Atheism

Recently I've been dealing with an evangelical atheist online.  He seems to be one of those fundamentalist types who insist that everyone else has to believe the same way he does.  He is adamant that all religions are evil, that they have never done anything good and that anyone who has any religious leanings is seriously mentally ill.  Even when other folks point out the advancements in society that have been driven solely by religious faith, he denies them.  The depth of his faith in his beliefs is impressive, particularly given the paradox of denying the faith of others.

This anti-religious stance seems to be somewhat related to modern American culture where the individual is everything.  This attitude can be very successful when the number of people who have it is very small, but when it becomes the belief of a significant fraction of the population, it can spell the destruction of the culture or society.  The human drive and desire to be part of something greater than oneself is what has driven much of the development and advancement of humanity.  In fact, one of the current evolutionary theories is that humans developed a larger brain to deal with being part of a larger group or tribe than others.  Long term survival and prosperity of the group is what was important, not that of specific individuals.  This led to concepts that we now know as duty and self-sacrifice.  When these ideals become lost, society starts to fall apart.

while I get the point that many horrible things have been done in the name of religion, there has also been a lot of good.  Probably the best example is that literacy in Europe was driven solely by Gutenberg printing and distributing Bibles which led to parents wanted their children to be able to read just so they could read the Bible.  There were also advances in architecture and engineering made so that cathedrals could be built.  And, being a Classical Music fan, there was a huge body of music composed for religious purposes.

Personally, I've been trying to take a step back so that I can analyze and understand why various religions are successful and what they contribute to the long term prosperity of the society.  I'm also trying to understand what causes the failure of religions or churches, but that's a rant for another post.