religion for atheists
My favorite Anarchist youtuber Andrewism dropped this video a couple of days ago. It was a great video that I recommend you watch, talking about subjects such as Animism, how states relied on and manipulated religion to legitimize authority and patriarchal standards, etc. The main point that I wanted to talk about is religion and why I think atheists/nihilists should take some pointers from religion and what I think would be a good "religious" practice we should pull from.
I'm an atheist. I'm also an absurdist. I recognize this tension between peoples yearning for transcendent/objective meaning and a universe which offers none. In a post-god-is-dead world, more and more people are becoming lucid to this understanding.
Absurdists choose to stare at this tension in the face and rebel against it by living life to the fullest and embracing the natural world in spite of the inherent lack of meaning. They don't try and find meaning to try and resolve this conflict, we find fulfillment in spite of the lack of objective meaning.
Religion might seem incompatible with this notion at first glance. As it seems that supernatural forces/mysticism/mythology all seem to underpin religion. However, religion can/should exist without supernatural elements.
From the book Atheopaganism, religion can be defined as a combination of cosmology (the belief of the nature of the universe/afterlives/etc.), ideology (values/morals/sacredness), and practice (festivals/rituals/prayer/etc.).
For nihilists/atheists/existentialist/absurdists, we already have defining cosmology in our understanding of the science behind how the universe came to be, acknowledging a lack of objective meaning, and a dismissal of the existence of a god or afterlife. We also all have defining morals/values that come about through intuition, human instinct, and rational speculation/dialog. However the thing we are missing is the last part, the practice. The rituals/prayers/whatever.
Ritual I think is the lynchpin in this whole thing. It brings the ideology and cosmology together and manifests it into reality. It is entirely possible to pray, knowing full well that it will do nothing, but understanding the value in getting your deepest hopes out in the open.
When I was in an existential hole, I attempted to do the Kierkegaardian "leap of faith". I tried to adopt Christianity for a brief period, even considered baptism. Emphasis on tried though, because I quickly found out that there was way too much I couldn't reconcile about religion. It is REALLY hard to try and gaslight yourself into believing in a supernatural, all-powerful, all-loving god that tells you your queer friends are an abomination and does nothing about the pedophilic elite trafficking and doing unspeakable horrors to children. I do quite like that Jesus fellow, though. Or at least much of what he supposedly taught.
During this period, I prayed almost every night. I prayed for warmth for people sleeping out in the cold, for food for those who had none, I prayed for my wife and daughter to sleep safe, and I prayed for the safety of those caught in the midst of a warzone.
I was aware this would go absolutely nowhere, but I still think there is value in getting your thoughts out in the open and hearing yourself speak of what you hope to see in the world. It can help you paint a clearer picture of what your core values are.
I pretty quickly abandoned Christianity when I realized it wasn't going to cut it for me for various reasons. And not long after I actually finished reading Camus' works. Which turned me into an absurdist.
My wife and I came across a video about a year later about raising kids as an atheist/nihilist/absurdist/etc. One of the recommendations was to set some ritual in your lives. So, my wife and I started with 2 things, both of which were her idea. Making Sunday a "sacred" day, where we turn off screens (that part is still a work in progress) and making a big breakfast in the morning. The other is treating my dad's birthday like a soft holiday where we all go out to dinner (I'm expanding on this idea as well, considering setting up playlists for music my dad loved. In a similar spirit to Christmas music coming around for Christmas).
What you decide should ultimately be up to you and what works for your lifestyle, but this sort of practice can actually add some added fulfillment into your life. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, can just be a simple walk in nature.
You might be someone who might find some enjoyment in joining an establishment like The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Satanic Temple, there might be a Unitarian Universalist (an atheistic religion that focuses on deeds and social justice) church in your area worth checking out. Or you can keep this as some personal spiritual journey.
Like Andrewism, I'm interested in the religion of Atheopaganism. It's cosmology treats the natural world as the only thing that exists. So, no Heaven or Hell, no all-powerful God watching and weeping at you blasting rope to Waluigi porn. It bases cosmology on scientific discovery and inquiry. It bases it's values on 4 pillars: life, beauty, truth, and love. There are 13 principles, but Andrewism succinctly curates them into 3 groups: knowing, relating, and doing.
Does this fit with my absurdist existential views? Absolutely. I can live in accordance to an Atheopagan religion lifestyle and still maintain full lucidity that it basically means nothing, but it amplifies my rebellion. Camus spoke of people like the Conqueror or Don Juan. Who grew their empire and gave love freely, respectively, knowing full well it all means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I think the point of humility that Andrewism brings up (recognizing who we are in the grand scheme of others and the universe) is in-line with Camus' call for solidarity with fellow sufferers in the Absurd.
This all culminates in the reverence for the giant floating rock we find ourselves floating on. The beauty in the natural world, and how treating it as sacred can produce action against agents that would defile it.
Finally, the doing part. Which is probably the hardest for most people. It's the anarchist calisthenics. Picking up trash in a park without expecting approval or praise. Feeding people living on the streets without shoving a camera in their face for internet clout. Solidarity with others who are in functionally the same boat as you. Being a person of integrity. Doing what you can to dismantle systems that exploit others and nature. Creating art. Engaging in community.
So, we have cosmology and ideology, what about the point of ritual? Ritual can be pretty much anything. You can treat Sunday as a sacred day where you completely shut off screens and engage with loved ones, maybe turning on some music, dancing, and reading. Meditation to build awareness of your mind and body. You can put ritual in cooking. For an example of this I recommend watching the sandwich scene from Adventure Time.
Andrewism brings up how Atheopaganism advocates for rituals for birth, coming of age, gender transitions, etc. and how it emphasizes yearly observances grounded in the changes in seasons/equinoxes/solstices/honoring our ancestors and the dead/etc.
Overall, I think this is something I am wanting to dive more into and implement in my life and I think fits well with my personality. I might do some blog writing about some of my practices when they come around.
Anyway, thanks for reading all this. Hope you got something out of it.
Reply via email: me@absurdpirate.com
as of writing this...
I still feel like I'm in recovery from my rather sleepless Monday night. I was so exhausted all of Tuesday that I asked to do WFH because I didn't trust myself for the hour commute to work. Hadn't been that tired since my daughter was born. I'm doing better today, but still feel tired. Got a Halo 3 game night tonight that I'm looking forward to.