Atheism Stack Exchange Archive

Has your Atheism ever been tested?

Let me start off by saying - I am still an Atheist. But there was a point, very recently, when I thought I had changed my mind. I am curious to know if this ever happens to some of the other very ‘strict’ Atheists.

So oddly enough, I became an atheist about 1 year after regularly participating in church. I was about 8 years old, and from then on I’ve pursued science.

I’ve read so many books, listened to so many podcasts, radio shows, all to further my understanding of evolution, nature and the psychology involved in religion.

When I lost all 4 of my grandparents, whom I loved dearly, not only was I not even slightly swayed to consider the notion of a god, but I also skipped out on the funerals because I knew they would be religious, and I don’t know how to answer the condolence, “She’s in a better place now.”

However… on November 14th, 2010, my mother died at age 44, alone in her bed. She was a drug addict and we hadn’t spoke in about 6 months, but she had tried to contact me over and over again. She made a lot of mistakes but she always loved me, greatly.

But I digress. When I lost my mom, something snapped inside my head. I found myself drawn to believe that she was “Still here” and “Watching over me”. I even asked out loud at one point for her to show herself.

I know now it was just the throes of grief and denial. But it made me see that, even the strongest of non-believers can be led to believe in the face of tragedy.

When Darwin lost his daughter, he said that he hoped there was a Heaven.

So has anyone else come close to sacrificing their non-beliefs in a hard time?

Answer 2286

Whenever someone's atheism is being tested and it's to do with science, I remember this pic:

scientific education

Answer 2283

My father died in 2007 after a long, debilitating neurological illness. When I say, “He’s in a better place now,” I mean exactly that: the fact that he is no longer suffering from his illness – despite the fact that I do not believe in an afterlife – is quite simply a better place.

I would recommend that you rent the movie The Invention of Lying, if you haven’t already seen it. Ricky Gervais – a somewhat vocal atheist – wrote, directed, and starred in this movie. In this movie, he makes up the idea of a “man in the sky” to help console his dying mother. I don’t believe that using terminology that is intended to soothe the concerns of those who will be dying, is implicitly a test of our atheism.

Answer 2285

Great stress can lead anybody to wish some kindly, powerful being would step in and make things better. It’s perfectly natural - as they say, “there are no atheists in foxholes.” And I’ve certainly been there more than once.

Answer 2287

No.

I’m not sure how atheism can be “tested”, since it is not a hypothesis but a lack of belief.

My father died a few years ago of throat cancer after some months of pain and extreme misery. That didn’t make me think of any gods or supernatural beings or heaven at all. It was a shame that he died, for sure. But since he’s gone I don’t entertain the thoughts that he is still around or watching over me. He’s gone for good, and that’s it. I live a very happy life without him and without gods of any sort.

Answer 2284

I’m young enough and lucky enough not to have had anyone close to me die, but I can imagine myself being the type to at least “hope” during the worst of grief. Still, no matter how strong that feeling, I don’t think there’s any way a real belief in the supernatural would stick after the pain wears off. I’d say what matters is how your beliefs are affected long term.

Answer 2289

This for me is the basis of all religion; the fear of death, both our own and our loved ones. Every major religion has an answer to it: you’ll meet again in heaven, or you’ll come back in another body.

Personally, I don’t think I have ever feared my own death, because I have always thought I’d be considerably past caring once I was dead.

However, the thought of losing my family is still a horrible one, and I can understand why for many people the security-blanket of belief in an afterlife comes into play. However, the fact that something is comforting in no way makes it any more likely to be true.

I also ask myself, how comforting is it really? I don’t think I have ever been to a funeral where I have seen the bereaved ‘suck it up’ and say “Ah well, we’ll meet again soon”. I think this is because A) it makes us think, ‘Great, I’ve got to die before we meet again’ and B) we are simply not good at looking so far ahead. All we can think of is going home to an empty house, etc.

When I get in these moods, I always try and use it to galvanise myself and become more determined to make the most of the time we do have together.

Answer 2290

I have lost both my mother-in-law, and stepmother-in-law in the last six years. Eventhough I was closer to the stepmother-in-law (I have known her longer), the impact on the life of me and my girlfriend was of course huge. But these experiences have never tested my unbelief, but rather only strenghtened it because I found that I could deal with these things on the strength of the people around me and of myself. We do not need supernatural entities (imaginary friends) for comfort. We need each other.

Furthermore I’d say that if you truly understand, and accept, the way life works (i.e., the “meaning” of it all), you don’t have to deal with why questions, which will only drive you mad in the end.

Answer 2292

I am very sorry for your loss.

To answer the question: no, I have never felt “tested,” or felt the pull of the comfort of theism. Both my parents died before I graduated high school, but if anything their deaths made me even more certain there was no benevolent sky daddy looking out for anyone. I miss them terribly, and their deaths were premature and grossly unfair by any standard.

The universe simply does not care about our hurts. Only other people do. We are all we have to take care of one another.

Answer 2294

No.

Furthermore, I can't really think of any realistic situation where I would end up doubting(1) my atheism. Of course, as a human being I have ended up feeling like there's something greater, something supernatural, soul, continuity, or whatever that kind. That's the nature of us humans. But no, it has never led me to think there's a god of any sort.

And I don't mean that even in a way that I would have "doubted" my thoughts on atheism yet come to the conclusion that I was right after pondering on it. No, I have never seriously ended up considering the idea. And really, realistically(2) speaking, I can be very confident that I also never will. For me, considering god is pretty much an absurd idea.

Also, there is the saying that "there are no atheists in foxholes". While I do believe that in times of extreme stress or fear some non-theists could very well end up considering theism, I don't see a reason that would happen to me. It just seems silly.

The key reason for this is that I don't base my view of reality on my feelings. For something conceptually new or extraordinary to make itself into my view of reality, it has to pass a lot of internal barriers. Furthermore I would also like to point out this is not some super-analytical vulcan mode of thinking either. It does not make me into a being that doesn't have feelings, or doesn't value feelings. It just makes me consider reality to be out-of-bounds for them.

In fact, I believe that this analytical type of thinking is even pretty natural to humans. Only difference is that most people don't seem to apply it to their views on reality as a whole.

(1) - Well, as a skeptic, I do enjoy doubting everything, but that is analytical, intellectual "doubt" - not at all the same kind of doubt we're talking about here. For example, this analytical "doubt" never reaches the phase where I would think of an alternative scenario to actually be a reality, it always remains in the realm of interesting fictitious possibilities.

(2) - Of course, I can think of events happening in the world, that would make me seriously consider whether there is a god. (Angels descending from heavens and magically revealing heaven to everyone on earth, and stuff like that.) But, really, nothing that would ever happen in real life.

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