Atheism - My blog

You’re reading the Quartz Weekly Obsession email from August 25, 2021

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#poll-10906155-radio-50202476:checked ~ #poll-10906155-answer-50202474 { background-image: url(https://quartz-obsession.quartz.work/result?poll_id=10906155&answer_id=50202474) } #poll-10906155-radio-50202476:checked ~ #poll-10906155-answer-50202475 { background-image: url(https://quartz-obsession.quartz.work/result?poll_id=10906155&answer_id=50202475) } .vote-options { display: none; } #poll-10-vote-control:checked ~ .vote-btn { display: none; } #poll-10-vote-control:checked ~ .vote-options { display: block; } #obsession-header td { background: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/themes/qz-api/lib/plugins/qz-email/emails/quartz-obsession/images/1x1-black.png); } .obsession-hero-image td { background: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/themes/qz-api/lib/plugins/qz-email/emails/quartz-obsession/images/1x1-purple.png); } </style> <p> </head><br /> <body class="body"><br /> <span class="preheader"><br /> The creed that dare not speak its name<br /> </span><br /> </p> <div id="obsession-container"> <div class="hidden"> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Atheism, despite being a widely held belief (or lack thereof), has never been popular. While surveys show that nearly 20% of the world’s population doesn’t believe in a deity, it’s not a position many advertise. </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400">In the US, there are almost three times as many people who say they don’t believe in God (9%) than </span><a href="https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/#religions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">identify as atheists</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> (3%). Another 4% say they are agnostics. In part, that’s because for most, </span><span style="font-weight: 400">disbelief is a passive exercise, not an affirmative action. </span><a href="https://billmoyers.com/content/jonathan-miller-of-pbss-a-brief-history-of-disbelief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">Jonathan Miller</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, who hosted a BBC series on the history of atheism, says he describes himself as one only reluctantly. “</span><span style="font-weight: 400">It hardly seems worthwhile having a name for something which scarcely enters my thoughts at all,” he said.</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400">But it could also be because in the US, atheists are deeply unpopular. Prejudice against atheism is one of the last socially acceptable biases. The Boy Scouts of America, for example now admit gay and trans troops but maintains </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-boy-scout-membership-180965254/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">a ban on atheists</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. Nearly </span><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/16/so-you-married-an-atheist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">half of all Americans</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> say they would be unhappy if their son or daughter married an atheist. According </span><a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/26611/some-americans-reluctant-vote-mormon-72yearold-presidential-candidates.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">to one poll</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, it would be easier for a Muslim or gay person to be elected president than an atheist.</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Let’s investigate.</span></p> <p>🐦 <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F2051745&via=qz%20obsession&text=Atheism%3A%20Believe%20it%20or%20not" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet this!</a></p> <p>🌐 <a href="http://qz.com/email/quartz-obsession/2051745/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" universal="true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View this email on the web</a></p> </div> <p><a href="https://qz.com/emails/quartz-obsession/2051745/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></p> <table id="obsession-header" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2018-09-04T000000Z_236742133_RC1C55A19E80_RTRMADP_3_AMAZON-COM-CHILE-TELESCOPES.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=620); background-position: 50% 50%;"> <tr> <td id="obsession-header-content"><img src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/logo-weekly-white.png?w=3664" alt="Quartz Weekly Obsession"/></p> <h1 id="obsession-header-title">Atheism</h1> <p><span id="obsession-header-date">August 25, 2021</span></td> </tr> </table> <p></a></p> <div class="first obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <h2 class="obsession-card-title">The creed that dare not speak its name</p> <hr /> </h2> <p class="first"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Atheism, despite being a widely held belief (or lack thereof), has never been popular. While surveys show that nearly 20% of the world’s population doesn’t believe in a deity, it’s not a position many advertise. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the US, there are almost three times as many people who say they don’t believe in God (9%) than </span><a href="https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/#religions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">identify as atheists</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (3%). Another 4% say they are agnostics. In part, that’s because for most, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">disbelief is a passive exercise, not an affirmative action. </span><a href="https://billmoyers.com/content/jonathan-miller-of-pbss-a-brief-history-of-disbelief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jonathan Miller</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who hosted a BBC series on the history of atheism, says he describes himself as one only reluctantly. “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It hardly seems worthwhile having a name for something which scarcely enters my thoughts at all,” he said.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">But it could also be because in the US, atheists are deeply unpopular. Prejudice against atheism is one of the last socially acceptable biases. The Boy Scouts of America, for example now admit gay and trans troops but maintains </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-boy-scout-membership-180965254/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a ban on atheists</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Nearly </span><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/16/so-you-married-an-atheist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">half of all Americans</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> say they would be unhappy if their son or daughter married an atheist. According </span><a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/26611/some-americans-reluctant-vote-mormon-72yearold-presidential-candidates.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">to one poll</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it would be easier for a Muslim or gay person to be elected president than an atheist.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s investigate.</span></p> <p>🐦 <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F2051745&via=qz%20obsession&text=Atheism%3A%20Believe%20it%20or%20not" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet this!</a></p> <p class="last">🌐 <a href="http://qz.com/email/quartz-obsession/2051745/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" universal="true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View this email on the web</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">By the digits</div> <p class="first"><a href="https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWVL.jsp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>17.8%:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Share of the world’s population that said it didn’t believe in God, according to the 2017-2020 World Values Survey of 80 countries</span></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWVL.jsp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>82.6%:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Share of respondents from China who said they didn’t believe in God, the most of any country</span></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWVL.jsp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>0.1%:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Share of respondents from Tajikistan who said they didn’t believe in God, the least of any country</span></p> <p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17594581" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>$1000:</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sum awarded to US representative Pete Stark, a Democrat from California, by the American Humanist Association, for publicly declaring he didn’t believe in a supreme being, the only member of Congress to do so</span></p> <p class="last"><a href="https://www.uscirf.gov/religious-prisoners-conscience/mubarak-bala" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>16:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Months Mubarak Bala, a self-described atheist in Nigeria, has been detained without trial on allegations of blasphemy</span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach</figcaption><div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-05-10T124831Z_1_LYNXMPEH490K8_RTROPTP_4_GERMANY-BISHOPS.jpg?quality=80&strip=all);"></div> </figure> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Explain it like I’m five!</div> <h2 class="obsession-card-title">An atheist, an agnostic, and a secular humanist walk into a bar</p> <hr /> </h2> <p class="first last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no universally agreed upon definition of atheism. For some, it means an absence of belief in deities. For others, it is the affirmative belief there are no deities. Confusing matters further are other terms non-believers use to describe their attitudes toward religion, or god(s). They include:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Agnosticism</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Agnostics do not know if gods exist, either because they are personally unsure, or because they maintain it is ultimately unknowable.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Secular humanism.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A philosophy that advocates a morality based on reason and empathy and rejects superstition and religious dogma.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Ethical culture.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A movement developed in the 19th century that advances secular humanism, and in some cases constructs </span><a href="https://www.sundayassembly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ritualized congregational experiences</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that can mirror religious gatherings.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Brights.</b> <a href="http://www.the-brights.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Members of a movement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that embraces a “naturalistic worldview” and rejects superstition and mysticism.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Nones</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. A </span><a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">demographic term</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> used for those who select “none” on surveys of religious preferences. Some nones are atheists, while others claim unspecified spiritual beliefs or are simply indifferent to religion.</span></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>Giphy</figcaption><div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/giphy-7.gif);"></div> </figure> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">This one weird trick</div> <h2 class="obsession-card-title">One nation, under pasta</p> <hr /> </h2> <p class="first last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2005, Bobby Henderson, a graduate student in physics, wrote a letter to protest the teaching of intelligent design in Kansas schools. If intelligent design—an untested theory which holds that a deity is responsible for creation—can be taught, then why not his belief that the universe was created by a flying spaghetti monster?</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thus was born the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM), or pastafarianism, a flexible and absurdist religion-slash-satire which exists mainly to expose the contradictions inherent in organized religion and challenge state support of them. Adherents, for example, have fought for the right to wear </span><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/11/16/church-flying-spaghetti-monster-massachusetts-religion/75862946/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pasta colanders on their head in drivers license photos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, reasoning if a turban or hijab is allowed, then a spaghetti strainer should be.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pastafarianism has met some setbacks, including a federal judge who </span><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-pastafarian-drivers-license-illinois-nebraska-perspec-0715-20160712-column.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ruled against an inmate’s petition to hold FSM services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. While the judge ruled FSM was not a religion, he didn’t dismiss it out of hand, either. FSM, he wrote in his order, “is intended to advance an argument about science, the evolution of life, and the place of religion in public education. Those are important issues, and FSMism contains a serious argument.” </span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Quotable</div> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">!” </span></h2> <p class="first last"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span></i><a href="https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/nietzsche-madman.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Friedrich Nietzche, “Parable of the Madman”</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (1882)</span></i></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card quiz "> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>Giphy</figcaption><div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/giphy-1-4.gif);"> <table> <tr> <td> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Pop quiz</div> <h2 class="obsession-hero-title">Which organization doesn’t work to advance the US separation between church and state?</h2> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </figure> <p><input type="radio" name="quiz-5" id="quiz-5-answer-radio-correct" class="obsession-quiz-radio-correct"><input type="radio" name="quiz-5" id="quiz-5-answer-radio-1" class="obsession-quiz-radio-wrong"><input type="radio" name="quiz-5" id="quiz-5-answer-radio-2" class="obsession-quiz-radio-wrong"><input type="radio" name="quiz-5" id="quiz-5-answer-radio-3" class="obsession-quiz-radio-wrong"><label for="quiz-5-answer-radio-3" id="qz-5-answer-label-3" class="obsession-quiz-answer wrong">Center for Inquiry</label><label for="quiz-5-answer-radio-2" id="qz-5-answer-label-2" class="obsession-quiz-answer wrong">American Humanist Association</label><label for="quiz-5-answer-radio-correct" class="obsession-quiz-answer correct">Free Society</label><label for="quiz-5-answer-radio-1" id="qz-5-answer-label-1" class="obsession-quiz-answer wrong">National Secular Society</label></p> <div class="obsession-quiz-message-correct"><strong>Correct.</strong> Free Society is, among other things, a bathing suit company.</div> <div class="obsession-quiz-message-wrong"><strong>Incorrect.</strong> </div> <div class="obsession-quiz-fallback">If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email.</div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">LISTED</div> <p class="first"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In most of the world, being an atheist might result in some awkward conversations around the holidays. But in others, it can mean social ostracization, loss of work opportunities, arrest, or even death. <a href="https://fot.humanists.international/general-introduction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In these 11 countries</a>, atheism is punishable by death, either for the crimes of apostasy or blasphemy.</span></p> <p class="last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇦🇫 Afghanistan</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇮🇷 Iran</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇲🇾 Malaysia</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇲🇻 Maldives</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇲🇷 Mauritania</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇳🇬 Nigeria</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇵🇰 Pakistan</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇶🇦 Qatar</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🇾🇪 Yemen</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">While in practice the laws rarely result in executions—</span><a href="https://humanists.international/2017/04/man-sentenced-death-atheism-saudi-arabia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">although it does happen</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">— they stifle free speech and open inquiry, and force non-believers to lie in order to evade arrest. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Brief history</div> <p class="first"><a href="https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2018/2018.08.36/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>~415 BCE:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Diagoras of Melos, a Greek poet and playwright is tried in absentia in Athens for impiety.</span></p> <p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA349#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>~815:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Ibn Al-Rawandi, a Muslim scholar who embraced atheism later in his life, mocking the Quran and comparing prophets to magicians, is born.</span></p> <p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/31-wil.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1644:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Roger Williams, the puritan founder of Rhode Island, makes the then-radical claim that “antichristians” are as qualified to hold office as Christians.</span></p> <p><a href="http://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/digital-enlightenment/digital-dholbach/biography-of-baron-dholbach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1770:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach, a French enlightenment writer and critic of religion, publishes </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The System of Nature, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">sometimes called the Bible of atheism</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></i></p> <p><a href="http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/shelleysghost/category/necessity-of-atheism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1811:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from Oxford for co-authoring a pamphlet on </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Necessity of Atheism.</span></i></p> <p><a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2015/01/05/what-is-the-opium-of-the-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1843:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Karl Marx writes “religion is the opiate of the masses” in the introduction of a book of philosophy. The quote is virtually unknown until the 1930s, when Marxism becomes widely studied.</span></p> <p><a href="https://ethical.nyc/history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1876:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Felix Adler founds the New York Society for Ethical Culture to advance the belief that morality is independent of theology.</span></p> <p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Bradlaugh" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1880:</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Charles Bradlaugh is elected to the UK parliament but is not seated because he refuses to take a religious oath.</span></p> <p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1960/373" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1961:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The US Supreme Court strikes down a Maryland law requiring state office holders to declare “their belief in God” in <em>Torcaso v. Watkins</em>.</span></p> <p class="last"><a href="https://time.com/isgoddead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>1966:</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Time magazine’s cover asks “Is God Dead?”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>Giphy</figcaption><div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/giphy-2-3.gif);"></div> </figure> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">take me down this 🐰 hole!</div> <h2 class="obsession-card-title">The etymology of atheism</p> <hr /> </h2> <p class="first"><span style="font-weight: 400;">To the untrained eye, the linguistic origins of “atheism” are obvious, as it appears to follow the </span><a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/a-" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ancient Greek use of “a-” as a negating agent</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">: a-theism, or without theism (religion). </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">But the word atheism actually predates the word theism, and is believed to be derived from the french, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">athéisme</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which in turn comes from the Greek, </span><a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/atheos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">atheos</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, or “against deities</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” The -ism suffix renders it as “teaching against the gods,” or a doctrine of godlessness.</span></p> <p class="last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why does it matter? Some modern atheists prefer a less confrontational definition of atheism, as simply being without religion, as opposed to a definition based on the affirmative argument that there is no god, goddess, or other deity.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">As philosopher and one-time atheist </span><a href="http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~ekremer/resources/The%20Presumption%20of%20Atheism.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Antony Flew wrote</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I want the word to be understood not positively but negatively… in this interpretation an atheist becomes: not someone who positively asserts the non-existence of God; but someone who is simply not a theist.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card video has-content"> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>TED</figcaption><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oe6HUgrRlQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></p> <div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2021-08-25-095101.jpg?quality=80&strip=all);"> <div class="play-button"></div> </div> <p></a></figure> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Watch this!</div> <p class="first last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Philosopher Alain de Botton argues for an atheism 2.0 that takes the formal belief system of gods and deities out of religion, while preserving the social connections and rituals that sustain and comfort us. </span></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card poll "> <figure class="obsession-hero"><figcaption>Giphy</figcaption><div class="obsession-hero-image" style="background-image: url(https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/giphy-3-1.gif);"> <table> <tr> <td> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">Poll</div> <h2 class="obsession-hero-title">Do you believe in God?</h2> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </figure> <p><input type="checkbox" id="poll-10-vote-control" checked="checked"/></p> <div class="vote-btn"><a class="obsession-card-cta" href="https://polldaddy.com/poll/10906155/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to vote</a></div> <div class="vote-options"><input type="radio" name="poll-10906155" id="poll-10906155-radio-50202474"/><input type="radio" name="poll-10906155" id="poll-10906155-radio-50202475"/><input type="radio" name="poll-10906155" id="poll-10906155-radio-50202476"/><label for="poll-10906155-radio-50202474" id="poll-10906155-answer-50202474" class="obsession-poll-answer first">Yes!</label><label for="poll-10906155-radio-50202475" id="poll-10906155-answer-50202475" class="obsession-poll-answer">No!</label><label for="poll-10906155-radio-50202476" id="poll-10906155-answer-50202476" class="obsession-poll-answer last">Let me get back to you on that.</label></div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <div class="obsession-card-kicker">💬let's talk!</div> <p class="first">In our last poll on <a href="https://qz.com/emails/quartz-obsession/2049346/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chromebooks</a>, <strong>45%</strong> of you said you’re not ready to give up your more powerful computing devices, <strong>31%</strong> of you are Chromebook curious, and <strong>24%</strong> of you read the Obsession on your Chromebook. ✉️ <strong>Brandy</strong> wrote in to point out that also, there have been no known ransomware attacks on Chromebooks. A couple of you also corrected us for not being consistent on whether you can or can’t do things offline on Chromebooks. You can, you can also download Android and Linux apps, and they do have a small hard drive for some storage purposes.</p> <p>🤔 <a href="mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Atheism&body=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What did you think of today’s email?</a></p> <p>💡 <a href="mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What should we obsess over next?</a></p> <p class="m_3958018203110450067last">🎲 <a href="https://email-tracking.qz.com/ss/c/lECt6oU9aSeLtaoPuS7DevWwgeRKmsiTV4Yc5VFllqZJin2yjYkd4W9zRwE7a1gs/3cm/3J6K17JvQxO7JGCVP9-sww/h61/aNk_TGJGeEvqMcPQyodp3b7XCUvy_JjbZHCcXcTOVhE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://email-tracking.qz.com/ss/c/lECt6oU9aSeLtaoPuS7DevWwgeRKmsiTV4Yc5VFllqZJin2yjYkd4W9zRwE7a1gs/3cm/3J6K17JvQxO7JGCVP9-sww/h61/aNk_TGJGeEvqMcPQyodp3b7XCUvy_JjbZHCcXcTOVhE&source=gmail&ust=1624550622105000&usg=AFQjCNEglf8xwxzKWgXsLsIsybj84hPrkw">Show me a random <span class="il">Obsession</span></a></p> </div> </div> <div class="obsession-card auto has-content"> <div class="obsession-card-content"> <p class="first last"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today’s email was written by </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Ostaley?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oliver Staley</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, edited by </span><a href="https://twitter.com/annalieseg?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annaliese Griffin</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and produced by </span><a href="https://discounteddanceparties.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jordan Weinstock</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> </div> </div> <p></p> <table id="email-share-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center"><a href="https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F2051745%2F" target="_blank" class="share-link" rel="noopener"><br /> <img src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/facebook.png" alt="facebook" class="icon facebook" /><br /> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F2051745%2F" target="_blank" class="share-link" rel="noopener"><br /> <img src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/twitter.png" alt="twitter" class="icon twitter" /><br /> </a><a href="https://qz.com/emails/quartz-obsession/2051745/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" target="_blank" class="share-link" rel="noopener"><br /> <img src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/link_out.png" alt="external-link" class="icon external-link" /><br /> </a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div id="obsession-footer"> <div class="obsession-footer-content"> <p>The correct answer to the quiz is <em>Free Society</em>.</p> <p>Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? <a href="https://qz.com/emails/quartz-obsession/2051745/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=quartz-obsession&utm_content=25a7f9ac-05aa-11ec-8e73-2649147ff341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Send this link</a> to a friend!</p> <p>Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at <a href="mailto:ads@qz.com">ads@qz.com</a>.</p> <p>Not enjoying it? No worries. <a href="{{{unsubscribe}}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here</a> to unsubscribe.</p> <p class="last">Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States</p> </div> </div></div> <p> <br /> </body><br /> </html><br /> ” title=”Atheism – a preview of the Quartz Weekly Obsession email from August 25, 2021″ width=”100%”>

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