Religion vs. Atheism

Its not as if the Painful Truth promotes atheism, we don’t. We present ideas by various writers, both Christian and atheist…

There is a growing number of atheists in the world. There is also a growing amount of evidence pointing to the benefits of non-believing. Among the atheists of the world, how one group reacts or behaves varies between the races. Let’s take a look at this subject.

1. HAPPINESS

Scandinavian countries tend to be the least religious countries of the Western world and yet are consistently ranked the highest in the polls that measure a happiness index. Many factors go into such ratings, like economics, life expectancy, healthcare, social safety nets, and the transparency of the government, but it’s hard not to notice a potential correlation between atheism and happiness.

2. INTELLIGENCE

Atheists tend to have higher IQs and have been shown to generally be more intelligent than religious people. These intelligent people also spend more time in educational institutions, which in turn leads to greater professional success.

3. BETTER JOBS 

The more intelligent a person is, the better their performance is in the workplace. The same studies that have shown higher level of IQs for atheists, also equated that with getting higher-level jobs with better pay.

4. SELF-ESTEEM & SELF-RELIANCE

Atheists don’t accept being told that they are guilty and sinful, as is the case with many religious teachings. This leads to higher self-esteem and a feeling of control over life’s events. As atheists do not expect a deity to help them solve a problem, they will address it personally and directly. This self-reliance has a positive effect on their lives, and on the lives of others. When there’s no religion, the responsibility for made choices lies with individuals.

5. PROGRESS

Atheists tend to value scientific discovery more and are less likely to stand in the way of scientific progress as has often happened for religious reasons. An atheistic society is more rational and science-oriented. One example: Galileo’s idea of geocentric solar system. That idea, considered a heresy, could have got him tortured and killed in short order.

6. HEALTH

Atheists are rooted in the believe of science. They do not refuse life saving medical treatments based on religious grounds. Studies have been made that show the mental and physical health benefits of being a believer, there have also been recent studies that showed no significant difference in the mental health of religious and non-religious people.

7. PEACEFULNESS

Atheists do not start wars or commit acts of terrorism for religious reasons, just to prove their chosen deity is the correct one. On the other hand, Marxist-Leninist atheism at the core of communism has certainly given atheism a bad name, but it’s not necessarily an argument that it was atheism itself that led to massive repression and killings. Atheists tend to not kill others for the sake of atheism.

* Of course it can be argued that some atheists are rather obnoxious towards those who do believe and feel that others should think like they do. The problem with these folks is that they don’t understand the concept of the
God Part of the Brain.

8. SKEPTICISM

** Atheists are generally skeptical and tend to look at issues from a rational, and scientific standpoint that demands proof. For an atheist, elements of reality are observable and can be tested.

9. SOCIAL ISSUES

Atheists tend to be very involved in social justice issues. Black atheists more so.  These people have more of a stake in social change than they do in dismantling religion. Black atheists who want to do meaningful social justice work often do so by working alongside religious people, even though their views on God and religion differ.

Of course living as an atheist can have its downside also.

• Religious people get special tax consideration.
• You functionally have to claim religion to be elected to public office.  There are on some states  laws on the books to prevent atheists from holding public office.
• There are prisons where only Bibles are allowed as reading material.
• Court mandated religious drug/alcohol treatment.
• Child custody being determined against non-religious parents because they’re seen as immoral.

10.  BETTER SEX

There have been studies that showed atheists having better sex lives than religious people simply due to not feeling guilty about it. Guilt about sex is a feature of many of the world’s religions.

* Religion has always been part of the American experience.
The public display of 10 Commandment plaques, crosses, nativity scenes, all these existed before the country’s shift towards atheism. You would think the liberal wing of the country would show ‘tolerance’ towards the American culture and those who believe differently from them. People are always going to have a belief in God and will have the desire to express it freely. It is the God Part of the Brain.

** It can also be said that the Armstrongites are themselves liberals, in that instead of depending on their own intellect and abilities, they simply ask the ministry to make those decisions for them. Or instead of making a simple decisions about something absurd, they find it necessary to go to God in prayer. I guess they don’t believe in God given intelligence. They must be atheists!