Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Newsletter for July 2002

• Social Scene
• Chairman's Column
• Getting to Know You - Mariette Risley

• Here and There - This and That
• Letters to the Editor
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Web-site of the Month

Last month I observed that atheism has a bad name and is not synonymous with Humanism, in spite of the fact that the two are inexorably linked in the public eye. Certainly the dustup over the Ninth Circuit Court ruling confirms the wide disapproval of the Atheist world view. I have been asked to submit an opinion piece to the Independent on that ruling so look there for my thoughts on it. Here, I want to continue by exploring atheism and agnosticism and briefly indicate how they relate to Humanism.

It would be nice to have a clear definitions of atheism, agnosticism, and Humanism but unequivocal definitions simply do not exist. In fact, my (ultimately unsuccessful) search for a clear, precise definitions of the words prompted this whole series of essays. Regarding atheism, I like to simplify what can be complex philosophical issues into two definitions denoted by "strong" atheism and "weak" atheism.

But first, it is important to remember that "god" is, himself(?), nearly impossible to define. Certainly when all the world's religions refer to "god(s)", each has a different meaning and implication. Others, such as Edelen and some Humanists, use the term in a very broad manner that removes it completely from the classical notion inherent in modern monotheistic religions. For this discussion, my use of the term implies the traditional god of Christianity.

Both weak and strong atheism assert one's stance with respect to the existence of "god." A strong atheist asserts that there is no god. Period. Conversely, a weak atheist asserts that he does not know if god exists or not. Philosophically, I think strong atheism is as indefensible as theism. It is as impossible to argue for the non-existence of a god as it is to argue the converse. I am a weak atheist; I don't have a clue about the existence of god. This viewpoint has also been called agnosticism, but even this definition is not universally held. There are notions of "wide" and "narrow" agnosticism which seek to refine the definitions. A detailed analyses can be found in Shermer's "How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science" and a subsequent analysis in "The Skeptic", Vol. 8, No. 2.

Strong atheism is the most common popular connotation for the word atheism. Actually, since most people (at least in the USA) find it impossible for someone to not "believe in" something, it is not uncommon to hear atheists accused of devil worship, of being in league with Satan, and similar nonsense. In fact, many dictionaries include the synonym "evil" in the definition. Dictionaries are descriptive, not proscriptive so this may be accurate, but it is certainly misleading. Finally, the word is often stretched way beyond any reasonable definition when, for example, atheists are accused of being "Commies."

The Humanist world view cuts across both the atheistic and agnostic dimensions in a way which makes it especially attractive. One can be a weak or strong atheist, one can be a "wide" or "narrow" agnostic and one can be a theist and still, at the same time, be a Humanist. We'll look these possibilities next month.

Roger Schlueter is surely right that there is a prejudice against atheists in this country and that organizations willing to protest against this prejudice are few and not very effective. And yet, and yet--

I have put together a nearly complete record of the polls reporting the percentage of respondents who would be willing to vote for an atheist presidential candidate who is regarded as well qualified. (Dotted line)

The change in our favor seems glacially slow, to be sure. But, absent some major upheaval, that is the way change tends to occur, if it does. We got our first Catholic president in 1960 (32 years after Al Smith was defeated, probably because of his Catholicism and stand on prohibition). We got the first woman candidate of a major party, as vice president, in 1984 (over a quarter century after the polls started showing that half would vote for a woman for president), and our first Jewish candidate in 2000. See also the solid line showing percent who would allow a person who is against all churches and religion to teach in a college or university.

The moral of this story is not to sit back and wait, but to start framing appeals in just the terms that Roger has suggested - people have been getting more tolerant in general, so isn't it time for religious/irreligious intolerance to disappear along with the other versions of prejudice against those who are "different"? Heck, they even got Bush coached to include people with no religious belief in his list of patriots the other day. That is progress!

Subject: How to Ride a Dead Horse

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." However, in the modern government agencies, a whole range of far more advanced strategies are often employed such as:

"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise. ...During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution." -James Madison

Pakistani won't be stoned to death

This sounds like dead serious stuff. The Left Behind series of books is telling everyone about the imminent Rapture which, in case you haven't heard, is Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the End Times, the End of the World or however you like to think of it. For details go to

http://leftbehind.com

http://raptureready.com

where all will be revealed. See also the article in Time, July 1 2002. These are best-selling fiction books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins based on what they believe to be fact concerning biblical prophesies of when, where, and how the big event will occur. One slightly comical aspect:

"In this view, the rapture--which is the transformation and catching up of all Christians, dead or alive, to meet Christ in the air--will be secret, for it will be unknown to the world of unbelievers at the time of its happening. The effect of this removal, in the absence of multitudes of people, will, of course, be evident on earth."

We read in Book 1 how "...on a 747 flight bound for Heathrow from Chicago the flight attendants suddenly find half the seats empty, except for the clothes and wedding rings and dental fillings of the believers who have suddenly been swept up to heaven."

Fasten your seatbelts and Happy Surfing.