Is Atheism The Answer to the World’s Problems?
No, it isn't, and I can tell you why.
Now, before we begin, don’t get me wrong: I love Atheists. My brother is one, my favorite uncle is too, I used to be one, and so is my best friend. So bare that in mind, that I am not saying this because of a misplaced sense of hatred because this isn’t about my personal opinions, or prejudice against Atheists. This is simply my honest attempt to answer an honest question.
And my answer to why Atheism isn’t the answer to the worlds problems because of one word: China.
China is the number one Nation with the most amount of Atheists in the entire world. About 67% of the country claims no religion, which is twice as much as only other nation, and rounds out to be more than 700 million Atheists total, making China one of the most secular Nations in history. In fact, the State religion is Atheism and many Communist Party members are even banned from believing in or practicing any faith.
China is not only one of the most pro-secular countries in the world, but they are also one of the most pro-slavery. In the past year, China threw more than a million Uighur Muslims into concentration camps, where they are reportedly being killed, raped and enslaved for free labor.
Despite rapid economic and social development, China also suffers from extreme wealth inequality, with more than 500 million Chinese citizens living on less than $2 a day. That means around half the population of the entire country is living in poverty, and struggle to provide for their families.
China also shockingly executes 3 times as many people as the rest of the world combined, China produces the most pollution in the entire world having released 10,065 million tons of CO2, and the Chinese people have no right to freedom of the media, meaning the government has the right to ban, delete, or restrict material that it deems inappropriate.
Persecution of minorities is also common, and at an all time high.
Some religious minorities have been enslaved by the Chinese government under the guise of offering them an escape from poverty and preventing the spread of religious fanaticism. Christians are also forced to work in labor camps in the name of “re-education.” Practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditative spiritual practice also known as Falun Dafa, have also been targeted for forced labor, torture, and sometimes death.
Slavery in China is also common, with the Global Slavery Index estimates that on any given day in 2016 there were over 3.8 million people living in conditions of modern slavery.
Below is a Chinese girl recently freed from slavery. She was forced to make bricks in a kiln for 12 hours a day, surviving on very little food and water before she was rescued.
At this point, you may be getting angry. Just exact what point am I trying to make here? That “all Atheists are immoral”? That “secular countries are worse than religious ones” or that “Atheism is a bad belief system”? The answer is no to all of the above.
The point I am trying to make is Atheistic countries fare no better than religious ones in terms of morality. Both can be equally as bad.
My point is that Atheist Nations fare no better on the moral front than Christians Nations, or other religious Nations. In fact, they end up being just as bad, just with a different official religion. Christian Nations may currently be faring better than China is on the moral front, but have committed equally devastating atrocities in the past. Look at America’s past history of slavery, racism, genocide and war.
The point that you should take away from this is that everyone has an equal capability to be immoral, regardless of religious belief.
So, no. Atheism is not “the answer to all of our problems”, simply because humanity is equally as capable of committing acts of evil, regardless of person religious belief.
