ATHEISTS, AND AMERICA’S JEWS AND CHRISTIANS By: Gaby Coupchaquejour 1. Atheists Ostracized by Other Religions? Not Exactly! Traditional views of atheists from people in the religious mainstream are, to say the least, far from favorable. At worst, they are regarded as evil, rudderless individuals with no solid anchor of moral values to guide them through the maelstrom of life. Their tendency to pop up in news articles around Christmas, protesting against manger scenes on public grounds and Christmas pageants in schools (although they do appear with grievances throughout the year), has further tarnished their reputations. A July 2014 Pew Research survey which used a novel “warmth index” to ask how warmly or coldly people felt about “religious” groups and included their own religion (and many see atheism as just another religion, or doctrinally consistent “anti-religion”), offered choices on a scale from 100 (warmest) to coldest (zero). Most rated their own religion as warmest and Jews had the highest rating at 63, closely followed by Catholics at 62 and Christian Evangelicals at 61; atheists had the second coldest score at 41, slightly ahead of only Muslims at 40. White Evangelicals rated atheists even lower at 25, and atheists reciprocated by putting the Evangelicals at 28, although they gave colder scores to all Christian groups. Interestingly (which will be explored later in this article), atheists did feel more warmly towards Buddhists (69), Jews (61), and Hindus (58). A strong warmth factor in the poll proved to be that the more closely familiar someone is with those of another group, the more the ratings were likely to be warmer. Apparently, many people believe that they know few or no atheists; those who did know atheists rated them as high as 50 while they dropped to 29 among those who claimed they did not. One surprise is that you may know many more atheists than you think, or perhaps more accurately, people who are counted as belonging to one religion, but are really “practicing” something closer to atheism or agnosticism. An agnostic is dictionary-defined as someone who neither affirms nor denies the existence of God, and/or believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or other “non-material” phenomena. For atheists, God does not exist! In a very interesting, and entertaining, December 2 013 article entitled “Lots of Atheists, more Muslims, Fewer Christians and Jews: This is the New America,” Damian Thompson (Editor of Telegraph Blogs and columnist for the Daily Telegraph), states that “Not even the deist Thomas Jefferson would have been pleased to know that, in 2013, America’s fastest-growing religious alliance is ‘None’ – that is, agnosticism shading into atheism.” Thompson draws heavily on maps and information from the Washington Post purporting to show the decline of religious affiliation and/or active participation in the U.S. The Post data shows that many who claim to be a member of a religion increasingly are not showing up for services or giving financial or other support. It also indicates that attendance at Catholic masses and Protestant Sunday services are actually half, or even less, of what is claimed to be their memberships, and that those who say that they are attending often are lying to pollsters. Thompson points out that those who identified themselves as Jews dropped by close to half as a percentage of the U.S. population since the late 1950s (now under two percent), and that the above mentioned Pew study found that those who identify themselves as Jewish “solely by culture or ancestry rather than religion” went up from seven percent to 22 percent in the short span from 2000 to 2013. Thompson quotes comedian, TV host, author, and documentarian Bill Maher who quipped that “Atheists are among us, even in Oklahoma” and that atheists are “Twenty percent of America…up five percent (from 15) in just the last five years, by far the biggest, most under-represented minority in America.” The Pew study actually puts the number of atheists even higher than Maher’s claim at 25 percent of Americans. Thompson contends that “America is secularizing, just like Europe.” 2. A Bond between Jews and Atheists Because of the nature of Judaism and its religious tenets, many Jews increasingly profess themselves to be comfortable with atheists or even embrace atheism (frequently along with other “labels”), thus exemplifying what the Pew survey mentions as being Jewish “solely by culture or ancestry rather than religion.” As that study also found, atheists likewise find Jews much more attractive than Christians on the Pew warmth index. Many seemingly obvious reasons can be posited for this as both groups are minorities in societies that often vilify or show prejudices towards them, and both are populated by a large percentage of free thinkers, some of whom are brilliant and recognized, grudgingly or not, as significant contributors in many fields of endeavor. There is a long historic record of a kind of blending of Jews and atheists and the term Jewish atheism has taken on special significance. Jewish religious law on “who is a Jew” is a subject of debate, but is generally very broad and inclusive due to being based on matrilineal descent and accepting anyone who is ethnically and culturally Jewish, not just religiously. Even conservative Orthodox Jews can acknowledge an atheist as fully Jewish if he/she was born to a Jewish mother. Studies indicate that up to half of American Jews doubt the existence of God compared with only 10-15% of members of other U.S. religious groups. In the past 100 years in particular, there has been a rapid growth in the formation of secular and atheistic Jewish organizations such as the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and the Society for Humanistic Judaism in the United States. While belief in God is not a prerequisite for Jewish religious observance, both Orthodox and more liberal Reform Jews are uncomfortable with atheist temple groups and Reform has rejected affiliation with them; that said, atheists exist in all modern Jewish denominations. Some rabbis, particularly Reconstructionists, believe that Jewish theology should focus more on “godliness” than God, but many Jewish atheists avoid theistic language of any kind. Jewish symbols like the Menorah can be viewed as representing more secular concepts such as the power of the Jewish spirit and the fight against total assimilation, and rituals, such as lighting Shabbat candles, can symbolize meanings about culture and history. Even the “holy” Torah can be viewed as more a mythology than a history of the Jewish people. Purely divine forces are not accepted literally. Other Jewish atheists, however, also reject the symbols and rituals and couch their Jewish identities in terms of ethnic background and secular culture, including Jewish literature, history, foods, and languages (such as Yiddish and Hebrew). On the far end of the spectrum are Jewish atheists who totally reject Judaism, do not consider themselves Jews, and accept only the label of atheist. This latter “category” obviously would be the one that poses the least problems for non-Jewish atheists who have friendships and relationships with those who are born Jewish. As stated above, secular or atheist Jews are very far from being uncommon and may actually be a majority in the U.S. Looking back at such people who became famous, the list is long and distinguished. The 17th century Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza posited ideas about God that some believe were the blueprint for modern atheists. Karl Marx was born Jewish, raised as a Lutheran, but his eventual atheism shined through in such comments as accusing religion in any form of being “…the sigh of the oppressed creature” and “…the opium of the people.” Astrophysicist Carl Sagan was a Jew who became a non-theist while Albert Einstein held on to being Jewish, but rejected the concept of a personal god. Sigmund Freud also embraced atheism and dismissed religion as an illusion. Revolutionary Vladimir Lenin followed the ideas of Marx and had no time for Jewishness. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir famously skirted the issue in the true fashion of a politician when asked if she believed in God by replying “I believe in the Jewish people, and the Jewish people believe in God.” 3. A Few Selected Views of Judaism and Atheism The recent Pew study of religious groups, cited above, also included the statistic that 68% of American Jews find no incompatibility in being both Jewish and nontheist. That may have led to the rebuttal from David Silverman, President of American Atheists, who strongly disagreed, stating that Judaism and atheism are incompatible and you cannot be both Jewish and nontheist. Silverman apparently rejects the opinions of many Jewish atheists including those who practice Humanistic Judaism. Journalist Chris Stedman of Faitheist (Religious News Service, RNS) decided to delve further into the question in early 2014 and interviewed Rabbi Jeffrey Falick, rabbi of The Birmingham Temple in Michigan, President of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. Falick stated that Humanistic Judaism embraces Jewish culture, but also adheres to Secular Humanism, meaning that it has a commitment to those who value their Jewish identity while also embracing nontheism, secularism, and human dignity. Falick said that The Birmingham Temple is the first Humanistic Jewish congregation in the world, and was originally formed in 1963 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine and a small group of families. They began an exploration of Jewish life and customs which emphasizes the “centrality of human reason without recourse to the supernatural language and concepts that so dominated most of Jewish history.” That group created what is now called “Secular Humanistic Judaism.” Another well-known Jewish atheist, Herb Silverman, founder of the Secular Coalition for America, once (in 1990) challenged South Carolina’s religious test for public office by running for governor of the State. Silverman said that he is “…a Jew, a humanist, a secular humanist, an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, a freethinker, a rationalist, an infidel, and much more.” Silverman has encountered atheists with Jewish mothers who tell him that he and they are not Jewish because they reject the traditional definition of matrilineal descent and assert that real Jews must believe in God. Silverman simply disagrees and is proud to be Jewish (and atheist), noting such facts as Jews “…while numbering less than 1 percent of the world population…have earned 21 percent of Nobel Prizes.” Jason D. Hill, a professor of philosophy and self-styled liberal social democrat who writes for Open Salon, penned an article in 2009 entitled “Can an Atheist Convert to Judaism.” Hill wrote “Given the protracted moral identity of religious Jews arduously forged in a tortured relationship with God who asked them to prove themselves over and over again, is it not clear that the atheist or agnostic who wants to convert to the Jewish religion is someone who wants an unfair and unearned short cut to Jewish identity via a morally questionable path?” Hill sees the reverse for those who are born Jewish and become atheists as a different situation because the former is an undeniable fact of birth and the latter is a moral choice. He also maintains that “there can be no such thing as an atheistic Jewish convert. To convert to a religion and be a non-believer is oxymoronic.” While answering the question of atheists converting to Judaism in no uncertain terms, Hill also basically is agreeing that there is nothing amiss with being a Jewish atheist. 4. Christian Atheism Since we have examined Jewish atheism in considerable detail, Christian atheism also should get a fair mention as a similar, but also markedly different, version of the religious/atheistic dichotomy. Most Christian atheists do not believe in the Christian God, but are attracted to the teachings of Jesus. Christian atheism is close to the philosophy of “Jesuism,” which sees Jesus as a teacher of morals in contrast to the traditional Christian contention that he is divine. That position also is not far removed from many Jews’ acceptance of Jesus as a rabbi or teacher, but not divine. Jesus is thus a central force in Christian atheism, but only as a very wise man and a good example for others to follow. Thomas Ogletree, a Professor of Ethics and Religious Studies at Yale Divinity School, lists four common beliefs for Christian atheists: The assertion of the unreality of God for our age, including the understandings of God which have been a part of traditional Christian theology; The insistence upon coming to grips with contemporary culture as a necessary feature of responsible theological work; Varying degrees and forms of alienation from the church as it is now constituted; and Recognition of the centrality of Jesus in theological reflection. 5. “And, So It Goes” (Kurt Vonnegut) Thompson’s assertion that “America is secularizing, just like Europe” does seem compelling given the data available on both the rise of atheism, agnosticism, and nontheism, and the fall in attendance at religious services. By no means does this necessarily suggest that religion has ceased to have importance in the United States, but does show that there is a growing tendency by even some who may be believers to get along with their busy lives and give only lip service to their purported religious convictions. Since it is still considered “fashionable” and “worthy” to declare a commitment to God and spiritual values, politicians, who may or may not sincerely believe in their own words, trumpet those sentiments at every available opportunity, particularly those who are conservative and possibly Republican. For atheists, the real data should be comforting in terms of their seemingly greater acceptability, but as long as certain strong voiced politicians backed by congregations of true believers are still making themselves heard, atheists will have to wait awhile longer before achieving something that approaches equality with other “religious” groups.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 04:10:46 +0000
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