by Jennifer Umbehant
A View of Atheism in the 20th Century
by Jennifer Umbehant
It is safe to say that as long as there has been belief, there has
been disbelief. Disbelief of a god or gods is defined as atheism. For
some individuals this non-belief is not given much thought; others are
very active in their disbelief. I won’t spend a great deal of
time on why someone is an atheist, as that would be more suited for
a paper on psychology or philosophy; as you read this you will have
your own assumptions about that. It is my main goal to inform you on
the timeline of atheism, some influential people who have called themselves
atheists, and how this has led up to the current atheist civil rights
movement. We will analyze the history of atheism in the 20th century
with a focus on America.
We’re all born atheists, but somewhere along our evolutionary
path, man decided that he needed a God, sometimes even more than one.
But what of the ones who chose not to believe? Most people will tell
you that atheism is not a philosophy or religion; and then there are
those who will tell you it is. Because of the very basic disbelief of
atheism, there are enormous differences from one atheist to the next.
Dr. Timothy J. Madigan, tells us that they “…all [share]
one trait in common–a desire to think for themselves rather than
to follow time-honored strictures or divine commandments…They
have turned upside down the traditional view that questioning the divine
will cause one to suffer eternal damnation.”(Madigan) Atheists
include, “…humanists and non-believers, individuals who
over the centuries have listened to the evidence supplied by orthodox
‘believers’ and have rejected such evidence for a variety
of reasons, always because of their own critical intelligence. Rather
than having a ‘faith’ in the sometimes anti-human, anti-science,
and anti-freedom tenets of others, these dissidents have developed through
skepticism and reason a philosophic outlook that is secular, freethinking,
naturalistic, humanistic, or a combination.” (Smith)
Before we look at 20th century atheism, lets examine it during previous
centuries. It seems that in ancient times, atheistic views first emerged
in India and then Greece, first around 1000 BC then 420 BC, respectively.
(History) Epicurus is often cited as the first official atheist who
existed around 300 BC, although this title is sometimes given to the
5th-century BC Greek philosopher Diagoras. (Wikipedia 1 and 2) The Middle
Ages gave us The Inquisition of the Roman Catholic church and so there
is very little atheistic expression during this time. The Renaissance
and the Age of Enlightenment saw rise to criticisms against the church,
but it was still basically taboo to admit one did not believe in God,
they were still hanging people after all. By the late 18th century,
admitting one’s disbelief became less dangerous. “…the
French Revolution of 1789 catapulted atheistic thought into political
notability, and opened the way for the 19th century movements of Rationalism,
Freethought, and Liberalism…Friedrich Nietzsche, a prominent 19th
century philosopher, is well-known for coining the aphorism ‘God
is dead.’ (Wikipedia 2) The 19th century was well known for it’s
proponents of atheistic thought and things were looking good for the
movement in America at the start of the 20th century.
Atheism has seen many ups and downs in America, and will surely continue
to for many years to come. Alister McGrath tells us, “A culture…undergoes
change--–sometimes slowly over many years, sometimes with such
speed that the settled assumptions of generations are overthrown, even
inverted, within a single generation…What was entirely plausible
in cultural context now becomes seen as eccentric, possibly even irrational.”
(McGrath) As America saw a rise in Modernism at the turn of the 20th
century, it too saw a rise in atheism. A social belief in the power
of science started vying for a spot that was above a belief in God.
Bertrand Russell, aptly stated, “We were told that faith could
remove mountains, but no one believed it; we are now told that the atomic
bomb can remove mountains and everyone believes it.”(Russell)
Wars would see a change in the way people thought about God –
after the First World War there would be a deluge of people questioning
the essence of a benevolent God who could allow such pain and torment
in the world. (Stein) World War Two would raise similar questions. However,
according to Zachary Braiterman, “The Holocaust intensified an
already-strained relation between Judaism and modern cultural currents.
It did not take the Holocaust for Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and
Freud, and the proponents of historicism and positivism to cast doubt
upon the cogency of a traditional narrative pattern based on [1] a transcendent
deity who [2] created the world, [3] chose one particular people, [4]
and revealed to that people one particular set of commandments encoded
in a particular textual corpus that would [5] lead them toward privileged
messianic and otherworldly futures.” (Braiterman)
The Cold War would produce an opposite effect. A struggle between the
United States and Soviet Union, the two countries would clash in almost
every aspect of life. How would this effect atheism? American believers
would equate atheism with communism, evil and unpatriotic beliefs. During
the time of this conflict, the Soviets were referred to as “Godless
Communists,” “under God” was added to the Pledge of
Allegiance “In God We Trust” was imprinted on our currency
and "So help me God" was added as a suffix to the oaths of
office for federal justices and judges. (Religious Tolerance)
Almost twenty years ago, George H. W. Bush, during his presidential
campaign in 1987, was quoted as saying, “I don't know that atheists
should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic.
This is one nation under God,” and stigmatism against atheism
continues today. (Integrative Spirituality) In spite of the negative
views of atheism the latter-half of the 20th century saw in America,
there were great atheists and organizations who fought for the tenets
often held by atheists. Some great rationalists (most considered atheist
or agnostic) of the day included Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Bertrand Russell,
Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand, Carl Sagan,
George Carlin, Gene Roddenberry, Sigmund Freud, and many more. Organizations
included the Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Atheists, International
Federation of Societies of Free Thought, Rationalist Association of
North America, American Humanist Association, The American Civil Liberties
Union, and many more.
Organizations such as the ACLU fight for what has become the civil rights
movement of the atheist. If you don’t think there’s a case
for atheist civil rights, consider these statements made by various
atheists in the book, Atheists: A Groundbreaking Study of America’s
Nonbelievers. “Atheism greatly disturbs people…We are a
minority that it is still all right to treat as second-class citizens
and harass verbally…I never realized how negative being an atheist
is until recently. I don’t talk about my beliefs…In the
United States, the default state is ‘believer.’ I learned
to never assert atheism. It’s sort of like burning the flag…To
this day my in-laws consider me the ‘antichrist’…
relatives …are…weary of having me around, especially around
their children…my kids have been harassed at school, I’ve
been a victim of religious discrimination at work, my car has been vandalized,
I’ve received death threats via email…adults think it necessary
to teach my children about God and Jesus…I’ve spent over
$500 repairing damage to my vehicle because of vandalism.” (Hunsberger)
Some theologians state that the end of the 20th century saw an immense
decline of disbelief, (McGrath) however the attacks in New York City
on September 11, 2001 saw a resurgence of atheism take hold of the country.
There are currently two proponents of atheism touring the country, Richard
Dawkins and Sam Harris. They are challenging the fundamentalist Christians
of the country and admonishing people to take an active role in what
they believe, so that although citizens may not decide to embrace atheism,
they may become more like a freethinker, with rational contemplation
of the natural world. The psalmist said a fool denies the existence
of God, but science and the rational individuals who hold true the disbelief
of atheism has shown us otherwise.
Bibliography
Braiterman,
Zachary.
(God) After Auschwitz
History of Atheism. “History
of Atheism.” 12 November 2006. <>
Hunsberger, Bruce E. and Bob
Altemeyer. Atheists:
A Groundbreaking Study of America's Nonbelievers
Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books, 2006
Integrative Spirituality. “Atheism.”
9 December 2006.
Madigan,
Dr. Timothy J. “Foreword.” Who's
Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists,
Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists
McGrath, Alister.
The
Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
New York. Doubleday. 1953
Religious Tolerance. “The
U.S. National Mottos: Their history & constitutionality.”
13 November 2006.
Russell,
Bertrand. Impact
of Science on Society
1951
Smith,
Warren Allen. “Introduction.”Who's
Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists,
Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists
Stein,
Gordon. - The
Encyclopedia of Unbelief/Volumes I and II in One
Wikipedia 1. “Atheism.” 9 December
2006.
Wikipedia 2. “History
of Atheism” 5 December 2006
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