Antitheism and antisocial behavior

Joseph Stalin, the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, patronised the League of Militant Atheists, whose chief aim, under the leadership of Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, was to propagate militant atheism and eradicate religion.[1][2]

Antitheism is active opposition to theistic belief.

Social science research indicates that antitheists score the highest among atheists when it comes to personality traits such as narcissism, dogmatism, and anger.[3][4] Furthermore, they scored lowest when it comes to agreeableness and positive relations with others.[5]

New Atheism is a contemporary form of militant atheism. Using special text analysis software, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt found that new atheists very often wrote in dogmatic terms in their major works using words such as “always,” “never,” “certainly,” “every,” and “undeniable.”[6] Of the 75,000 words in Sam Harris's The End of Faith, 2.24% of them connote or are associated with certainty.[7]

Despite the frequent expressions of certainty by new atheists. New Atheism has a reputation for shallow arguments. A frequent occurrence is that the works of new atheists often betray an amateurish knowledge of philosophy/religion.[8][9] For example, atheist philosopher Dr. Michael Ruse declared concerning new atheist Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion: "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."[10] Theodore Beale's book The Irrational atheist found multiple errors in reasoning and factual errors when it came to the works of new atheist authors.[11] See also: Atheism and irrationality

See also:

* Atheism and social skills

* Atheism and arrogance

* Atheism and intolerance

* Atheism and loneliness

## Contents

* 1 Militant atheism and mass murder
* 2 Atheism and sociopathy
* 3 Atheism and lack of empathy
* 4 Atheism and psychopathy
* 5 Atheism and other immoral acts
* 6 New Atheism movement and women
* 7 See also
* 8 References

## Militant atheism and mass murder[edit]

See also: Atheism and mass murder and Militant atheism and Atheistic communism and torture

It is estimated that in the past 100 years, governments under the banner of atheistic communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 and 259,432,000 human lives.[12] Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.[13] See also: Atheism and communism

## Atheism and sociopathy[edit]

See: Atheism and sociopathy

## Atheism and lack of empathy[edit]

A beggar in Cambodia. In Cambodia, the vast majority of the population adheres to a nontheistic form of Buddhism called the Theravada school of Buddhism.

A comprehensive study by Harvard University professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are more charitable than their irreligious counterparts.[14]

See also: Atheism and uncharitableness and Atheism and social justice and Atheism and sadism

As far as the progressive values of caring/protection, the American atheist population gives less to charity per capita than Christians even when church giving is not counted (see: Atheism and uncharitableness).

In June 2014, the African-American atheist woman Sikivu Hutchinson wrote in the Washington Post that white atheists organizations generally focus on church/state separation and creationism issues and not the concerns the less affluent African American population faces.[15] Hutchinson also mentioned that church organizations do focus on helping poor African-Americans.[16] See also: Western atheism and racism

In addition, the historical record shows that atheists have often been uncaring and atheists have engaged in barbarous/uncivilized behavior (see: Atheism and mass murder and Mass rape of German women by the Soviet army and Atheism and child pornography and Atheism and bestiality and Atheism and cannibalism).

Also, atheists rarely focuses on the issue of social Darwinism in their communities past and often takes offense when biblical creationists bring this matter up.[17][18]

## Atheism and psychopathy[edit]

See also: Atheism and psychopathy

A psychopath is someone with an anti-social personality disorder characterized by violent, perverted or amoral behavior often leading to criminality. Psychopaths have little or no concern for other people. They equate love with sexual arousal.[19]

According to the 2014 journal article Correlates of psychopathic personality traits in everyday life: results from a large community survey published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology lack of belief in God is positively associated with psychopathy.[20]

## Atheism and other immoral acts[edit]

Atheists are often accused of lacking moral intelligence and social intelligence. The atheist PZ Myers declared, "...I don’t object to bestiality in a very limited set of specific conditions..."[21] See: Atheism and bestiality

See also: Atheist population and immorality and Atheism and morality

Not possessing a religious basis for morality, which can provide a legitimate basis for objective morality, atheists are fundamentally incapable of having a coherent system of morality.[22]

The Barna Group found that atheists and agnostics in America were more likely, than theists in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable: illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; abortion; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in homosexuality/bisexuality.[23] Given the many diseases associated with homosexuality, the biblical prohibition against homosexuality is quite arguably one of the many examples where the Bible exhibited knowledge that was ahead of its time. See also: Atheism and sexual immorality

In 2014, a University of Kentucky study was published by Will M. Gervais, which was entitled Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as Representative of Atheists, and the study indicated that "even atheist participants viewed immorality as significantly more representative of atheists than of other people."[24]

For more information, please see: Atheist population and immorality

## New Atheism movement and women[edit]

The new atheist Richard Dawkins was a key player in the Elevatorgate scandal which helped spark a rift between many atheist men and women.

See also: Atheism and women

Founders of the New Atheism movement Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, have elevated the amount of contention between men and women within the atheist population and there are now frequently complaints from women that there is a significant amount of misogny within the atheist community and that its leadership is too heavily populated with men.[25][26][27]

See also:

* Atheism and women

* Elevatorgate

* Atheism and rape

* Atheist factions

* Atheist movement

* Abrasiveness of Richard Dawkins

## See also[edit]

* Atheism and sociopathy
* Atheists and psychological factors related to mass shooters
* Atheist bullying
* Atheism and mockery
* Atheist hypocrisy
* Atheist scandals
* Atheism, divorce, addiction, sexual satisfaction, social skills, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes, and irrationality

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber (2000). The Fatima Secret. Random House Digital, Inc.. Retrieved on 9 October 2011. “Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.”
2. ↑ Paul D. Steeves (1989). Keeping the faiths: religion and ideology in the Soviet Union. Holmes & Meier. Retrieved on 4 July 2013. “The League of Militant Atheists was formed in 1926 and by 1930 had recruited three million members. Five years later there were 50,000 local groups affiliated to the League and the nominal membership had risen to five million. Children from 8-14 years of age were enrolled in Groups of Godless Youth, and the League of Communist Youth (Komsomol) took a vigorous anti- religious line. Several antireligious museums were opened in former churches and a number of Chairs of Atheism were established in Soviet universities. Prizes were offered for the best 'Godless hymns' and for alternative versions of the Bible from which ... the leader of the League of Militant Atheists, Yemelian Yaroslavsky, said: "When a priest is deprived of his congregation, that does not mean that he stops being a priest. He changes into an itinerant priest. He travels around with his primitive tools in the villages, performs religious rites, reads prayers, baptizes children. Such wandering priests are at times more dangerous than those who carry on their work at a designated place of residence." The intensified persecution, which was a part of the general terror inflicted upon Soviet society by Stalin's policy, ...”
3. ↑ Science Shows New Atheists to be Mean and Closed-Minded
4. ↑ Why Sam Harris is Unlikely to Change his Mind by JONATHAN HAIDT, February 3, 2014 8:36 pm
5. ↑ Science Shows New Atheists to be Mean and Closed-Minded
6. ↑ Why Sam Harris is Unlikely to Change his Mind by JONATHAN HAIDT, February 3, 2014 8:36 pm
7. ↑ Why Sam Harris is Unlikely to Change his Mind by JONATHAN HAIDT, February 3, 2014 8:36 pm
8. ↑ The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion edited by Graham Oppy, Chapter 4, New Atheist Approaches to Religion by Trent Dougherty and Logan Paul Cage, page 52, see: Google books excerpt
9. ↑ http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire
10. ↑ http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire
11. ↑ Excellent refutation of ‘new atheists’ flawed by heterodox open theism, A review of The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day (Theodore Beale), Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008, reviewed by Lita Cosner
12. ↑ Multiple references:
* The Black Book of Communism The Human cost of Communism - 100 Million, IndyMedia, April 4. 2004, Retrieved 5/23/2015
* "The Black Book of Communism". Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences website: Cold War Studies. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
* Rummel, R. J. (November 1993). "How many did communist regimes murder?" University of Hawaii website; Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
* White, Matthew (February 2011). "Source list and detailed death tolls for the primary megadeaths of the twentieth century". Necrometrics. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
* Higgins, David (June 22, 2007). "Memory and ideology: Washington's newest statue is the Victims Of Communism Memorial". Sarasota Magazine website. Retrieved from October 8, 2007 archive at Internet Archive on May 22, 2015.
* Radosh, Ronald (February 2000). "The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression". First Things [journal] website. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
13. ↑ Rummel, R. J. (November 1993). "How many did communist regimes murder?" University of Hawaii website; Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
14. ↑ Multiple references:
* Burke, Daniel, Religion News Service (May 13, 2009). "Religious people make better citizens, study says". Pew Research Forum. Archived on March 10, 2013 by Internet Archive. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
* Campbell, David and Putnam, Robert (November 14, 2010). "Religious people are 'better neighbors'". USA Today website. Retrieved on July 19, 2014.
15. ↑ Atheism has a big race problem that no one’s talking about by Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, Washington Post June 16, 2014
16. ↑ Atheism has a big race problem that no one’s talking about by Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, Washington Post June 16, 2014
17. ↑ Herbert Spencer and social Darwinism
18. ↑ Darwinism and World War I
19. ↑ Robert D. Hare (2011). Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. Guilford Press, 52\. ISBN 978-16062-35782.
20. ↑ Correlates of psychopathic personality traits in everyday life: results from a large community survey by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Robert D. Latzman, Ashley L. Watts, Sarah F. Smith, and Kevin Dutton, Frontiers of Psychology, 2014
21. ↑ Multiple references:
* Warden, Rick (August 10, 2012). "Atheist achilles heels: objective morality and sacred life". Templestream Blog. Retrieved on July 20, 2014.
* Myers, P. Z. (May 22, 2012). "The 'objective morality' gotcha" Pharyngula. Retrieved on July 20, 2014.
22. ↑ Multiple references:
* Copan, Paul (2008). "God, naturalism, and the foundations of morality". The Future of Atheism, ed. Robert Stewart (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), pp. 141-161. Retrieved form PaulCopan.com on October 3, 2014.
* Williams, Peter S. (2011). "Can moral objectivism do without God?". Bethinking.org Retrieved on October 3, 2014.
* Meister, Chad (2010). "Atheists and the quest for objective morality". Christian Research Journal, vol. 33, no. 2. Retrieved from Christian Research Institute website on October 3, 2014.
* Slick, Matt (2009). "The failure of atheism to account for morality". Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website. Retrieved on October 3, 2014.
23. ↑ http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/58-practical-outcomes-replace-biblical-principles-as-the-moral-standard
24. ↑ Gervais, Will M. (April 9, 2014). "Everything is permitted? People intuitively judge immorality as representative of atheists". PLOS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092302. Retrieved on October 29, 2014.
25. ↑ Will “New Atheism” Make Room For Women?, Ms. Magazine
26. ↑
* Richard Dawkins: Skeptic of women? - Salon, July 8, 2011
* Sharing a lift with Richard Dawkins by David Allen Green - New Stateman - 06 July 2011
* Richard Dawkins Torn Limb From Limb—By Atheists - Gawker
* Atheists address sexism issues - USA Today
* Richard Dawkins, check the evidence on the 'chilly climate' for women by Emily Band, The Guardian, July 24, 2011
* Richard Dawkins and male privilege By Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, July 5, 2011 10:30 am
* Is Richard Dawkins destroying his reputation? by Sophie Elmhirst, The Guardian, June 9, 2015
27. ↑
* Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments by Heather Tomlinson, Christianity Today, September 17, 2014
* Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris? by Amanda Marcotte, Salon magazine, October 3, 2014
* Is Sam Harris Sexist? by Libby Anne at the blog Love, Joy, Feminism, September 20, 2014
* On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics by Daniel Fincke, September 16, 2014