Imagine a world without organised religion, where it doesn’t affect people’s lives, but atheism still exists. What purpose would atheism fill in this scenario?
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For me, it would keep me from being an oxymoron. I make an active effort to test my knowledge and beliefs, and to update my knowledge when previously held beliefs prove either false or unjustified.
And to hold a belief so significant without any proof or evidence would make me a hypocrite.
What’s the actual purpose of not believing that pineapples grow on trees? Or not believing that the Moon is made of green cheese? or not believing in any other false statement?
I’m being cheeky to highlight a point: at the core atheism is the belief on a single epistemic statement, “there’s no god out there”. (Or the lack of belief in the opposite statement. Once you go past the “ackshyually” they’re the same deal.)
You don’t need a “purpose” for that.
Religion gives atheism purpose by opposing religion, for those that even care about religion. I didn’t even care about atheism or religion until US religion started affecting my life, because in Québec religion died in the 70s and is nothing more than a cultural artifact, so atheism is the default and therefore don’t need to identify as an atheist, you have to identify as a religious weirdo.
Atheism doesn’t have a standalone purpose like religion does. Atheism exists purely because religion exists.
Reminding people to demand evidence for claims.
None. Atheism isn’t a religion or philosophy. It’s an answer to one question, and only one: do you believe in gods? The answer is “no.”
Where we go from there is up to us.
I don’t really understand the question. What purpose does atheism serve now? Who gave it that purpose? Who is the arbiter of such things?
Atheism serves as much purpose in my life as my eye color. It’s just a natural part of me and has been as long as I can remember. If I wasn’t an atheist, I wouldn’t be me.
As far as I can tell, the whole concept of ‘purpose’ when it comes to humanity as a whole is basically a religious one anyway.
If I wasn’t an atheist, I wouldn’t be me.
Atheism thus must have some identity purpose.
What I don’t understand is why it is an identity (apart from opposition to organised religion).
Why does it have to have purpose?
It’s a weird question.
The purpose of religion is to control society through communal beliefs. The sense of “purpose” that adherents are made to feel serves to further that control.
Atheism isn’t a religion and it doesn’t have a purpose.
It isn’t part of my “identity” any more than gravity is.
Atheism doesn’t replace religion… and trying to give it purpose is a little weird. In fact, there are a few atheist religions out there.
Yes, atheism obviously isn’t a religion and I see how it is a weird question. I mean purpose not in a way that resembles devotion or submission, but as an explanation for its existence.
AFAIK, gravity was understood differently before Newtonian physics, right? Different concepts of gravity serve a purpose.
Atheism isn’t serving a purpose. It’s an evidenced-based reality.
Why do you feel it must serve a purpose?
Without a purpose/function I don’t see how it would still exist.
