When I was a boy, few people questioned the established religion. It was not respectable to do so. It could get you into trouble at school, and could even damage your career prospects. Nowadays, in most advanced countries, the shoe is on the other foot. Religious people feel that what they call secularism has taken over, and are often reluctant to admit their affiliation. I heard recently that teachers on the Alpha course were encouraged not to mention God and Jesus too frequently. However, it is simply not true that secularism has taken over. Would that it had.

Disillusionment

To us, secularism is a positive belief in a society whose morals do not depend upon supernatural theology. Unfortunately, most people in advanced countries do not believe in secularism – they have lost belief in gods and religion. They do not feel that religion is relevant to modern living, and are not interested. Very often, they have become disillusioned with political parties, ideologies, politics, politicians, religion, abstract ideas and even atheism. Their main pursuits are consumerism and hedonism, which in no way can be defined as secularism or atheism.

Atheists have two attitudes to religion

I do not wish to define the terms atheism, rationalism, secularism, humanism, freethinking, brightness, or indeed, not so brightness. Broadly speaking, their adherents have two main attitudes to religions and their followers. One attitude is that religion in the past has done so much damage to people and societies, and is liable to continue to do so, that it is the duty of every man and woman of good will to fight and try to destroy it. The other attitude is that its theology and morals are so flawed that, irrespective of its continuing power in the world, we should ignore it. Instead, we should use all our efforts to develop our own ethics and morality, and allow religion to wither on the vine. We should permit it to collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. I believe that these two attitudes, or variations of them, account for most of the beliefs of modern atheists.

What religious people believe in

We all know decent people such as, nurses, clergy, bus drivers, train drivers, postmen, lawyers, gas men, rich men, poor men and beggars, - both atheists and believers, - who rarely transgress the laws. They want to live normal lives in reasonable comfort in peaceful societies. Most Christians are liable to believe some of the following:

( i ) a god exists and is all good;
( ii ) he created us and the world;
( iii ) he gave us free will to pursue good, or evil aims;
( iv ) he knows and cares about what we do;
( v ) he expects worship and prayer;
( vi ) he had a son without sexual intercourse;
( vii ) he was god before he was born;
( viii ) god designed us and controls us, yet his son was martyred for doing what he had made us do, and knew what we were going to do beforehand.

Moslems

Adherents of Islam believe that:

( i ) Mohammed, though illiterate, dictated the Koran;
( ii ) all women are inferior to men and should obey them;
( iii ) homosexuals should be punished;
( iv ) people of other and no religions are inferior to Moslems, and may be discriminated against;
( v ) Moslems have a duty to convert people of all other religions to Islam, by force, if necessary.

Hindus

Devout Hindus believe that:

( i ) when they die, they will be reincarnated to another animal, depending on their behaviour during life;
( ii ) some animals such as monkeys, elephants and cows are gods, and even their excrement is holy;
( iii ) bathing in the polluted River Ganges will bring them salvation throughout their lives;
( iv ) prayer and pilgrimage work.

Jews

Orthodox Jews believe that:

( i ) god chose them above all other people;
( ii ) he concluded an agreement with them by cutting off the foreskins of all newly born males;
( iii ) the world is less than 6,000 years old;
( iv ) adult men and women should cover their heads all day long;
( v ) all animals then alive were saved from a flood by embarking in pairs on one boat;
( vi ) every word and letter of the five books of Moses and the Prophets is literally true.

Some beliefs are harmless

I have given a few examples of probably sincerely held beliefs of four religions, which adherents of other religions, and atheists find ludicrous. Most of these beliefs are harmless, if they do not impinge on other people. Obviously, atheists believe that any human being has a right to believe in anything they want, whether it is logical, or illogical. We also hold that we have a right to disagree with the consensus view about anything.

How should atheists behave?

This brings us to the important question, ‘How should an atheist behave to a sincere believer?’ We respect all human beings, because they are human, however irrational, nonsensical, or incredible their views appear to us to be. Many religious people allege that because we disagree profoundly with the tenet of their religion, that means that we wish to destroy them. This is absolutely untrue, and is a slander on all atheists.

Do we have a duty to spread our beliefs?

Is it our duty to try to correct mistaken views? Is it a duty to be missionaries for our causes? I believe that it is. If you are an Atheist, Christian, Trotskyist, Conservative, Fascist or Seventh Day Adventist, you must believe that, if everyone in the world adopted your view, it would make the world a better place. Why should you embrace a particular view if you did not believe that? Thus, it is the duty of anyone who identifies with a particular view to try to convert other people to it. Of course, that does not justify force or coercion to persuade them.

Religious people sometimes need their beliefs

On the other hand, if a grieving person wants to believe that a dying friend will eventually go to an after-world, if a severely ill patient believes in the power of prayer, if a lonely man thinks that God is caring for him, I believe that it would be thoroughly unkind to try to persuade them otherwise.

Discussions with theologians

If one were having a discussion with a cardinal or an ayatollah, who spends all his life formulating and justifying his religion, one has a duty to debate his theology and ethics uncompromisingly. In my view, our language should not ridicule or be impolite about their views. Such behaviour gives them a good reason to break off dialogue, and is socially divisive. However, it is wrong to be mealy-mouthed about our differences with theologians, as it would be patronising to think that they should not be able to face up to the misdemeanours and contradictions of their own beliefs.

Summary

In summary, be kind to vulnerable religious people, but argue politely but forcefully with clerics.

Harold Hillman is a retired neurobiologist from the University of Surrey, UK