Atheism is More Beneficial Than Theism

I accept his rules, definitions, and structure. Now before I begin my arguments I would just like to state my main contention against theism: I believe that it enforces the idea of moral objectivism, or in other words, an absolute, black and white idea of right and wrong, whereas atheism promotes the idea of moral relativism. I believe I say this from an unbiased perspective (I myself am not atheist), and I say this because a lot of my arguments tie into this belief. ===THE CASE FOR ATHEISM===Atheists are more compassionate than theists. Surprising but true, studies say that atheists are more compassionate than theists [1]. This was proven through three methods, a poll/questionnaire, an experiment in which the 1300 participants were directed to watch an emotional video and then given money, a portion of which they could to donate to a stranger (atheists donated more), as well an experiment in which 200 college students were told they received money from a stranger, the money was doubled, and they could give a portion of their money in order for the process to continue. All three studies found a negative correlation between theists and compassion. The studies reason that atheists are more likely to feel empathetic because they are not motivated by the supernatural “carrot-and-stick”. What happens to some believers is that they end up being compassionate not because they feel empathetic, but rather because they want to go to heaven and do not want to go to hell. Whenever atheists are compassionate, it is because they can genuinely feel empathy for the cause in question. Atheists could be more generous because they are compassionate for the right reasons. This ties back into the idea of objective morality. Because most religions enforce the idea of an objective right and wrong, most believers do things simply because it is “the right thing to do”. As such, it is possible that some theists stop considering how other people feel and just act based on a brainless code of conduct. Atheists are more intelligent then Theists. This contention has also been proven by studies [2][3]. The majority of studies point at a negative correlation between theism and IQ. I don’t want to delve to deeply into this argument because it may be considered offensive, however, regardless of whether this implies religion makes people less intelligent or whether less intelligent people are more likely to believe, there are negative implications for theists. Atheists are healthier than theists. Studies show that atheists in early adulthood are 50% less likely to be obese by their 50s to 60s than theists [4]. This puts theists at an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The study suggests that this might be linked to going to church and engaging in the consumption of large, caloric meals. ===THE CASE AGAINST THEISM=== Theism causes conflict. This is a historically proven fact; theism has caused many horrendous wars (crusades) whereas atheism has not. Again, this relates to the concept of moral objectivity; most theists support the idea of a black and white perception of right and wrong. Therefore, when God requires a theist to do something, sometimes the theist is unable to consider how their actions affect other people because he believes that his actions are simply the “right thing to do”. A biblical example of this would be the binding of Issac, when God requested Abraham to sacrifice his son (even though god relented at the last moment). Because in most religions, God’s will is considered unquestionable and absolutely right, when the crusades occurred, many believers were unable to understand the suffering the child soldiers and other religious factions had to go through during the crusades. This eventually led to the massacre of 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 people in the name of “God’s holy word” [5]. In total, some 890 million people have died in religious wars. Atheists on the other hand, are more likely able to accept and live peacefully among people of different beliefs simply because they are not fed the idea of absolute right and wrong. Theism allows for rationalization. This point also ties into the idea of objective morality. Because many theists believe that “God’s word” overrides all other points of view, theists who commit crimes against humanity often claim that they were not at fault because they were simply carrying out God’s command. For example, when a schizophrenic Chinese man murdered and cannibalized Canadian Tim Mclean on a greyhound bus, he pleaded not criminally responsible because “God’s voice told him that Tim Mclean was a force of evil and was about to execute him” [6]. Similarly, Joseph Kony, infamous for the rape, abduction, and murder of many children in Uganda through the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) does not believe that he is responsible for his actions because he is “acting on the behalf of god”. Atheists are forced to take responsibility for their own actions because they often do not believe that there is an absolute right and wrong and have to consider how their actions impact other people before making a decision. Theism oppresses positive social/scientific change. Many commonly accepted ideas and standards today were rejected in the past because it interfered with the theistic belief of right and wrong. For example, because many holy books believed that the earth was flat; scientists who claimed that the earth was spherical were accused of spreading blasphemy and tortured, humiliated, and executed. The idea that the earth is a sphere is now a commonly accepted fact. Additionally, because both the Bible and the Quran condone the idea of slavery, attempts to liberate slaves in these theist-dominant areas were crushed. The idea of slavery is now condemned. These social/scientific changes would have all occurred earlier if it weren’t for theistic beliefs. Theism opiates the masses. While this final contention is not a particularly strong point, I’d just like to point out that Hitler, Kony, Pol Pot, and Kim Jong Il some of the most unpleasant dictators in all of history, have used the concept of religion in order to convince masses of people to brutally murder, torture, and surrender their rights. Even people who wouldn’t otherwise participate in genocide were swayed by the idea of “God’s will”. Theism is a tool that allows for the abuse of human rights. Atheism is not. ===CONCLUSION=== I’d first like to apologize for the late response. I look forward to my opponents arguments. ===SOURCES=== [1] . http://www.livescience.com...[2] . http://www.psychologytoday.com...[3] . http://www.sciencedaily.com...[4] . http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com...[5]http://libertariandefender.blogspot.ca...[6] . http://en.wikipedia.org...