Is Atheism Reasonable?

There are three kinds of people when it comes to religious ideas: theists, atheists, and agnostics. Which one are you? Today, let us consider whether being an atheist is reasonable.

Most people nowadays associate Reason exclusively with atheism. Atheism claims to be rational because it is not based on faith. Do you agree? But what is Reason? It is the faculty of logical argument. Does it necessarily lead to atheism? But our reason/logic can lead us to different conclusions depending on what our starting point is. For example, we know that certain cultures like ours are more individualistic. Other cultures prioritize community over individual. Two cultures may arrive at different solutions to ethical issues. Yet, both may be perfectly reasonable within their respective cultures.

This shows that reason is only a tool. It is a uniquely human faculty and a very important one for our intellectual activities and practical living. But reason is only one of many tools for human flourishing.

Most agree that love is one of the most important aspects of our lives. You may also agree that there is more to love than reason. When we think about a mother’s love for her child, there is something unreasonable about it: it is profuse to the point of being wasteful. To be wasteful is to be unreasonable. But no mother pats herself on her back for doing what is reasonable. The mother’s only regret is not being able to give more. And it is this “wasteful” love of the mother, which nurtures a deep sense of security and confidence in the child. And we would agree that what changes us from within is not the incessant nagging of a reasonable person but a warm embrace of someone who loves us profusely and wastefully (not just reasonably).

Some may say that Reason is the only standard by which we can determine the truth. But we already established that, depending on what the premise is—e.g., individualism or collectivism—Reason will take us to different places. Being only a tool, reason cannot determine what is true. We can’t say Reason necessarily leads to individualism or collectivism. Is it “reasonable” to use the individualistic premise to criticize the collectivistic culture and vice versa?

The same logic applies to atheism and theism. As we saw, Reason does not necessarily lead to atheism. Both atheism and theism are not the conclusions we arrive at by way of Reason; they are the starting point. Some think that science has debunked the existence of God. But how can science, which deals with the material universe, say anything about God, who is an immaterial, spiritual Being? It is outside the bounds of science to make any definitive statement about God’s existence or non-existence: it just assumes a materialist universe. To be fair, God’s existence cannot be proven, either.

Where does that leave us? We should admit that both atheism and theism are not based on reason but on faith. Isn’t that obvious? When you add the suffix, -ism, to a word, it turns it into a belief system. Whatever or however much evidence one has, he cannot “prove” his atheism or theism. One may conclude that God doesn’t exist because he doesn't see any violation of the natural laws. But can he prove that the natural laws are “natural” and not established by a Creator? Both atheism and theism require a leap of faith. This is not to say that there is no evidence for each belief system. But we may be viewing them through the lens of confirmation bias.

Even so, we also need to remember that the two belief systems are not merely a matter of personal opinion. Either atheism is true or theism is true. And there are consequences to adopting one or the other. Atheism must wrestle with the meaninglessness of life (since we came into existence by chance and fade into nothingness) and the arbitrariness of ethics (since there is no right or wrong in nature). Theism also has its consequences, such as our accountability to the Creator. Are you sure God doesn’t exist? We’ll continue next week.