WJEC/Eduqas RS for A2/Yr2: Philosophy of Religion

WJEC/Eduqas Religious Studies for A Level Year 2 & A2 Philosophy of Religion Rationality is a core part of New Atheism in that it claims that any alternative view is not rational. They claim that religious belief is irrational. However, this is to deny the historical evidence for the faith. For example, in Christianity there is a case to be answered regards the resurrection of Jesus. Even though both sides may disagree it would still be considered a rational debate. One of the areas where New Atheism has attacked religious belief is the claim that human beings have invented God and that the God they have invented is evil. Dawkins describes the God of the Old Testament as ‘arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction; jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control- freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.’ However, New Atheism’s depiction of religion has been accused of being a caricature. It is claimed it misrepresents religion and religious teaching, choosing to focus only on those who are extreme and resort to violence. If God is a human invention, as they argue, then surely that means human beings are the cause of the violence not God. Indeed, religious believers resonate with atheists when it comes to complaints about the behaviour of religious persons. Whether it is the Crusades, religious inquisition, suicide bombings or materialism and the unwillingness to share more than a pittance with those in need – all such actions are unworthy of religious persons. However, no matter how badly religious persons behave, it does not disprove God or particular doctrines. It merely shows that some believers live inconsistently with such doctrines. In fact, it could be argued that such actions demonstrate the truth of most religions that people have a sinful nature. Questions about the goodness of God are equally problematic for the New Atheist as for the religious believer. Given New Atheists see ethical standards as mere private notions of morality, there can be no objective presence of evil and so blame cannot be laid at the feet of God. If God is a human invention, as New Atheists argue, then surely that means human beings are the cause of violence, not God. New Atheism also fails to be realistic about the darker side of Atheism (e.g. Lenin and his attempts through violence to eradicate religious belief). It is estimated that atheist and secular regimes in the twentieth century alone, have killed well over 100 million people, more than 100 times the total deaths caused by Christians from the Crusades until the present. New Atheists also ignore the teaching of non- violence and forgiveness in world faiths. Atheistic arguments against religious experience is another area that has resulted in much debate. Dawkins’ approach is to treat religious experiences merely as hallucinations, only differing from madness in the degree to which they are accepted in society. However, such a view ignores fundamental differences between religious revelation and symptoms of mental illness. No account is taken of the mystical experiences reported across time and space and cultural background. Instead, such accounts are dismissed as mere hallucinations or a particular tendency of the human mind to create such experiences. Atheism’s attack on religious belief has also centred around the existence of a multitude of world faiths. Not only do they contradict each other yet at the same time claim divine revelation; but also, it is argued that the religion you follow largely depends on where you are born. It has little to do with truth. However, religions do not all have the same beliefs. Indeed, people convert from one faith into a different faith. There are great differences between Asian and Western faiths – for example between Buddhism and the Abrahamic faiths. Perhaps the success of atheistic arguments should be measured not by the persuasiveness of the academic/intellectual arguments but by their influence in the public arena and everyday thinking. Certainly New Atheism has enjoyed a Key quotes To be an empiricist is to withhold belief in anything that goes beyond the actual, observable phenomena. (Fraassen) [It is as if] a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature (Hoyle) All religions are versions of the same untruth. (Hitchens) AO2 Activity List some conclusions that could be drawn from the AO2 reasoning from the above text; try to aim for at least three different possible conclusions. Consider each of the conclusions and collect brief evidence to support each conclusion from the AO1 and AO2 material for this topic. Select the conclusion that you think is most convincing and explain why it is so. Try to contrast this with the weakest conclusion in the list, justifying your argument with clear reasoning and evidence. 42