Atheism & Utopian-ism: A Failed Social Experiment
Monday, November 16, 2015
I was
engaged in a recent conversation with a gentleman who insisted that atheism was
the answer to the woes of the world and the elimination of religion will bear
the fruit of a more tolerant and peaceful society for all. I had to disagree
and I asserted that atheism and its ideal of utopianism is a failed social
experiment which slaughtered more innocent people in the 20th century than did
all of the combined religious democide during that same time period. My atheist
friend couldn't believe such a seemingly absurd notion and challenged me to
prove my claim. I compiled the information and I present it in part to the
readers of my blog.
Let's look at the result of "official" imposition of atheist policies. Here is a list of casualties which are directly related to atheist policies and exclude war casualties:
* USSR (1917-1987)- 61,911,000 dead
* China (1949-1987)- 35,236,000 dead
* Mao Soviets (1923-1949)- 3,466,000 dead
* Cambodia (1975-1979)- 2,035,000 dead
* Veitnam (1945-1987)- 1,670,000 dead
* Poland (1945-1948)- 1,585,000 dead
* Yugoslavia (1944-1987)- 1,072,000 dead
* North Korea (1948-1987)- 1,663,000 dead
According to 20th century statistics which are readily available the estimated number of democide deaths inflicted by atheists in that century was 109,704,000. During the same period of time the democide rates for theistic countries totaled: 45,862,000. The disparity is HUGE and it should be further noted that the democide actions in theistic countries were not attributed to religious motivations in the majority of cases but the democide actions in atheist countries was predomanantly inflicted based upon the atheist utopian ideal.
If atheism isn't the answer to our seemingly innate extremism then what is? We must understand that extreme tendencies occur in the psyche of every human being who espouses a particular point-of-view and the belief that their own perspective is objective truth. The ego can create a dysfunction within the human psyche that perceives "other" as inferior to itself based on a difference of opinion, culture and ethnicity. The dysfunction finds others that agree with it and consequently enforces its belief within a herd mentality. This collective reality within the herd draws out an animalistic instinct commonly referred to as the fight or flight instinct and this drives animals to dominate in the interest of the acquisition of power. This is the core problem with humanity and is expressed in every social or ideological construct be it religious, political, familial, ethnic, etc.
To overcome this dysfunction we must create a society that teaches our children to become emotionally aware and empathetic to others. An educational system that focuses less on competition and survival of the fittest and more on altruistic service to others. Psychology and human behavioral studies should become as important as mathematics and phonetic development. A society which prides itself in equanimity and tolerance based upon a shared human kinship and a spiritual intuition is the only utopian ideal that has a legitimate chance at evolving the degenerate nature of the animalistic tendency within each of us.
Let's look at the result of "official" imposition of atheist policies. Here is a list of casualties which are directly related to atheist policies and exclude war casualties:
* USSR (1917-1987)- 61,911,000 dead
* China (1949-1987)- 35,236,000 dead
* Mao Soviets (1923-1949)- 3,466,000 dead
* Cambodia (1975-1979)- 2,035,000 dead
* Veitnam (1945-1987)- 1,670,000 dead
* Poland (1945-1948)- 1,585,000 dead
* Yugoslavia (1944-1987)- 1,072,000 dead
* North Korea (1948-1987)- 1,663,000 dead
According to 20th century statistics which are readily available the estimated number of democide deaths inflicted by atheists in that century was 109,704,000. During the same period of time the democide rates for theistic countries totaled: 45,862,000. The disparity is HUGE and it should be further noted that the democide actions in theistic countries were not attributed to religious motivations in the majority of cases but the democide actions in atheist countries was predomanantly inflicted based upon the atheist utopian ideal.
If atheism isn't the answer to our seemingly innate extremism then what is? We must understand that extreme tendencies occur in the psyche of every human being who espouses a particular point-of-view and the belief that their own perspective is objective truth. The ego can create a dysfunction within the human psyche that perceives "other" as inferior to itself based on a difference of opinion, culture and ethnicity. The dysfunction finds others that agree with it and consequently enforces its belief within a herd mentality. This collective reality within the herd draws out an animalistic instinct commonly referred to as the fight or flight instinct and this drives animals to dominate in the interest of the acquisition of power. This is the core problem with humanity and is expressed in every social or ideological construct be it religious, political, familial, ethnic, etc.
To overcome this dysfunction we must create a society that teaches our children to become emotionally aware and empathetic to others. An educational system that focuses less on competition and survival of the fittest and more on altruistic service to others. Psychology and human behavioral studies should become as important as mathematics and phonetic development. A society which prides itself in equanimity and tolerance based upon a shared human kinship and a spiritual intuition is the only utopian ideal that has a legitimate chance at evolving the degenerate nature of the animalistic tendency within each of us.
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