Philosophy of Humanity

Philosophy of Religion

Atheistic Definitions of Religion

In the philosophy of the modern era, several atheistic philosophical concepts emerged that denied the existence of God. However, the founders of these concepts were compelled to define what religion is. For believers, religion represents their connection with God and their spiritual experience of communion with Him. For atheists, such an understanding of religion is unacceptable, as discussing religion as a connection with God necessitates the acknowledgment of God's existence. If one denies this, they must then explain where religion came from and what role it plays in human life. Each atheistic concept of religion explains its nature based on its own worldview principles. For instance, while Marxism analyzed social processes, it also interpreted religion as a social phenomenon; and while Freudianism is a branch of psychology, its adherents interpreted religion as a psychological phenomenon.

• The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1804—1872) centered his philosophy around humanity. He argued that a significant characteristic of humans is their desires and dreams. People yearn for goodness, happiness, and compassion; they set lofty ideals for themselves but do not see their realization either within themselves or in others. Since people cannot abandon their high aspirations and are also unable to realize them, they created an idealized image of a bearer of noble traits—God—and projected all their desires onto Him. This is why people always ascribe to God the qualities they consider the best. Feuerbach also claimed that human conceptions of God vary across different epochs. Changes in these conceptions reflect changes in human dreams and expectations, which in turn signals upcoming changes in historical eras. Thus, according to Feuerbach, religion is the fruit of human dreams and expectations that one cannot realize within oneself.

◦ Feuerbach's concept leaves open questions. If God is merely an embodiment of human dreams and expectations, and if what people dream of is something they have never observed either within themselves or in others, then where do these dreams and expectations come from? In other words, why do people begin to dream of something they have never seen? For believers, the answer is evident: humans are created by God and receive ideals from Him that they strive towards. One cannot aspire to something they have never experienced. This logical fallacy constitutes the greatest problem in Ludwig Feuerbach’s philosophical concept.

• Marxism is a philosophical concept founded by the German philosophers Karl Marx (1818—1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820—1895). They argued that only matter exists, though they understood matter in a very broad sense. One variety of matter is society. Since society is a type of matter, it develops according to the same laws as all matter. Marxists believed that matter is not a static entity but is in constant development, regulated by the laws of dialectics. Accordingly, society develops according to the laws of dialectics. Marx argued that early in human development, there was no private property, and thus all were equal. This stage of human development was what Marx called the primitive-communist order. However, a time came when people began to accumulate capital. With the appearance of capital came those who owned it and those who did not. This gave rise to classes and the struggle between them: the rich wanted to preserve what they had, while the poor sought to seize their wealth for themselves. To redistribute goods, the established order must be changed. Marx argued that there are two factors that determine the course of history: the productive forces, i.e., the people who work, and the relations of production, i.e., the established orders according to which these people live and work. Productive forces continually progress, improve, and eventually reach a point where they become constrained by the relations of production. When life becomes unbearable, the productive forces rise in revolution, destroy the relations of production, and build new ones. However, after a time, the productive forces will also outgrow these relations and rise in revolution again. Thus, throughout history, social formations have changed: primitive-communist, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist. Marx considered communism, i.e., the absence of private property, as the ideal social order. Revolution, although the only effective way to change the relations of production, is still a complex process. Revolutions are pursued only by oppressed classes, but the ruling classes obstruct their realization. They oppress the people. In their suffering, the oppressed classes try to find some joy. To alleviate their suffering, they created religion, which became their opium. Through religion, people delude themselves, convincing themselves that they will be better off after death and that their suffering has some deeper, spiritual meaning. Marx believed that people would abandon religion once it becomes unnecessary. Vladimir Lenin made adjustments to Marx's interpretation of religion. He argued that religion is not created by the oppressed classes but by the ruling classes to keep the people subdued. Revolution will not occur until religion is destroyed. Therefore, Lenin initiated severe terror against religion. Thus, Marx claimed that religion is the opium of the people, while Lenin saw it as the opium for the people. In Marxism, religion is shaped by society and therefore is a social phenomenon that arises at a certain stage of societal development and transforms during periods of social change.

◦ From the Marxist concept of religion, it follows that religion emerged at a particular stage of human development. This implies that there was a time when religion did not exist. For many decades, the governments of socialist countries exerted tremendous effort to find at least one tribe without religion. However, neither studies of African and Australian tribes nor archaeology has found such a people. Since the existence of humanity, there has been religion. This is particularly evident from the excavations of burial sites.

• Freudianism is a direction in philosophy and psychology founded by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856—1939), who initiated psychoanalysis and depth psychology. Freud asserted that not only consciousness but also the unconscious, consisting of complexes, and the superconscious, or culture, govern human behavior. The primary components of the unconscious are sexual instincts. From birth, humans seek sexual satisfaction, but cannot obtain it, as limitless satisfaction poses a danger. Therefore, the superconscious imposes strict limitations on unconscious instincts. Against the backdrop of this struggle of instincts, Freud posited that religion arose. He claimed that one of the complexes experienced by humans in early childhood is the Oedipus complex, named after the Greek literary character Oedipus, who unknowingly married his mother.

Freud asserted that from birth, the child desires sexual gratification, and since the only people around the child in early years are the parents, the child feels an unconscious attraction to parents of the opposite sex. As the child grows, they become ashamed of this attraction and feel guilt for it, even without being consciously aware of these processes. To compensate for their guilt, people idealize their parents, creating a parental cult. On a universal level, this cult evolves into reverence for the idealized Father—God. To atone for their unconscious childhood sin, people strive to please God, who is also a product of their unconscious. This is why religion is closely associated with morality. Thus, religion and morality become the foundation of the superconscious, which restricts any expressions of sexuality and establishes behavioral norms. For Marxists, religion is a social phenomenon, while for Freudians, it is a psychological phenomenon, i.e., a product of mental processes and instincts.

◦ Freud’s genius lies in his focus on the unconscious and his initiation of depth psychology. However, reducing all human behavior to the suppression of sexuality is an overly hypothetical and unproven thesis. For Freud, God is merely a source of law and restrictions. In reality, in most religions, God is primarily a source of love and goodness.

• Nietzscheanism is a direction in modern philosophy initiated by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844—1900). Nietzsche believed that all living things are in a state of constant evolution. The stimulus for perpetual evolution is the will to power. When life, through evolution, developed into humanity, obstacles to evolution emerged. Humans think, and thus their decisions are influenced not only by instincts. The next stage of evolution should be the Übermensch, or Overman. However, humanity fears moving forward, as it is hindered by fear of the unknown and laziness. Humans continue to feel a drive toward becoming the Übermensch, but instincts of fear and laziness limit this progress. This struggle causes unrest. To mitigate and explain why humanity does not advance to the state of the Übermensch, they invented God, an entity to whom they attributed all the qualities that the Übermensch should have. Now, humans understand why they cannot strive for the state of the Übermensch; to encroach upon the divine is blasphemy. The faith in God generates a whole culture of moral taboos and social norms. Nietzsche referred to this culture as ressentiment. To transition to the state of the Übermensch, one must discard faith in God and the ressentiment culture. Nietzsche did not consider himself the Übermensch but declared himself a prophet of the Übermensch, and his prophetic proclamation was: "God is dead!" Thus, according to Friedrich Nietzsche, religion is the product of a ressentiment culture that has imposed taboos on humanity's further evolution toward the Übermensch.

◦ Friedrich Nietzsche's position, although atheistic, is nonetheless based on Christianity. The foundation of Christianity lies in the belief that humanity has received from God the potential for development, with the goal being to resemble God. In other words, humanity's task is to become like God. Nietzsche adopted this Christian idea but removed its core—God. He, like Christianity, calls for human development; but while Christianity provides an example to emulate, Nietzsche points towards an abyss. Moreover, Nietzsche’s criticism of Christianity is valid. He criticized Christianity for calling its followers to mercy, love, and goodness, and thus, in Nietzsche’s view, being a religion of the weak. Christianity indeed calls its followers to mercy, love, and goodness, but it is precisely this mission that defines its uniqueness. The Nietzschean Übermensch is a being that has rid itself of sympathy, mercy, and sensitivity. Nietzsche, by declaring that God is dead, also affirmed that with God died everything based on religious belief, including moral values. If God is dead, then with Him have died morality, culture, civilization, and all that is human.

Despite the fact that atheistic philosophical concepts have captivated many followers and even became the ideological foundation of totalitarian regimes (e.g., Marxism in socialist countries or Nietzscheanism for the Nazis), they have failed to provide an adequate answer to the age-old question that has always intrigued humanity. Religion offers an answer to the fundamental question of human existence—the meaning of life. The mystical encounter with God in spiritual experience cannot be described or defined, but in its light, any atheistic theories appear unconvincing and inept.