50 Great Myths About Atheism

Russell Blackford is Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia. A renowned philosopher, literary critic, author and commentator on a range of topics including legal and political philosophy, philosophy of religion, meta-ethics, and philosophical bioethics, he is a prolific essayist and author whose works include Freedom of Religion and the Secular State (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). Dr Blackford is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Evolution and Technology.Udo Schüklenk is Professor of Philosophy at Queen’s University, Canada, where he holds the Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics. A renowned bioethicist, he is joint editor-in-chief of the international journals Bioethics and Developing World Bioethics. A prolific author and editor, he has produced 7 books and published more than 130 articles in international journals and anthologies, mostly on public health ethics, research ethics and end-of-life issues. He recently chaired an international expert panel drafting a landmark report on end-of-life care on behalf of the Royal Society of Canada.

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction 1What is Atheism? 2Why Bother About Myths? 4Drawing the Lines 5Do These Myths Actually Exist? 6How Did We Decide What Myths are Worth Investigating? 6Are We Picking Easy Targets? 7Have We Defeated Theism? 71 What is Atheism? 9Myth 1 Atheism is Just Another Type of Religion 9Myth 2 But the Courts Recognize Atheism as a Religion 12Myth 3 Atheists Believe in God but are in Denial 14Myth 4 Atheists are Certain There is No God 18Myth 5 Atheists Hate or are Angry with God 21Myth 6 Atheism is a Rebellion Against God’s Authority 24Myth 7 Atheists See No Good in Religion 27Myth 8 No Atheist Believes in Anything Supernatural 28Myth 9 It Makes No Sense for an Atheist to Practice Any Kind of Religion 29Myth 10 Atheists Worship False Gods (Satan, Money, Materialism, etc.) 312 Atheist Living 34Myth 11 Atheism Robs Life of Meaning and Purpose 34Myth 12 Atheism is Depressing 40Myth 13 Atheists Have No Sense of Humor 42Myth 14 Atheists Don’t Appreciate Some of the Greatest Works of Art 45Myth 15 There is no Christmas in Atheist Families 47Myth 16 Atheists Don’t Appreciate the Beauty and Perfection of God’s Creation 49Myth 17 Atheists Fear Death (More than Others) 51Myth 18 Atheists Turn to God When Death is Near 54Myth 19 There are no Atheists in Foxholes 563 Atheism, Ethics, and the Soul 59Myth 20 Without God There is No Morality 59Myth 21 Atheists are Moral Relativists 66Myth 22 Atheists Don’t Give to Charity 70Myth 23 Atheists Deny the Sanctity of Human Life 74Myth 24 If There is No God We are Soulless Creatures 764 Name Calling 79Myth 25 Atheists are all Communists, Left-Wing, Liberal. . . 79Myth 26 Atheists Can’t be Trusted 83Myth 27 Many Atrocities Have Been Committed in the Name of Atheism 85Myth 28 Adolf Hitler was an Atheist 90Myth 29 Atheists Give a Free Pass to Non-Christian Religions 955 Horrible, Strident Atheists 99Myth 30 Atheists are Arrogant 99Myth 31 Atheists are Intolerant 103Myth 32 Atheists Want to Ban Teaching Religion to Children 107Myth 33 Atheists Want to Strip People of their Beliefs 110Myth 34 Atheists Want to Ban Religion from the Public Square 111Myth 35 Atheists Don’t Understand Moderate Religion 114Myth 36 We Should Fear a ‘‘Fundamentalist’’ or ‘‘Militant’’ Atheism 119Myth 37 Atheists are to Blame for Religious Fundamentalism 1256 Faith and Reason 131Myth 38 Atheists Don’t Understand the Nature of Faith 131Myth 39 Atheism Depends on Faith, Just the Same as Religion 138Myth 40 Atheism is Self-refuting, as Rational Argument Presumes the Existence of God 1427 Religion and Science 146Myth 41 There is No Conflict Between Religion and Science 146Myth 42 Atheists Confuse Two Forms of Naturalism 149Myth 43 Atheism Implies Scientism 153Myth 44 Evolutionary Theory is a Form of Atheistic Religion 157Myth 45 Albert Einstein Professed a Belief in God 160Myth 46 Atheists Can’t Explain Miracles 164Myth 47 Atheists Can’t Explain the Resurrection 1718 No Future for Atheism? 176Myth 48 Atheism is a Bad Bet (Pascal’s Wager) 176Myth 49 Atheism is Only for an Educated Elite 180Myth 50 Atheism is Doomed in a Postsecular Age 1829 The Rise of Modern Atheism 187A Very Short History of Atheism 187Beginning Atheism 189How Did We Become Secular? 192Classic Theistic Arguments 197Religion and Science – Conflicting or Compatible? 209Conclusion – the Reasonableness of Atheism 234International Atheist and Related Organizations 236References 242Index 261

“Overall, Blackford and Schu¨ klenk’s work is a valuable contribution to the debate between believers and non-believers.”  (Journal of Contemporary Religion, 1 August 2014)Review appeared in Times Higher Education - 2 January 2014 “I recommend it as useful reading both to those who are freethinkers (whatever they call themselves, be it atheists, agnostics or secularists) and to "believers", particularly the hard-core religious ones, though it might prove "heavy-going" for them at times, and they are unlikely to be able to suspend belief and permit scepticism to intrude into their "blind faith".”  (New Nurturing Potential, 1 September 2013) "I am happy to report that Blackford and Schüklenk’s collaboration has given us an intellectually rigorous yet compositionally relaxed book. It is clearly written, clear-headed, and amusing on occasion (especially with the inclusion of comics from the Jesus & Mo website). It is simply organized, as the title indicates, with the authors taking on the 50 Myths one by one." (Neworld Review, Vol 6. No. 46)