Atheism leads to reexamination of religious beliefs

The essayist, public intellectual and notable atheist (or, according to him, anti-theist) Christopher Hitchens is dying of esophageal cancer. After a lifetime of unabashed opposition to religion, thousands of letters from fans and critics have arrived at his doorstep containing, ironically, prayers and, not so ironically, promises of his eternity in hell.

As a tribute to a dying man, this column and a recent rash of articles about the rise of atheism in America demand a reconsideration of its relationship to religion.

The growth of atheism is a good thing, not in and of itself (I'll leave it up to you to decide whether atheism is a good or bad thing), but rather because it forces religious followers to reexamine their own beliefs.

A recent survey by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life revealed that atheists and agnostics tend to know more about religion than those who profess to be members of a religion. In its Sept. 27 issue, The Los Angeles Times reported that, among other things, a majority of Protestants could not correctly identify Martin Luther as a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation, and four in 10 Catholics could not correctly describe the concept of transubstantiation. Besides the offbeat cultural irony, there's a lesson to be learned. Perhaps the reason atheists, agnostics, irreligionists, skeptics, etc. know more about religion (generally) is because they've taken the time to question, to examine and to reflect. Some religious followers might take their own religion for granted once they have been raised to trust it.

This is not meant to be a sweeping generalization. I know many devout followers of different religions who are both knowledgeable and have endured one or more grueling examinations of their own religious consciences. They have faith in something and know why.

We live in a society steeped in religion. Whether we would like to acknowledge it, we are surrounded by its influences and references to it. The First Amendment protects against a state-established religion but also grants the freedom to exercise beliefs. The fact that 53 percent of the country believes that America is a constitutionally ordained "Christian nation" is more of a comment on our perception of the dominant culture rather than a lack of legal savvy. In spite of the growing prevalence of non-believers (USA Today reported in its Sept. 22, 2009 issue that 15 percent of Americans do not identify with any religion), we can neither ignore nor deny religion's profound forces.

Fledgling atheists, then - whether raised in a religious or non-religious household - mature in a culture infused with theology. The process can't be easy. Atheism is second-guessing. Atheism requires the examination of all beliefs and assertions of faith and the denial of any transcendent, spiritual being. An atheist cannot irreverently dismiss thousands of years of history as it relates to one of the most fundamental aspects of society. If someone does that, he or she is not an atheist. Atheism requires reverence.

This is not to say that atheism is a higher form of thinking. Anyone who has taken a religion class at Truman State University can attest to that.

Besides still being a long way from widespread cultural acceptance (this country would have a hard time electing an atheist president), atheists confront an army of opposition daily: demographics (in the broad category of "secularists,"non-believers rank third in the world, by number of adherents, behind Christianity and Islam), dogma (issues of morality, spirituality, etc.), and justifications (demands to explain complexity, phenomena, etc.). In a Nov. 24, 2009 story about the expansion of atheist groups on college campuses, USA Today equated the social stigma of "atheist" with that of "socialist," a separate but similarly confounding issue.

This is also not to say that different religious sects have not endured persecution and doubt. Some of the world's most horrifying atrocities are and have been products of religious persecution. Conflicts among theories of divinity, however, are separate from a conflict between the divine and the secular.

Atheism should not force the religious to become more uncompromising in their beliefs. It should foster discussion and knowledge. Atheists have taken the time to learn about other religions in order to formulate their own beliefs and defend against relentless opposition. They have demonstrated that an examined dogma is more fulfilling than a passive one. This is not a victory for atheists. This should not be thought of in terms of superior or inferior. Maybe this is the century when secularists and the religious finally decide they have something to learn from each other.

Connor Stangler is a sophomore English and history major from Columbia, Mo.