The spirituality of atheists

[Politesse]

Fierce, religion-ish nationalism. At least if history is any guide.

That wasn't theism, but it was religion. This thread is about after religion.

If anything which fills the sociopolitical gap of religion is also to be considered religion, then I do not think there will ever be a society without religion.

 

[southernhybrid]

I don't think religion is ever going away. I do hope it will become a lot more progressive, as the more extreme versions of religion are what divide us to a great extend. I could easily be a UU, if there was a UU fellowship in my town. I think I understand, as Joseph Campell called it, "The Power of Myth." I simply don't feel that our brains are rational enough to ever totally reject mythology.

Now, if you are asking atheists what they replace religion with, I think it depends on the atheist. Atheists that were very dependent on their churches for support, purpose and joy, are probably going to want to form their own groups to obtain those same elements. I have never missed having a church, but it's easy to feel isolated as an atheist in the Bible Belt, so I've been a member of the Atlanta Freethought Society, although we rarely attend anymore due to the distance we have to drive. We have a small local group of atheists in my town that get together at least monthly for dinner and conversation. It's just nice to be around other people that share your world view to some extent. Why do so many people stay on this forum? I would imagine that part of the reason is to be able to discuss things with others that share the same views, or to be able to openly disagree with those who don't.

I tend to think that humans are far too tribal to ever be very united. Regardless if we're speaking of religious or political ideology, there were always be some extreme versions that cause harm. The end of religion isn't going to change that, imo.

Having family and a good social support system are what most people need. Even the folks that claim to be loners join groups like this one. There are very few people in the world that are able to live happily in total isolation from others. There is evidence that older adults who are not socially engaged don't live as long as those who do, and are at a higher risk for dementia. So, as an older adult myself, I try to stay socially engaged with others, in addition to my wonderful husband.

 

[ideologyhunter]

What follows, once you find religion unpersuasive? Fair question. My take, from my (mostly second-hand) acquaintance with freethinkers, i.e., on this site:
> a sense of liberation in the conviction that your life has exactly the meaning and purpose you assign to it
> an inescapable sense of alienation from the pervasive religious culture (speaking as an American here)
> an always-present sense of the absurdity of existence, which fosters a sense of humor that leans toward satire
> a sales-resistance to all wishful thinking, esp. the life-after-death horseshit
> an apathy toward believers' appraisal of our atheism

 

[Politesse]

I feel like there might be some over-interpretation from a limited set as far as demeanor goes; atheists are, as a whole, generally free-thinking oriented, humanistically inclined, well-educated people. Demographically very distinct from the average citizen. When atheism becomes a mass phenomenon, a worldview into which everyone in a society is raised, it will tend to take on more aspects of what you'd consider organized religion, whether or not that manifests as "a religion", nationalism, magicalist Scientism, or some other such thing. Because those members of society who do not enjoy intellectual pursuits, or thinking outside the box, or considering other points of view, or who do desire uniformity and clear rules, will still do so regardless of what specific tradition you raise them in. The conceit of the evangelist, whatever their line, is to imagine that changing a bunch of people's nominative beliefs will somehow change the human nature or character as a whole. I do believe that social transformation is possible - we are not quite the same humanity from generation to generation - but I think our slow evolution has been the result of more than just our changing nominative beliefs.