"so many of the dictatorial societies in the 20th century who wished to supplant religion for total control resorted to violence ..."
I think that might have been the problem right there - not the abandonment of religion but the replacement of it with total control.
This is the antithesis of what atheism is about. Atheism is about freedom - freedom to not believe, freedom to be responsible for your own actions (within the laws of your country) without threat from a sky dictator.
If the alternative to religion is state control then I too am against it. If, on the other hand it is more like the Scandinavian model (probably the most atheistic culture on the earth) then that looks preferable to me.
Didn't we just get a post showing that violent crime is falling in the States? That, at a time when atheism is at an all time high over there?
I think that might have been the problem right there - not the abandonment of religion but the replacement of it with total control.
This is the antithesis of what atheism is about. Atheism is about freedom - freedom to not believe, freedom to be responsible for your own actions (within the laws of your country) without threat from a sky dictator.
If the alternative to religion is state control then I too am against it. If, on the other hand it is more like the Scandinavian model (probably the most atheistic culture on the earth) then that looks preferable to me.
Didn't we just get a post showing that violent crime is falling in the States? That, at a time when atheism is at an all time high over there?
