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Question131

How can we, as atheists, cure the world from its theist insanity?

• I think free speech is the only cure for insanity. The only weapons they have against reality is to shut everyone up. "We" don't really matter, because even if they burned every book and killed every one of us, reality would still be there for anyone to find. (Hendrix Fan #1692)

• If there's a way, showing an exemplary behaviour. And educating our children in critical thought, teaching them the importance of one's own decisions. (Angel Arnal #1443)

• FLAMETHROWERS!

  Oops, sorry. I meant EXAMPLE.

  We can only cure the problem by being living demonstrations that atheism is the best way to live. We have to provide evidence of this to minds that are indoctrinated against us from birth, so it's not going to be quick or easy.

  To this end, we can certainly point out the inconsistencies and disadvantages of theistic thought, and correct the theistic misrepresentations of atheists, as we are currently doing here. We can support the sciences that force gods to flee to ever-remote gaps, and technologies that provide a clear improvement in our quality of life that gods are not responsible for. We can support laws set up to distance religion from government. We can get involved in public education, where theists have gained an unfortunate foothold of late.

  The one thing we can't do is stifle it by force. First, that never works, and second, we would become that which we despise.

  Drat. (Denis Loubet #1026)

• I don't think the world is gripped by theist insanity. In the US, we are experiencing some sort of a revival meeting. :-)

  These religious fanatics are on the fringe of popular thought, but they believe they are dead-center. That's the problem. I don't know how we can counteract that, except at the voting booth and on school boards. (Eileen Camilleri #948)

• We should support the advancement of science and technology and teach the values of critical thinking in our schools. Teach kids the importance of thinking for themselves and to be free to question the world around them, not accepting any blindly at face value. Eventually, our civilization may make the social, science, and technological advances to the point where "God" will not be felt as being needed by the populace, for we will have become the "gods" ourselves. (Robert Schneider)

• By promoting tolerance and multiculturalism and giving a basic scientific education to our children in schools. (Petteri Sulonen #1442)

• I would like to avoid the word cure, too many theists would like to 'cure' too many of us of one thing or another.

  The only solution I see is education, especially in science. (Charles R Ward #1479)

• Wow! Talk about "loaded question"!

  People like their spirituality. I don't think it'll ever go away. The best we can hope for, and that is quite enough for me, is to achieve a state in which believers generally adhere to a belief of "enlightened deism" like Voltaire's etc. The least we must do is putting the children of the world into school and giving adults a lot to lose, like a LIFE. Fanaticism dies naturally as soon as people don't need to find outerworldly comfort for their miserable existence anymore, and if the people around them help them live a more fulfilled life than any transcendent cosmic Mickey Mouse ever can.

  We need to dry up the demand for religion. (Matthias Weiss)

• My first thought was a small, well-placed thermonuclear device.

  But it was just a passing thought, and as a libertarian I of course believe that everyone has the same right to life and liberty as I do. Even insane theists.

  So I recommend that we vote libertarian. Then we won't have to fund religious organizations or schools withour money, scientific and space ventures will be privatized, and the human race can simply move on without them. (Dave Holloway #1184)

• Sadly, I don't think it is possible. Although, if we were to try, I think education is the only way to go, and keeping religious bs out of education. Get kids while they are young before the religion thing is ingrained. (Chani #1118)