3 ATHEISM AND ATHEISTIC ARGUMENTS SOME ATHEISTIC APPROACHES

-3 ATHEISM AND ATHEISTIC ARGUMENTS

SOME ATHEISTIC APPROACHES There some philosophical, sociological, psychological and anthropological approaches which aim at reducing religion/ religious beliefs to various nonreligious factors. Although these approaches do not argue for theism in a direct manner, they implication are certainly atheistic.

Positivism as an epistemological thesis, which restricts the domain of knowledge to sense-experience , defends a positivist view of science which naturally excludes the truth claims of religion as false or unsubstantiated. Logical positivism developed a verificationist theory of meaning which renders all religious statements (together with all metaphysical truths) as meaningles thanks to the fact that they cannot be verified on sensory experience.

Naturalist Theories of Religion Feuerbach held an anthropological theory of religion, according to which God does not have a reality independent of human mind. Because the idea of God is nothing other than outer projection of the exalted human nature freed from its limitations. Durkheim developed a sociological theory of religion which considers God as a symbol of social reality rather than an idependent supernatural being as defended by theistic religions.

According to Freud, who tries to explain religion in psychological terms in a reductionist manner, religion is nothing other than a illusion stemming from an unconscious desire of the fulfillment of some wishes which generate the idea of God as the protecting power in the face of various difficulties and cruelties of life. Similarly, Marx argues for reductionist view of religion, since it is explained in terms of an illusion of perverted human consciousness. «It is the opium of the people» which provides an illusory happiness in search of real happiness.