Atheism - Television Tropes & Idioms

A quick trip over to Hollywood Atheist, If Jesus Then Aliens, and similar tropes will quickly confirm that atheism is a widely misunderstood theological position.

Atheism in the broadest sense is simply the lack of belief in one or more deities, not necessarily meaning active disbelief (or "Hard atheism.") The term "Agnostic" has the meaning in the common context, which is as someone who explicitly neither believes nor disbelieves (ala "I don't know"), and the meaning of the philosophical context, as in "Knowledge of God is impossible to obtain due to the nature of what God is, and therefore I don't have it." Technically speaking, a person who is a spiritualist can still be an atheist, so long as their spiritualism does not include belief in something considered a deity.

If what determines whether you're an atheist or not is based on the semantics of that dirty word "God" then you're Ignostic. The chances of hearing that word on television are 1 in an improbably large number.

It's also important to remember that atheism is not a religion the way Christianity or Islam is. Nor is it a belief system. Although secular humanism is a belief system adopted by many atheists, the two are not the same thing. As such, it's very difficult to talk about atheists as a group, since the only universal criterion for being an atheist is not believing in some sort of god. What follows are mostly generalities and some recurring themes in the atheist/theist discourse.

Root Beliefs

What leads leads many people to become atheists is skepticism, which is derived from the same basic principles as the scientific method. The argument is, essentially, that there is no good evidence for the existence of a god or gods, and therefore there is no reason to believe that they exist, and that the burden of proof lies on those claiming they do exist. This is why the Flat Earth Atheist is largely unrealistic, as the tendency among skeptics is to require extraordinary proof for all extraordinary claims. A related school of thought, agnosticism, is often based on similar logic, though as mentioned above agnosticism does not completely dismiss the possibility that there is some kind of god, it just states there is currently no way of knowing. (It's worth noting that skepticism does not necessarily mean the atheist is a cynic; atheists' opinions range like everyone else.)
Atheism actually covers a spectrum of positions ranging from agnosticism, through varying degrees of "gods probably do not exist", to the absolute declaration that "gods definitely do not exist". Individual atheists will generally inhabit a position between the two boundaries.
People can also be atheists simply by never having considered whether or not gods exist, referred to as implicit atheism. Since these people have not yet considered whether or not a god exists, they have not had the opportunity to decide whether or not to form a belief in one, and therefore do not possess a belief in one.
The classic origin of the Hollywood Atheist, a terrible event that causes them to lose faith in their deity - does happen, but is far less common then the media supposes.
Contrary to the opinions of some Christians, there are no atheists who worship Satan. No worship for things that they don't even believe exist. The exception, of course, would be someone who believed Satan exists, God doesn't exist, and that Satan doesn't qualify as a deity (though what set of definitions you could make up to make that even remotely rational I've never heard).
- Also contrary to the popular adage the above mentioned groups tend to use, there are and have been atheists in foxholes. Sometimes it may well be the old "trauma leading them to abandon religion" as per the usual origin of the Hollywood Atheist. More often than not, however, some soldiers started as atheists and live through their horrible experiences with their atheism intact. Many such atheists find "No atheists in foxholes" shockingly insensitive to atheist soldiers who served their country well.
Likewise, atheists don't hate God, any more than they hate Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. They do not shake their fists at the heavens, for the same reason. That's yet another belief system: Maltheism, the belief that God is real and is a dirty rotten bastard.
Most atheists believe that religious organizations generally do more harm than good to society, and some may even quote scientific studies on the subject; and for atheists who are not certain God doesn't exist, they generally think that if one exists he's NOT doing much good compared to the harm caused by religious organizations overall.
Most atheists believe that old holy books (of any religion) are plagued with centuries of Adaptation Decay, Anvilicious politics, Too Many Cooks Spoil The Soup, Executive Meddling, Ret Con, and Epileptic Trees being used and retained to justify new beliefs which were grafted into a religion by virtue of historical accidents or intimidation/bribes by large empires (the Roman empire comes to mind), and other notable flaws - all while believing God himself has never done much wrong (by virtue of non-intervention or non-existence). Also, decades of oral tradition and the evolution/death of the language it was originally written in leaves room for Fridge Logic interpretations which was certainly not 100% reflecting the original nor the best a God should come up with - all which results in more Adaptation Decay in the versions religious leaders use, as opposed to selectively ignoring the written version.
Being completely against attrition - attrition is the act of attempting to save a soul by knowingly lying to him or using material and political manipulation. Attrition (AKA imperfect contrition) annoys atheists more than any other action by people well intentioned to save souls at any cost.
Atheists are totally capable of having friends who believe in God, as long as neither person in the relationship is a jerk about their beliefs.
Some atheists, perhaps unexpectedly, practice religions. Atheism is quite compatible with Buddhism, secular Judaism, and Unitarian Universalism.
- That said, religious atheists are not likely to self-identify as "atheists," but instead as members of their religions.
Atheists do not worship, venerate, or idolize (in the religious senses of those terms) other people, either. They may respect, say, Darwin, for his achievements as a scientist, without thinking he was infallible or had all the answers.
- In the same vein, atheists do not "adhere to" or "believe in" science in the religious sense of those words. For scientific atheists, the scientific method is seen as an objective method to ascertain how pretty much everything works (or as much of it as we can figure out). It is not a dogmatic belief system.

Other Supernatural Beliefs

If Jesus Then Aliens does not necessarily apply. Atheism and skepticism complement each other but are not synonymous. While most atheists are skeptics, not all are, and atheists are often quite willing to believe in things that are merely improbable rather than outright impossible (and on the other side of the coin, many theists are skeptical about psychic powers, aliens, Bigfoot, and so on). However, many vocal atheists tend to be skeptics who actively refute the existence of what could be considered "supernatural" phenomenon, as well as pseudoscientific claims.
Some religions, such as certain varieties of Buddhism, do not prescribe the existence of a god and are therefore compatible with atheism.
- Note that Buddhism originally was a philosophy, not a religion, and Buddha was revered as a teacher, not a god.
While some atheists believe in phenomena such as naturalistic reincarnation, most do not believe in an afterlife. After death, there is nothing. Not Fluffy Cloud Heaven, not Fire And Brimstone Hell, not even The Nothing After Death. Just nothing; the complete cessation of existence and the annihilation of consciousness. Many people may find this idea frightening, but most atheists get by by accepting that their lives will end and enjoying what time they have.
- Still, this is not, like in many cases concerning atheists, the rule. This troper knows more than one atheist who are ultimately afraid of death. They function like normal people, not going to absurd extents because of this, but always feel a bit more than insulted with Immortality Immorality .
  - It should be noted that all beings have fear of death - it's a natural mechanism preventing one from jumping off buildings just for the fun of it. This is the reason why this troper is amused that so many people think that the myth about lemmings committing mass-suicide is the truth. Atheists do not lose the fear, they just learn to accept it (in most cases).
  - Nor is this exclusive to atheists. This atheist troper remembers a conversation with a non-atheist friend involving mutual surprise over respective attitudes to this - on one hand, that the non-atheist had also suffered from fear of death (or more accurately the nature of post-death), and on the other, that the atheist had learned to accept and live with a belief in cessation of being. This may be evidence that views such as Hollywood Atheism and its inverse are more widespread than one would like to believe...
  - This troper finds that supressing any thought of death works fairly well in coping with the subject.
- This atheist troper does not necessarily believe there is nothing or no afterlife, but that whatever there is after death is, and the living shouldn't concern themselves about it. Y'know, "cross that bridge when you come to it."
  - Which is unsurprising - this troper's experience in atheist communities like the old Internet Infidels Discussion Board suggest the population is split between the pretty-sure atheists and the we-really-don't-know atheists on the afterlife, as well as on the various gods.

Morality and Meaning

Atheism does not prescribe a system of morality or code of behavior. There is no built-in sense of reward for good acts and punishment for evil ones. While many would expect this to lead the average atheist to become a nihilistic Nietzsche Wannabe, atheists generally supply moral codes of their own.
The moral philosophy most closely associated with atheism is secular humanism, which is derived from the same basic principles. It is a popular philosophy with atheists, but by no means the only one. The main tenets of secular humanism are:
- Need to test beliefs - A deeply held conviction that all beliefs, be they political, religious, or otherwise, should be challenged and tested on a regular basis, rather than simply being accepted on faith. By challenging and discarding flawed beliefs, people can replaced them with newer, less flawed ones, and so grow as a person.
- Reason, evidence, scientific method - The belief that the answers to questions and solutions to problems should be sought through reason, critical thinking, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith or mysticism.
- Fulfillment, growth, creativity - A concern for fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humanity in general.
- Search for truth - A constant search for a universal, objective truth, through the use of reason, evidence, and the scientific method, with the awareness that new discoveries can alter our perception and knowledge of truth.
- This life - A concern for our life on Earth above a hypothetical afterlife, making the most of the time we have and making our lives meaningful through our understanding of each other.
- Ethics - A search for a clear code of ethics, judged on their ability to improve life for humanity through individual responsibility.
- Building a better world - A conviction that reason, understanding, and good will can lead to improvements in the world.
- Morality determined by human need - The scientific concept of morality as an evolved strategy of human beings who needed to band together in groups in order to survive.
Once the supernatural is rejected, the meaning of phrases like "the meaning of life" seems to fall away. Most atheists do not believe in a meaning to their existences or a purpose given to them by a higher power (after all, who would give it?). Like the no afterlife thing this can seem depressing, so most atheists have learned to invent their own purposes instead. This is a liberating feeling, with plenty of destiny-screwing satisfaction.
- The philosophical concept that there is no ultimate meaning that can ultimately apply to all human beings is called, somewhat confusingly, Philosophical Absurdism.
- R. Scott Bakker coined the slightly cooler term, Semantic Apocalypse.
Oddly enough, most atheistic belief systems have a tendency to sit farther toward the idealistic end of the Sliding Scale Of Idealism Versus Cynicism than the religious ones do.
- Probably related to the acceptance of one's own mortality, and the focus on this world and this life as the only chance one has to make an impact.
- Also, since atheists believe that we humans have only ourselves to rely on when it comes to moral guidance, the (arguable) fact that most societies grow more compassionate and egalitarian over time suggests that human nature is pretty virtuous.
  - It's pretty funny to consider that humans acutally break away from their nature on egalitarian society when they changed from hunting-gathering society to agricultural society. About now, it's a throwback, but a good throwback.

A Few Words on Faith

Faith gets bandied around a lot by both sides in the religion versus atheism debate, and the term is misused quite frequently, mainly because the two groups most often at odds - atheists and Christians - see the core issue as being something completely different.

When an atheist accuses a Christian of having "blind faith," he is referring to using faith as a replacement for evidence, in order to believe that figures like God or Satan even exist at all. Faith in the sense of trust (as in trust in the scientific method) does not enter into the matter.
When a Christian speaks of "faith in God," he is usually accepting the existence of these figures as a foregone conclusion and is referring to faith that God is merciful and will save humanity from their sins.

This misunderstanding is where the Hollywood Atheist comes from. Most atheists do have faith that their good deeds will be rewarded, or that a good deed is its own reward. It's what keeps atheists from turning into a bunch of Nietzsche Wannabes. Faith is in different things. Humanity (bastards or fantastic depending on the atheist) is a popular recipient, as is modern society in general.

Atheism in the Media

Recently, Atheism has gained some mainstream traction, though even before this happened, there were many people in the entertainment industry who were atheists. Noted examples include Gene Roddenberry and J. Michael Stracysinski. Atheistic themes tend to show up primarily in science fiction ands its subgenres, often alongside religious themes.
Prominent television characters who are atheists included Dr. House of the series of the same name and Admiral William Adama of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. Though never explicitly stated, Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation often articulated ideas consistent with Roddenberry's brand of secular humanism (the right of civilizations to develop unimpeded, the immorality and danger of using religion as a tool of manipulation, etc...
Contrary to the clergy of organized religions, well-known atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens do not actually represent other atheists in any official capacity. This is something that non-atheists sometimes have trouble with, because they are used to the idea that a Baptist minister for example represents a Baptist ministry, but atheists don't have ministries, and indeed atheism is a negative position, a lack of belief, so aside from that lack of belief there's not really not much else that all atheists have in common, as there are no central tenets or dogmas specific to atheism.
In London, an Atheist Bus Campaign decided to raise £100,000 to counter the evangelising of religious groups, and Lo and Behold, atheists put aside their differences and stumped up the cash (Richard Dawkins offered to match £5,500 worth of donations)! And when the campaign decided on the slogan 'There's probably no God so just stop worrying and enjoy life, then they fell out again. Some atheists don't like the 'probably' and plenty of atheists aren't hedonists either.

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