Re: All atheists should be nihilists
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:35 pm
Dr Moore, I am glad you expanded on the idea that religion might have negatives toward meaning in life. I have heard blithe statements that meaning is based upon religion or God. I think that if you are unable to find meaning in the process of living and sharing with others then adding religion will not be a help.Dr Moore wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:29 pmI will posit the opposite as Dan Peterson, and stake out a claim that Christians and Mormons have equal or higher rates of nihilism than atheists do.
My rationale? Simple.
Christianity and Mormonism are both so rife with existential problems of reality (to name a few: deception/gaslighting, failed prophecy, doctrinal contradictions, magic talk, illogical rationalizations for unacceptable behavior such as racism and sexism, and so many blatantly selfish claims of power, authority and knowledge in the name of Jesus) that life itself feels hopeless for those who seek truth by following a logically consistent, scientific framework.
Those Christians and Mormons are socially damned for pushing too far on facts and logic, yet internally damned for staying quietly in the boat. What could be worse than that? I have a small clue, personally having spent the last 7 years navigating the insanely sensitive turns and corners of faith crisis and belief transition. So assuming some meaningful percentage of "believers" also happen to struggle with existential problems created by their inherited systems of belief, those people are trapped in a living hell, surrounded by people who proudly and ruthlessly validate themselves in a cycle of overconfidence and confirmation bias. What a perfect breeding ground for nihilism. Is it any wonder that religious people end up committing the most horrific crimes?
Atheists, meanwhile, follow what Adam Grant refers to as a "rethinking cycle." (see Think Again). It's the scary dogma of "I don't know." Grant's rethinking cycle is pretty straightforward.
Humility >> Doubt >> Curiosity >> Discovery >> and back around to Humility... and around again and again.
Not having all the answers does not equal hopelessness or nihilism. Only prideful and overconfident people would claim so.