Free thought is not synonymous with atheism

Thank you for your argument, sir. I woud like to remind my opponent and the audience that atheism is free thought manifestly, but that free thought leads to atheism, and that atheists are free-thinkers. Now, according to the rules my opponent set forth, I must hold off until next round to rebut his argument, so do not believe I have neglected to conduct that duty. For this reason, my opening round is reserved for arguments only, rather than responses. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Childhood Indoctrination While reading previous debates of my opponent (quite impressive, I might add), I noticed a quote on his profile by the extreme creationist Ken Ham, where it is claimed that atheists have "decided right from the start that there is no God", and therefore lose their intellectual prowess when combating the other side. I find this interesting, as Ham admits that atheists have "decided" to not believe in God. Here, Ken Ham unintentionally reveals the starkest difference between faith and atheism; atheism is something that you decide, whereas one"s religious apologies are decided for them, at a time when they are vulnerable to such petty claims. Religious indoctrination of children approaches 100% in most of the world (1). While there seemed to be no similar statistics for atheist parents, it is interesting to note that only about 30% of children raised by atheists retain a non-belief in God (2); that is to say, they were not taught otherwise by their parents. Even though 70% of children raised by atheists ultimately profess a faith in a theistic God, between childhood and adulthood, atheism still makes gains in numbers, and is in fact the only belief system that can boast a net increase in members as people get older. (3) To summarize what this means, the facts imply that a majority of people who become atheists leave their parent religion. Therefore, by definition, an atheist "decides" what to believe, often in spite of their parents, instead of being told what faith they practice. It could be argued, however, that people abandon their religion for reasons not considered "free-thought". Luckily, research sheds light on this as well. Of all the reasons for leaving a faith and/or deserting the God hypothesis, the top three were lack of evidence, moral grievances, and statistic unlikelihood or absurdity. (4) Nowhere on the list could the statements "because Richard Dawkins said so" or "because I was raised that way" be found. To conclude this section, statistics prove that a vast majority of disbelievers make a personal choice to become believers for very rational reasons, in direct contrast to those who believe in a God. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Desire Not to Disbelieve Most atheists would agree that the personal and caring God that religions allege exists would make a glorious creator if He existed. While there are some exceptions (eg. Christopher Hitchens (5) ), most atheists, including me, wish for a divine and eternal paradise, and dread the irreversible cessation of the consciousness that I strongly suspects awaits me upon death. This is backed up by surveys which show atheists as the minority least joyfull, as just 57% declared themselves "very happy". (6) So a nonbelief in God does not fill people with a great sense of excitement, nor do its devotees wish for a cold universe without a divine creator. But, what again sets atheism apart from religion is that we hold these intellectual positions anyway. The willingness to oppose something that someone wishes to believe automatically indicates a strong and sensible opposition to that belief. It is those who refuse an inviting opinion that can claim a monopoly on enlightenment and free thought, not those who embrace it and anticipate their reward. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Religion and the Impossible Claim To argue their belief, a religious person absolutely must allege to know that which they cannot know. An important reason why atheists hold an advantage is their ability to say "I don"t know" when discussing creation and the universe. While I will readily admit that I have no earthily Idea how the universe began, or how life first evolved, my opponent will say he does know, and in fact must say he knows, not just how the universe was created, but how all should arbitrate their lifestyle, right down to making love. Atheists hold the greatest free-thought admission in existence, that one does not know everything. This is free-thought in essence, "the faculty of thinking or reasoning" (7), wanting to discover the truth, rather than claiming to already know. In this way, atheism is synonymous with free thought. The fact that 50% of scientists are atheists, and the numbers growing as more and more elite scientists are surveyed, lend credence to atheism as free thought. (8) Science is free thought in essence, and the scientific method promises thorough investigation and discussion of every "discovery". That the percentage of religious scientists have always been lower than the general population implies something important: that those whose job it is to be free thinkers, and who are the greatest free thinkers of our time, find no reason to believe in a God. As I am writing this before my opponent has posted his opening statements, I cannot predict his points, but I suspect that he will claim that top atheists are preachers who demand the same adherence as priests and imams. However, it must be noted that the great atheists of our generation, such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, are all incredibly learned men who can are far superior to their supporters and have an inherent right to speak on the topic they claim to know about. The same cannot be said about religion, which takes a far more political posture, choosing good speakers and charismatic preachers over the intelligencia. The willingness of atheists to follow those who might not be brilliant orators or socialites, but instead people who know what they"re talking about, shows a need to hear evidence over dogma and examinable theory over doctrine, suggesting, once again, free thought. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ One will hear it commonly said that atheists have not considered all their options, nor questioned their own belief, a misconception that I should briefly respond to before concluding. According to a study reported in Time Magazine and the LA Times, atheists and agnostics both know more than the religious about faith and the various holy books. (9). I would dissect this study myself, but the Times, quite a balanced resource, delivers a harsher criticism of religion on this point then I could. "The study concluded that those who reject faith often do so after growing up in a religious household, and studying and deliberating keeping the faith. Also, atheists and agnostics tend to be better educated in general. Why did Christians do so poorly? It may be because once someone accepts a faith, they stop examining it." (10) This report leads into a great conclusion of my opening statement. Atheists ignore the indoctrinating influence of their family and peers, and put their own innate desire for religion aside, look at all the options, and ultimately decide not to believe in a God. This is free thought at its most elegant, and I charge my opponent to disagree. Good luck to my adversary, and I eagerly await his next entry. (1)(2) (3) http://www.patheos.com... (4) http://www.theguardian.com... (5) http://en.wikipedia.org... (6) http://atheism.about.com... (7) http://dictionary.reference.com... (8) http://www.huffingtonpost.com... (9) (10) http://newsfeed.time.com...