I think you are reading a bit too much into atheism. It is not nearly as consequential as you seem to assume. It actually can't be very consequential.
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Is there a benefit to atheism?
- Thread starter Jeremiahcp
- Start date
In many cases, literal financial cost. Theism can come packaged with a religion that demand monetary tithes, membership fees, paid seminars, expensive ceremonies, etc. It can also require significant expenditure of time.
There's also opportunity cost. As we go through our lives, in whatever context is relevant to us, we can ask ourselves "out of all the options available to me, what's my best option right now?" OTOH, a theist might tweak the question a bit and ask himself "out of all the available options that are acceptable to my god(s), what's my best option right now?"
Any time the answers to those two questions are different, there's an opportunity cost associated with that person's theism.
Edit: theism can also create costs by skewing supply and demand. For instance, all else being equal, a house within an erev will be in higher demand by Orthodox Jews than the same house in the same neighbourhood but just outside the erev, and this increased demand can cause an increased price. This means that someone who cares about living in an erev because of his brand of theism should expect to pay more for housing than an atheist, all else being equal.
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A Vestigial Mote
Well-Known Member
Is there no benefit in rejecting "possibilities" that have no evidence or effect on your life/the world/etc.? So, do you believe people should still be wary of werewolves? Their existence was certainly seen as a possibility by people in the past. So should we not abandon those possibilities and respect the idea that there may be werewolves out there during the full moon? Be more careful, tailor our travel so that we're not out during that time? Abandon any plans we have for those evenings and instead stay indoors and safe from those possibilities? Or is it more beneficial to us, to our productivity, to our sense of relative safety for us to admit that, with not one single werewolf sighting or attack actually having come to prove the existence of werewolves, we can, more or less, reject the notion and go on about our daily/nightly lives?
But what if the person isn't merely seeking "the next" religious experience, but is, instead, concerned with the reality of his/her exploits? Whether or not something is real, and has any verifiable benefit/detriment/effect? I understand that old idea that people can make real what they believe is real - sort of a placebo effect - but what of someone who literally cannot accept something because they feel that they can't help but see through the intention of the placebo? For that person it becomes impossible to react "sincerely" to that placebo.
It's not confusion; it's acknowledgement that theism is often expressed through religion.
And while there are non-theist religions, the vast majority of atheists are not religious.
Good thing for you, then, that you don't need to "reject possibilities" to be an atheist.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Theism can be safely and completely rejected because there is not even a shred of evidence for it. We know to a great extent how universe and life came about.
Well, most believers know the advantages. Not bound to a single philosophy, not bound to untruths. But the advantages, IMHO, are diminished if one is anti-theist or still believes in some crap like soul, paranormal sciences, etc.
Many atheists are very humane/spiritual in a non-religious ways, and quite knowledgeable about religious views, many a times more than the theists.
Being only fairly certain makes you an agnostic.
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Augustus
…
Not really.
Atheism or theism are really only parts of a much larger worldview and can't be isolated and abstracted from this larger context.
Of course it can be consequential, although it is not necessarily consequential. Any belief can have consequences, and the belief that there are no gods has motivated many people's behaviour in many different directions [to avoid definition arguments even if atheism can be a lack of belief, for at least some atheists it is also a belief].
HonestJoe
Well-Known Member
Of course not, why would it? Theism in itself doesn’t offer any benefits either. Both are just terms to describe a specific subset of an individual’s wider world-view.
You might as well ask the benefit of liking or not liking Marmite.
And I see no benefit of holding onto ideas that have no evidence or effect. If there is no reason to believe, there is no reason to believe.
The Holy Bottom Burp
Active Member
To answer the question, as atheism is a lack of belief in deities it doesn't necessarily get you away from other beliefs that lack compelling evidence. You may believe the human race was founded by an advanced alien species for example. So from that point of view, too many assumptions to say it is "beneficial", more information required. Atheism is a very broad "church".
I think it can be beneficial if it leads you down the path of secular humanism, not just beneficial to you as an individual but the people around you also. I'm of the view it is the way forward for humanity, it seeks peaceful co-existence with other people, it promotes intellectual honesty. What more do you want?
I think it can be beneficial if it leads you down the path of secular humanism, not just beneficial to you as an individual but the people around you also. I'm of the view it is the way forward for humanity, it seeks peaceful co-existence with other people, it promotes intellectual honesty. What more do you want?
Being an atheist keeps my options open. If you're going to choose a belief without any means to validate that belief then it's very likely your going to be wrong.
So being an atheist keeps me from being wrong, about God anyway.
Belief (or lack thereof) in anything really means very little in any case. It is outcomes that matter, and outcomes do not have a one-to-one correspondence to beliefs (or lack thereof). That is particularly the case with supposed dichotomies that are very trivial and superficial, if they are actual dichotomies at all. Near as I can tell, the only difference between theism and atheism is choosing to describe certain aspects of reality with the word "god."
I suppose, then, the benefit of atheism is not having to bother with the word "god." This is not, unfortunately, a trivial benefit given the current cultural climate.
I suppose, then, the benefit of atheism is not having to bother with the word "god." This is not, unfortunately, a trivial benefit given the current cultural climate.
leibowde84
Veteran Member
I think atheism ("weak atheism" ... simply being without a belief in God or gods) can open your mind to considering evidence as guidance rather than biases about the universe and how it works. For example, if you believe in God, you will be more likely to see the complexity of life as being a necessary creation rather than a natural phenomenon.
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
Being more of an agnostic versus and out-and-out atheist, I don't have to try and force myself to believe in things that I tried to force myself to believe in during my earlier years.
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
And you get to wear suspenders without offending the Amish god. But you know if you are a theist you get superpowers.
Altfish
Veteran Member
Ha!
I've noticed this more and more, accusing non-believers of being irrational.
Priceless
Altfish
Veteran Member
No, there is evidence (i.e. probability) that you will not have an accident on the way to the shops. So you use your judgement to assess if the risk is worth it...and of course it is, you will be very unlucky to have a crash.
It is the opposite with gods, there is no evidence of a god, so I assume there isn't one based on sound judgement.
Altfish
Veteran Member
Well, I probably won't argue with that. but on a scale of 0 to 100 I'm at about 99Being only fairly certain makes you an agnostic.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Strictly speaking about the existence of god, there are benefits and disbenefits of atheism.
Benefits of atheism (not believing in god)
1. You don't have a obligation of worship (depending on the religion)
2. If god to you is anything supernatural, the benefit could be looking at life based on what you know rather than based on what you don't know.
Edit Non-benefits of atheism
1. Looking for certainty when life is uncertain (god is described a mystery as well)
2. Finding security in gratitude without needing to attach gratitude without attachment
3. Charity with reservations
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