Let me ask you an honest pair of questions. Yes, of course there will be follow-up, though it may be several days before I can spare a few minutes to return to this. Here they are:
Has religion contributed any evil to this world? Please cite examples, and be fair.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks
Evil things are done in the name of religion, but that does not make them speak for all religion. Nor do all religious or religious people bear the sins of those who have committed evil in their name.
Also, just because crimes are committed by people who are religious does not mean you can ascribe their crime to being religious.
Actually I can, it’s pretty easy to do when terrorists are going around screaming “Allahu akbar” and named their organization the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Perhaps I misinterpret your point, though.
You do, but the fault is mine, actually, as I did not phrase correctly. Yes, some kill in the name of religion. Yet some religious people kill for other reasons. What I should have said is that you cannot ascribe all crimes committed by religious people to their being religious.
So ultimately, while evil has contributed evil to this world, I caution you not to paint all of religion as evil based on what some have done with it.
Has atheism contributed any evil to this world? Please cite examples, and be fair.
Not that I know of, but I assume you’re gonna refer to the Communist regime of Stalin. As far as I know, the actions of Stalin were not committed in the name of atheism, he did it because he wanted power. Stripping people’s religion from them was an effective demoralization tactic, so that’s what he did. And it’s not like communist Russia was a godless society, their god was the state. Bear in mind, I don’t know a whole lot about communist Russia.
Now there are points where I would bring up Communist regimes like the USSR, but I wasn’t planning on doing so yet. Since you brought it up, however, let’s go ahead and address it.
First, it’s always easiest to state that the Soviet Union exercised a religion wherein the state was the object of worship. Really that would be more accurate of Fascism/Nazism, whereas there was more of a personality cult surrounding Lenin and Stalin, and there was an ideology that demanded exclusive devotion. One could not be a member of any political party except the Communist Party, and anything else was seen as disloyal. But such excuses do not pardon the fact that this was a nation that actively fought against belief in God or other organized “traditional” religion. There were no rites, holy books, or prayers. What existed was propaganda, suppression of dissension, and cover-ups of the crimes of the leaders and the Union as a whole. But the nation was, for all intents and purposes, actively atheist.
Which leads to my second point: any ideology can be used for evil. How many atheists have called for the destruction of religion. Look at the likes of Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, and others. They cling not only to an ideology, but in fact are so firm in their conviction, so aggressive in their stance, so negative in their rhetoric, so once-sided in their arguments that…one could almost consider them a religion! Sure, they are not as severe as the USSR, but really the same ideological purity exists on a lighter level there. But how tolerant are they of other viewpoints? Do you think they put up with atheist fortune tellers? Atheist Jains, Buddhists, or Confucianists?
I disagree, I’ve never seen an atheist lobbying about the evils of Buddhism. They focus on Islam and Christianity. Islam because it inspires terrorism, and contributes to the oppression of women and gays. Christianity because of the few Christian politicians who try to incorporate their religion into politics. Tennessee tried to get the Bible to be the official state book, but luckily the governor vetoed it. That’s the kind of thing that atheists fight against.
And that’s fine. It’s their right to fight it, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But there are so many who actively oppose religion altogether. I named some names. Remember:
Religion championed the notion enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence that " all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
Abe Lincoln promised God that if He would change the tide of the Civil War, Lincoln would end slavery.
William Wilberforce was converted to Christianity, and then committed his life to ending slavery in the British Empire.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for equality among the races.
54% of Christians are supportive of homosexuality in society, as are 74% among other faiths. Interestingly, 17% of non-religious folks are not supportive. Now obviously there is a discrepancy in your favor, but consider that religious folks are not wholly against it, while atheists are not wholly for it.
Most Americans preach tolerance and love. Most Americans are religious. Most progressive ideals throughout our nation’s history were promoted by religious believers.
Religious people are more generous in their donations.
Religious people are happier.
Actively involved religious people are less likely to be involved in drugs or crime.
But to return to my original reason for asking these questions, let’s recap:
Yes, there is evil committed because of religion.
However, as atheism is not an ideology (supposedly), there cannot be any evil because of it.
But then it begs the questions:
What good has religion contributed to the world?
Though I think it’s misguided, it gives people emotional comfort.
It’s done far more than that. See above.
And if atheism is not an ideology and cannot contribute evil, then how can atheism contribute any good?
It can’t, and it doesn’t have to.
Then why advocate for it? Why condemn religion? Much good has come into this world from it. Even in a Utopian Star Trek future where humanity leaves religion behind, only the most ignorant would regard religion as worthless. It has contributed immensely to the benefit of mankind, and a few people who’ve been burned feel some need to pick a few points of disagreement and tear down the whole idea.