I know of no famous atheists whom the youngest among us will recognize as their own. That scares me.
Hawking, Nye, Penn and Teller, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, and Norman Finkelstein: these are the men that our parents knew, whose names they recognized, and who they will remember for the sheer scale of their influence if nothing else.
They had that influence because they were atheists.
Sure, they were standouts in their respective areas. But even that was because of their beliefs, not just their technical skill.
Who fills that place today?
In all likelihood, the children growing up today will see the great atheist umbrinaries of the past and none of their own time. Great atheists will be a part of history, rather than an immediate part of the media and everyday life.
I’m almost certain that one of you is rejoicing. “Atheism is dead! It’s consigned to history!” No, that is the opposite of the point.
People become famous for being different. Sometimes the difference is exceptional skill, exceptional evil, or exceptional circumstances. Sometimes, it’s a unique belief. In the early 2000s, the ‘90s, the ‘80s, and going back in time, the people that stood out were atheists. It was exceptional for a public figure to openly confess and defend atheism, and they stood against the world. People knew that, even those who aligned with their beliefs. Public opinion over time shifted from openly against them to mostly neutral and now even positive. Who stands in that place now?
Well, imagine a world where someone openly confessed a belief, defended it, and was ridiculed by the rest of… X (formerly Twitter). What belief would you expect that to be? Flat-earth, okay. Conspiracy theory, okay. But the religious belief that is societally detested today, it appears, is Christianity.
Instead of famous atheists, we now have famous Christians.
On the one hand, this is great. To the ranks of martyrs and great heroes of Christianity, we can now add actors, convicted peaceful protestors, random accounts on X, and the pastors who held services during Covid. Look! More role models for children!
On the other, this means atheism or at least comfort with it is so common in our society that it’s just fine. No ridicule, no counter-argument, no real militance, just… tolerance. Or genuine belief, as Barna famously found.
Even Christians are comfortable with atheism now. An atheist made a ridiculous statement? Ignored. Some other Christians made a nuanced argument about a fancy doctrinal point? Well, bring in the pitchforks. How does that make sense?
I understand that heresy must be attacked, don’t misunderstand me there. But for a society to allow someone to deny any sort of God at all, much less to teach that and promote it publicly to the point where thousands or millions of people agree with them, is to concede the demise of that society.
Make atheists famous.
This article was originally published on Veraffinitas.
