trap of religion. So stupid they should be treated with disdain. Disgust. Disrespect. Criticism. Hate.
I never liked this feeling of superiority among some atheists. “New atheists” are more vocal about this. It has even reached a fever pitch in the America. One of the things that set me off religion is bigotry and harsh judgment over those who do not belong to the flock. Why should I be inflicting the same pain? In the words of Christina Greta, author and fellow atheist, “There is a difference between anger and hate.” True, sometimes we get angry with all the bad things religion has brought upon humankind, but this anger should not lead to insulting and belittling other people.
Just to be clear: this is my stance, not the stance of all atheists. I do not like condemning theists to hell and damnation. I do not like divisiveness. Like it or not, I live in this Catholic-dominated country, my relatives are Protestant, and most people will not respect me if I blatantly come out of the closet as an atheist. Sometimes, when I am asked what my religion is, I just coyly say, “well, I am more of a humanist.”
Atheism in the Philippines. In the Philippines. With Filipinos. What are the traits of most Filipinos? What values do we all share? To my fellow atheists, I would like to say that we have to understand that we are part of a larger community. We are also products of our history as well as creatures of recent influences in the world-at-large. We can be vocal, we can be rebellious, but while we are at it, we could be civil. Many more things have been achieved with kind words than with angry words and shouts. Calm down. At the end of the day, you have to go home to your family. At the end of the day, you need to live with other people. You need and want to be loved. That, or you alienate yourself and turn your heart to stone.
And you, non-atheist, reading this blog, I would like to say that based on what I have observed, we atheist are just as human as you. We have the same shitty job, the same problematic dad, the same problems with our exes, the same loneliness, the same needs, the same hurts. Maybe we scare you with our being unconventional and our brassiness and our disbelief and skepticism, but we are just as human as you, the same flesh and bone.
