An Introduction to Atheism and Non-Religion

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge required.

Content of Course

 

1. General Introduction, Definitions and Origins:

   This class will introduce the concept of Atheism and provide a basic overview of the Religious Studies approach, particularly the phenomenological method. We will trace the etymology of ‘Atheism’ through the pejorative ancient Greek ‘atheos’ to the political assignment of the Latin ‘atheismus’ to the beliefs and practices of the early Christians.

   Drachmann, A.B. 1922. “Chapter 1” in A.B. Drachmann, Atheism in Pagan Antiquity. Chicago: Ares Publishing. 5-14.

2. Atheisms from the Renaissance to Modernity:

   This class will continue a historical progression, through the periods of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, through to modern philosophers such as Bertrand Russell. We will discuss the transition of Atheism-as-pejorative assignment to Atheism-as-affirmed identity, particularly in contrast to predominant western Abrahamic monotheism.

   Wooton, David, 1992. “New Histories of Atheism” in Michael Hunter and David Wooton, eds. Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 13-55.

   Hyman, Gavin. 2010. “The ‘Appearance’ of Atheism in Modern History” in Gavin Hyman, A Short History of Atheism. London: I.B. Tauris, 1-19.

3. Atheisms in non-Euro-American Contexts:

   Leaving the ‘western’ context, this week will focus first on the rise – and political use – of Scientific Atheism in the Soviet Union as that nation’s established state religion. We then chart a broad course through those contexts where Atheism might appear less controversial – such as the more 'secular' Scandinavian countries and others such as the Middle East, India, and Africa – which each complicate the category in different ways.

   Zuckerman, Phil. 2007. “Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns” in Michael Martin, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 47–65.

4. Secularization and Non-religion:

   The secularisation thesis – the idea that traditional religions are in terminal decline in the industrialised world – was the dominant narrative of the sociology of religion for much of the 20th century. However, this simplistic model has lost ground in recent years. Much contemporary scholarship recognises that many individuals in contemporary society do not (like to) easily fit into theistic or atheistic categories. This class introduces ‘secularization’, ‘non-religion’, and ‘nominal Christianity’, and discusses the inherent problems in interpreting census-type data for contemporary understandings of religion and Atheism.

   Warner, Rob. 2010. "Classical Secularization Theory" in Rob Warner, Secularization and Its Discontents. London: Continuum, pp. 7-40.

5. The New Atheism:

   No introductory course of this nature would be complete without a discussion of the ‘New Atheism’. In recent years, Atheism as a phenomenon has become increasingly visible in the public eye, due in no small part to the writings of four best-selling male authors – the 'Four Horsemen' – Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens. This class critically introduces this 'New Atheism', and considers its impact as a social phenomenon.

   Wolf, Gary. 2006. “The Church of the Non-Believers.” Wired, November. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/atheism.html.

   Harris, Sam. 2006. "Reason in Exile", in Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. London: Free Press, pp. 11-49.

 

Teaching method(s)

This course will consist of five two-hour classes, each combining lecture, question and answer sessions, and group discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the historical development of Atheism and non-religion;
• Critically discuss 'Atheism', ‘non-religion’, and related terms in relation to a variety of geographical, religious and intellectual contexts;
• Describe the impact of Atheism and non-religion upon wider social phenomena;
• Demonstrate familiarity with Religious Studies methodology.

 

Sources

Core Readings

Essential

Essential readings are indicated above on a weekly basis. Some are available online. Others will be provided electronically by email.

Recommended

Baggini, Julian. 2003. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bremmer, Jan M. 2009. "Atheism in Antiquity," in Michael Martin, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Buckley, Michael J. 1990. "Introduction," in At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Have: Yale University Press.
Bullivant, Stephen. 2008. “Research Note: Sociology and the Study of Atheism.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 23 (3): 363–368.
Cliteur, Paul. 2009. "The Definition of Atheism." Journal of Religion and Society, Vol. 11.
Cotter, Christopher R. 2011. “Consciousness Raising: The Critique, Agenda, and Inherent Precariousness of Contemporary Anglophone Atheism.” International Journal for the Study of New Religions 2 (1): 77–103.
Cotter, Christopher R. 2014. 'Without God yet not Without Nuance: A Qualitative Study of Atheism and Non-religion among Scottish University Students'. in Lori G. Beaman and Steven Tomlins (eds) Atheist Identities: Spaces and Social Contexts. Dordrecht: Springer
Cox, James. 2010. “Historical Background: Philosophical Phenomenology and the Social Sciences” in James Cox, An Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion. London: Continuum, 24-48.Drachmann, A.B. 1922. Atheism in Pagan Antiquity. Chicago: Ares Publishing.
Jakelic, Slavika and Jessica Starling. 2006. "Religious Studies: A Bibliographic Essay". Journal of the American Academy of Religion March 2006, Vol. 74, No. 1, pp. 194-211
Martin, Michael. 2007. “General Introduction.” In The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. Michael Martin, 1–7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Russell, Bertrand. 1957. “Why I am Not a Christian” in Paul Edwards, ed., Bertrand Russell: Why I am Not a Christian: and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: Touchstone, 1-18.
Thrower, James. 1992. “Scientific Atheism: The Marxist-Leninist Alternative” in James Thrower, Marxism-Leninism as the Civil Religion of Soviet Society. Studies in Religion and Society, Volume 30, New York: the Edwin Mellen Press, 45-59.
Voas, David, and Abby Day. 2010. “Recognising Secular Christians: Toward an Unexcluded Middle in the Study of Religion.” ARDA Guiding Paper. http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/voas.asp.

Web Sources

The Religious Studies Project: http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com

Half-hour podcast interviews available at with:

• Callum Brown - Historical Approaches to (Losing) Religion
• Linda Woodhead - The Secularization Thesis
• Lois Lee - Nonreligion

 

Center for Atheist Research - http://www.atheistresearch.org/
The Immanent Frame - http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/
Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC) - http://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/AcademicResources/values/ISSSC/
Investigating Atheism - http://www.investigatingatheism.info/
The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network - http://www.nsrn.net/
The Religion and Secularism Network - http://www.thesecularismnetwork.org/

Class Handouts

Lecture summaries will be provided on a weekly basis.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.