this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2024
-16 points (26.5% liked)

Atheism

4116 readers
35 users here now

Community Guide


Archive Today will help you look at paywalled content the way search engines see it.


Statement of Purpose

Acceptable

Unacceptable

Depending on severity, you might be warned before adverse action is taken.

Inadvisable


Application of warnings or bans will be subject to moderator discretion. Feel free to appeal. If changes to the guidelines are necessary, they will be adjusted.


If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathizer or a resemblant of a group that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of any other group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you you will be banned on sight.

Provable means able to provide proof to the moderation, and, if necessary, to the community.

 ~ /c/nostupidquestions

If you want your space listed in this sidebar and it is especially relevant to the atheist or skeptic communities, PM DancingPickle and we'll have a look!


Connect with Atheists

Help and Support Links

Streaming Media

This is mostly YouTube at the moment. Podcasts and similar media - especially on federated platforms - may also feature here.

Orgs, Blogs, Zines

Mainstream

Bibliography

Start here...

...proceed here.

Proselytize Religion

From Reddit

As a community with an interest in providing the best resources to its members, the following wiki links are provided as historical reference until we can establish our own.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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?

all 45 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] FlyingSquid 33 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Atheism isn't serving a purpose. It's an evidenced-based reality.

Why do you feel it must serve a purpose?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

By living, I am antimortality.

If death didn't exist, what pupose would antimortality have?

Your question is nonsense.

[–] hjjanger 11 points 3 months ago

The word atheist is just a term for a rejection of a specific proposition. There's no reason why that would logically need a purpose. We find purpose elsewhere.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

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.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

Without organized religion if you still don't believe in gods, then you are still atheist. There is no purpose, just how things are.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

Reminding people to demand evidence for claims.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

What the hell are you talking about? With no religion, there would be no counterpoint. Atheism is just not being theistic.

Your hypothetical is nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Atheism A = without theos = god You define a world without a belief in god, so now everyone is an atheist.

[–] Ifera 3 points 3 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Imagine a world without organised religion, where it doesn't affect people's lives, but atheism still exists.

A near perfect utopia where there isn't fighting over dumbass fake shit where humanity works together to better itself because there is no person who believes in a god, and nothing beyond this one life so we actually are much more motivated to make it better?

There is no purpose to atheism. It's simply a lack of a belief in a god. 🤦‍♂️

[–] FlyingSquid 3 points 3 months ago

You highly overestimate human nature.

Remember, WWI and WWII and Vietnam and a bunch of other modern wars weren't really fought over religion.