For years, my deepest, most fervent and heart felt opinion on the ontological existence of deity has been a passionate conviction that the question of whether or not god exists is boring.
In fact, metaphysics is my sleeping pill of choice. It takes reading less than two paragraphs of any philosophical proof for the existence of god to conk me out.
Hell, even the memory of reading a proof will conk me out.
In college, I scored high marks in metaphysics, but that was when I was young and stupid. Now that I’m old and stupid, I simply don’t have enough energy to tread through the awful metaphysical muck of god’s alleged existence.
So far as I can see, god is an unnecessary hypothesis. That is, it seems to me the existence of god is not required to explain anything. And that fact accounts for most of my boredom — maybe all of my boredom — with the question of god’s existence.
Perhaps, I should add here that there are ways in which the notion (but not the existence) of god interests me. I am, for instance, quite interested in how our brains evolved a predisposition to see the hand of god in events. I am quite interested in what some mystics call “an experience of god”. And I am even interested to some extent in the sociology and politics of god. But — and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet — the question of god’s existence bores me.
I am reluctant to call myself an atheist, agnostic, or theist because I am too bored with the question of god’s existence to study the matter. I figure if you are going to call yourself an atheist, agnostic, or theist, you should take at least a day or two to think about whether you honestly believe god exists or not. But I haven’t done anything so noble as that since I was young and stupid, and had professors breathing down my neck to read up on metaphysics.
Having said all that, it might now surprise you that I have somehow managed to work up enough energy to stick an atheist “A” on my blog.
It’s not that I’ve become an atheist. I’m still way too bored to become an atheist. What’s got me riled up enough to stick that “A” on my blog is neither metaphysics nor theology, but prejudice, discrimination, and politics. In short, I’ve become pissed at the way atheists are treated in America.
There are polls that show Americans are so prejudiced against atheists the majority of them would presumably elect George W. Bush to a third term than vote for an atheist. Atheists are now the least trusted people in America — ranking lower even than war-mongering neoconservatives. In the popular mind, they have become scapegoats for nearly every social ill Americans face. Americans think atheists are immoral, anti-social jerks who have no legitimate place in their society and deserve no respect. The President’s father, George H. Bush, at one point even declared American atheists were not citizens: “…I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”
As if it’s not enough that a former president declares atheists are neither citizens nor patriots, several cases have come to light of atheists being grossly mistreated and harassed by their fellow Americans. Perhaps the most infamous of the recent cases is the Nicole Smalkowski Affair. Nicole Smalkowski is a small town girl who came out as an atheist while in high school and consequently unleashed a torrent of harassment against her and her family. Among myriad other cruelties, she was alternately verbally abused and ostracized by students and teachers, kicked off the school basketball team, and the harassment criminally extended to a plot by her school principal to have her father prosecuted on false charges of assault. In short, her community did everything it could except lynch a rather sweet, brave teenage girl for being an atheist.
The Nicole Smalkowski Affair and other instances of harassment and mistreatment anger me. There is no excuse for it. None. So, I am sticking the atheist “A” on my blog in solidarity with Nicole Smalkowski, her family, and all rest of this nation’s minority of atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers.
The atheist “A” is the symbol of Richard Dawkins’ Out Campaign. Dawkins eloquently introduces the Campaign here. Whether you yourself are an atheist, an agnostic, a theist, or just don’t care about the options, I urge you to support the Out Campaign. Thank you!
My StumbleUpon Page
24 responses so far ↓
Webs // April 18, 2008 at 8:59 am
Glad to see the ‘A’ on your blog. I will likely do the same when I remember and get some free time to write and tinker with my site.
The same issues anger me as well. It’s really just stupid too because many of the people polled that list atheists lower than war mongers would agree with political stances of atheist. In fact it’s likely that the only really issue the two would be divided on is religion.
I look forward to the day when religion is no longer given a free ride.
Paul // April 18, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hi Webs! I’ve become sick and tired of how atheists are slandered and harassed in America. Time to take a stand on it.
Robin // April 18, 2008 at 12:06 pm
The Mormons stopped by my house today. I told them that I strongly believe religion is the root of all evil.
It didn’t go over well.
Perhaps an A on the front door will keep them from knocking?
Ordinary Girl // April 18, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Great post, Paul. I really like your first few paragraphs too.
Robin, I’ve never had anyone proselytize to me at home, but I’m considering a proactive approach as you suggest.
Paul // April 18, 2008 at 2:56 pm
@ Robin: LOL! I’m shocked it didn’t go over well. You’d think those missionaries would want to hear your opinion — since they so value offering you theirs.
@ Ordinary Girl: Thanks! I was a tad worried that confessing how boring the ontology of god is to me would bore everyone.
mathyoo // April 18, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I would suggest that the best term for you to describe yourself is “apatheist”, and the “A” fits just as well…
Thanks for standing up for us godless heathens.
Paul // April 18, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Apatheist sounds appropriate. Thanks for the suggestion, Mathyoo — and welcome to the blog!
stushie // April 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Bored? Boring? I guess so.
Go on a google trip and look at China…where religious people are being harassed, arrested, tortured and killed by non-theists.
Or check out 20th century history when non-theists in Russian, China, Germany, and Cambodia managed to kill over 50 million people…
Still bored?
Paul // April 18, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Hi Stushie! Welcome to the blog!
Yes, indeed, I’m still bored. Nothing you’ve said strikes me as capable of making a discussion of whether or not god exists any more fascinating than a turnip.
Regarding your first point (about China), I must simply refuse to believe you are seriously suggesting that harassing nontheists in America is morally justified on the grounds that religious people are being harassed in China. You must instead be making a joke of some sort.
Regarding your second point: I believe when you think about it, there is nothing intrinsic to nontheism which would prompt a nontheist to become a mass murderer. Have you ever heard a nontheist argue that because he or she was a nontheist, they were morally obligated to kill people?
Put differently, just because both Hitler and Stalin had mustaches does not mean all people with mustaches believe in genocide. And just because Hitler was Catholic does not mean all Catholics believe in genocide. Nor just because Stalin was an atheist must all atheists believe in genocide.
You see, Stushie, unless you can demonstrate some causal relationship between nontheism and mass murder, your argument has every appearance of being fallacious. So, I have no choice at this point but to reject it.
Thank you though for your time.
uncertainhope // April 19, 2008 at 3:28 am
Paul,
Interesting article. Thanks for that.
Stushie,
Even counting the examples you’ve raised of attrocties commited by athiests I still believe there have been more commited by religious groups: there’s the Crusades, the attempted genocide and ‘civilisation’ (read ‘Christianisation’
of the various native peoples encountered throughout the world during the colonial expansion of the European nations, the Spanish Inquisition . . . I could go on, but you get the picture.
I heard an interesting statistic the other day that seems relevant, although I can’t think of the source offhand:
75% of Americans consider themselves God-fearing Christians
75% of the American prison population consider themselves God-fearing Christians
10% of Americans consider themselves athiests
0.2% of the American prison population consider themselves athiests
My own position, if you’re interested, is that as neither the existance or nature of god (however you define it) can ever be proven or disproven, it doesn’t matter in anything other than a personal way.
The only thing that matters is what we *do* and whether or not we harm others, or the world, around us.
uncertainhope // April 19, 2008 at 3:30 am
I did *not* intend to put a smiley in the above comment.
evedyahu // April 19, 2008 at 4:35 am
I am a Christian. But I stand with you against any type of discrimination against atheists, or muslims, or Jews etc…And I assure you that I speak in the name of very very many Christians.
In fact - I doubt the Christianity of any person who persecutes atheists…it is certainly against the principles of the ‘founder’ Jesus Christ!
Paul // April 19, 2008 at 5:14 am
@ Uncertainhope: Welcome to the blog! I tried removing the smiley for you, but for some reason the edit screen won’t let me see it to remove it.
@ Evedyahu: Your decision to stand with nontheists against their discrimination is heartening to me. I can indeed believe you are one of many Christians in America who take such a stand. It is a pity though that the polls show all of us — theists and nontheists alike — who stand up together against these outrages are still a minority. Oh well, it’s better to be in the right than in the wrong on this issue. Welcome to the blog!
Diane // April 19, 2008 at 6:20 am
Techically, you’re what has been referred to (in the online atheist community) as a “negative atheist.” A “negative atheist,” also known as a “weak atheist,” is a person who does not believe in a god, whereas a “positive atheist,” also known as a “weak atheist,” is one who defniitively believes there is no god. Most atheist philosophers are negative atheists, because negative atheism is easier to defend, philosophically, than positive atheism.
uncertainhope // April 19, 2008 at 6:24 am
I’ve yet to find any religion that doesn’t contain instructions against harming others - of course that doesn’t stop people from finding ways of justifying their actions. The usual being, of course, that rules against harming others don’t apply to those who are ‘different’ or ‘other’.
The other thing is, and this is as true of athiests and agnostics as Christians, Muslims or of adherents of any of the other religions out there, that the voices we hear the most from in any group are the loudest and most extreme. And that, coupled with the tendency of news media the world over to focus on the most sensational stories, tends to mean that more moderate voices get drowned out and skews our view of the world.
Paul // April 20, 2008 at 3:11 am
@ Diane: Hi! Welcome to the blog! I’m not sure I fit the bill of either a strong or weak atheist, though. I’m more apathetic than atheist.
@ Uncertainhope: I agree with you on both counts! Good points!
shirhashirim // April 21, 2008 at 7:03 am
I’d join Paul, as these are the things worth fighting against. Al least: that’s what I thought when I read your post. But then I read Dawkins:
“Moreover, even if the religious have the numbers, we have the arguments, we have history on our side, and we are walking with a new spring in our step – you can hear the gentle patter of our feet on every side.”
Now if Dawkins is the atheist I think he is, where did that ayatollah come from? Seriously: that guy preaches like a mullah (I’ve heard them) and is probably just as obnoxious as Nicole’s nemeses (is that the correct plural of ‘nemesis’?)
If it weren’t for Dawkins, I’d join…
Paul // April 21, 2008 at 7:15 am
Hi Shirhashirim! It’s great to see you again!
I can respect your decision not to join Dawkin’s Out Campaign because of Dawkin’s himself. I happen to like him, but I recognize that he rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
Andrea // April 22, 2008 at 3:14 pm
After reading this post, I am now proudly displaying a Scarlett A as my blog background. Thank you for sharing this, and may others learn from me, as I have from you.
Paul // April 22, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Hi Andrea! Welcome to the blog! Thank you for standing up against the shabby treatment of non-theists. I like the point you made on your blog of how unAmerican it is to treat people the way non-theists have been treated in this country.
Webs // April 23, 2008 at 7:10 am
The is A is now up on my blog. Please help Paul spread this movement as far as you can.
Paul // April 23, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I was glad to see you get the A up, Webs! Good for you!
tuibguy // May 2, 2008 at 3:08 am
Paul -
I found this post from the Carnival of the Godless, and I want you to know that I appreciate your support.
As an atheist political activist, one step that I have taken is to become an Affirmative Action officer for my local Democratic party organization; and part of the reason I wanted to do so was because of the cases of atheists who were recruited to run for office, only to have the offers withdrawn when the party officials discovered that they were atheists.
Your apatheism is a sensible position, and I would be there, too, if not for the civil rights issues.
Paul // May 4, 2008 at 12:02 am
Hi Tuibguy! I certainly hope you succeed in your efforts to get atheists accepted by the Democratic Party! That would be a significant blow to the demonization of atheists. Welcome to the blog!
Leave a Comment