According to a somewhat apocryphal story, in 1987 then-incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush was asked about atheists. He replied, “I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” It is uncertain if Bush ever actually said this, but regardless, there are many Americans — particularly the so-called Religious Right — who share this sentiment.
Atheism has rightly been called the last taboo, as few groups have been, and continue to be, more maligned than nonbelievers and skeptics. To illustrate an extreme example, the first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica from 1771 said of atheists, “Many people, both ancient and modern, have pretended to atheism, or have been reckoned atheists by the world; but it is justly questioned whether any man seriously adopted such a principle.”
I suppose we have made progress of a type, as I do not think anyone today would say that there are no true atheists. Indeed, no one would be decrying atheism if it were thought to be an impossible position. Rather, the most common objection used to deny toleration of atheists is something akin to John Locke’s argument.
In his “A Letter Concerning Toleration,” Locke formulated a comprehensive system for religious toleration. However, Locke lists four groups for whom toleration should be withheld, and one of those groups is atheists. Locke’s rationale for this discrimination is that “Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist.” It is the time-honored tradition of saying atheists cannot be moral.
John Stuart Mill issued a good rebuttal to this claim in his essay, “The Utility of Religion.” In it he argued that it is not religion itself that makes people moral, but rather the fact that religion is tied to authority, education and public opinion. In fact, there are manifold cases wherein public opinion acts as a stronger motivation than religious sanction.
For example, the Bible clearly states that sexual intercourse outside of wedlock is always immoral. However, this does not seem to stop many Christians nowadays. Indeed, casual sex is an epidemic on college campuses even where the majority of students are Christians. The reason for this contradiction is that public opinion, regrettably, condones this sexual deviancy. Against the force of public opinion, religion does not stand a chance.
To Mill, “any system of moral duties,” with either a sacred or a profane basis, “inculcated by education and enforced by opinion,” will be sufficient to regulate conduct and ascribe morality. The connection between religion and morality is tenuous at best. In fact, many immoral actions have been perpetrated under the guise of religion. As William Shakespeare wrote, “‘Tis too much proved, that with devotion’s visage / And pious action we do sugar o’er / The devil himself.”
Being religious or being atheist does not, in fact, make one moral or immoral. It is probably unrelated. There have been horrible atheists (Stalin), and there have been horrible Christians (Hitler was a Catholic). For every Jesus there is a Socrates; for every virtuous believer there is a virtuous skeptic. As Christopher Hitchens often said, “Name one ethical statement made, or one ethical action performed, by a believer that could not have been uttered or done by a nonbeliever.” Only 10 percent of Swedes believe strongly in God, yet the streets of Sweden are not overflowing with blood.
The religious will still argue that America was founded by Christians, so this is a Christian nation. God is on the money and in the Pledge of Allegiance. However, these changes were made in the 1950s and in no way reflect the ideas of the founding fathers. Most of the founding fathers professed Christianity, but they were first and foremost secularists. The First Amendment allows for the protection of all non-harmful beliefs. America guarantees freedom of, and from, religion in public life.
Thomas Jefferson very much championed freedom in religious affairs. He said, “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say that there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” In fact, in a letter to his nephew Peter Carr, Jefferson encouraged his nephew to use reason to investigate the veracity of religion. He said, “Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no god, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise.”
The United States needs more people like Jefferson. We must tolerate non-harmful beliefs even if we find them unsavory and tolerate one another’s beliefs. Jefferson said, “Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remains … and you are answerable not for the rightness but uprightness of the decision.”
