Imagine a world without organised religion, where it doesn’t affect people’s lives, but atheism still exists. What purpose would atheism fill in this scenario?
Why does it have to have purpose?
It’s a weird question.
The purpose of religion is to control society through communal beliefs. The sense of “purpose” that adherents are made to feel serves to further that control.
Atheism isn’t a religion and it doesn’t have a purpose.
It isn’t part of my “identity” any more than gravity is.
Atheism doesn’t replace religion… and trying to give it purpose is a little weird. In fact, there are a few atheist religions out there.
Yes, atheism obviously isn’t a religion and I see how it is a weird question. I mean purpose not in a way that resembles devotion or submission, but as an explanation for its existence.
AFAIK, gravity was understood differently before Newtonian physics, right? Different concepts of gravity serve a purpose.
Atheism is the lack of a belief. The lack of believing in gods serves as much purpose as the lack of believing in goblins.
What purpose does the lack of believing in goblins serve?
What purpose does the lack of believing in goblins serve?
Well, personally, my lack of believing in goblins serves my sense of reality. I am extremely sure goblins are made up, so my lack of belief serves my understanding of consistency and coherence of the world. Were goblins real, we likely could interact with them, if I understood them correctly.
IIRC, most religions hold that one cannot interact with their deities directly - so even if theism had just a grain of truth, its truth would be so irrelevant and far from people’s lives (just another level of hierarchy) that I don’t understand how its belief or disbelief affects one’s sense of reality.