KEVIN SMITH is on the board of directors for the centre for Inquiry, Canada’s premier venue for humanists, skeptics and freethinkers. This question has everything to do with me yet nothing at all. I am of the Mark Twain school of thought where “faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” Perhaps you’ll read words to the contrary: that atheism is a faith. Or perhaps it will be written that we are immoral, close-minded, cynics. Oh, those tired, baseless stereotypes. I pray they won’t be regurgitated by my faithful colleagues. The question should be nearly impossible for theists to answer. We have much in common. As Dawkins reminds us, most people are atheists regarding the thousands of gods once worshipped by humans — we just go one god further. We’re not angry at your God. We’re not lazy nihilists, preferring to grab extra z’s on Sundays. We simply prefer the facts. Give us some tangible proof and we’ll likely change our minds. Fact is, everyone is agnostic if they care to admit it — and we do. Atheism is the fastest growing worldview in Western democracies. We are becoming so common that we are not like most people, increasingly we are most people. Religious leaders need look no further than their own pews. A 2011 Ipsos Reid poll found nearly 1 in 4 Catholics who regularly attend church services do not believe in God. Nearly half of Canadians are non-believers. It was encouraging to discover that 71 per cent claimed that religious people don’t necessarily make better citizens. Sadly, it’s the remaining group who thinks atheists are lesser beings. It’s time they accepted us as part of the human tribe. Everyone has questions about the mysteries of life; we simply have different answers. If our detractors ditched the clichés and got to know us a bit better they’d find, regardless of differing beliefs, we fallible mortals are very much the same. Rabbi REUVEN BULKA is head of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa and host of Sunday night with Rabbi Bulka on 580 CFRA. Our faith, like all others, encourages, even mandates, belief in God. This is not a surprise. What might come as a surprise is that the greatest displeasure expressed in the Bible is not for atheism, but for bad deeds, for behaving improperly. There is a classic statement in Rabbinic literature attributed to God as follows — would that they would forsake me but observe my teachings. Someone who believes in God but rejects the mandate for life transmitted by God is subject to harsh criticism. An atheist who nevertheless abides by God’s word, and behaves accordingly, is looked upon more favourably than the misbehaving believer. Atheism, as per your question, is not a “one size fits all” reality. There are those who have rejected God because of terrible tragedies they have endured. Of course, every attempt to have them maintain faith in spite of the circumstances should be made. At the same time, one can understand and commiserate with the person so adversely affected as to reject God. Then there are atheists who reject God because they are repulsed by the behaviour of ostensibly religious individuals. When they see religious people cheat, steal, abuse, or insult, they cannot understand how a “person of God” could behave in such a manner. They then reject God. Is the reaction justified? Hardly. But again, it can be understood.

Then there are the thinkers, who cannot get their head around the idea of God, and therefore reject the existence of God. They will ask for proof, a request that is impossible to fulfil. If foolproof evidence of God’s existence were readily available, there would be no atheists. One may ask why God has so structured the world such that proof of God’s existence is not available, thereby opening the door to atheism. Perhaps because if there were proof, there would be no belief. There would be certainty. There is little virtue in embracing a certainty, and much emotion and commitment in embracing a belief. The reality of atheism is a challenge to all believers to translate their belief in God into a way of living that is nothing less than noble and inspiring. Rev. RICK REED is senior pastor at the Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa. The Bible doesn’t believe in atheists. It says that, deep down, all people have an innate awareness of God. The apostle Paul makes this point when he writes, “…what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). These verses declare that the truth of God’s existence is plainly evidenced in His creation. The intelligence and design we see around us points to an Intelligent Designer. When we look at Mount Rushmore, we know that the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt didn’t get there as a result of rain, wind and erosion. We can tell intelligent design when we see it. How much more when we look at the intricacies of a human body. Someone will counter, “Why do some brilliant people deny the existence of God?” The Bible says the answer is not a lack of intelligence but a wilful decision to “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). At root, atheism is more of a heart problem than a head problem. Though God’s existence is as obvious as Mount Rushmore, some choose to close their eyes and not see it. The good news is that God still loves all people, including those who deny His existence. The Bible says God sent His Son Jesus as living proof of His love. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection make it possible for doubters to become believers and fighters to come to faith. Denying God’s existence is foolish (Psalm 14:1). Atheists may not believe in God but that doesn’t change the reality of His existence. Rev. RAY INNEN PARCHELO is a novice Tendai priest and founder of the Red Maple Sangha, the first lay Buddhist community in Eastern Ontario. This would be an easy question for a Buddhist, if the definition of an atheist is someone who does not believe in a personal creator God. The historical Buddha was not a God, nor a god, but an ordinary human who applied extreme effort and discipline to understand the cause and cure of suffering. By definition, therefore, Buddhists might themselves be called atheists. As Buddhism migrated from its Indian origins, it adapted to allow its teaching speak to its host cultures. For this reason some versions of Buddhism include elaborate descriptions of what some think of as gods or angels. But this does not alter the fact that our origins do not include a creator God.

Your question can now be turned around to ask, what do Buddhists think about theistic religions? One answer is simple — “don’t know.” The Buddha was himself asked about the creation of the world and he maintained a ‘noble silence’, insisting such doctrines and details were unnecessary to the task of ending suffering. Buddhists tend not to engage in such judgments, preferring the practice of, “holding no views whatsoever.” To be happy we must diminish our ego. Our ego has us stand in judgment, of people or ideas, in order to protect itself from threat. When we refrain from such behaviour, we diminish the hold ego has on us and we become more open and accepting of others. We discover more fulfilment in life. Buddhist teaching is not concerned with any “ism” or doctrine, but with understanding how to lead one’s life for the benefit of others. Another important point must be made. To be an atheist does not mean you are without a structure of moral values or do good works in the world. You can lead a good and wholesome life without any belief in a creator God. What is important is the intention of our thoughts, beliefs and actions. If intentions are wholesome and constructive, this will reduce suffering in the world, which is our faith’s prime concern. ABDUL RASHID is a member of the Ottawa Muslim community, the Christian-Muslim Dialogue and the Capital Region Interfaith Council. The first and foremost article of faith of Muslims is belief in One God, Whom they call Allah. The Holy Koran invites us to ponder over the creation to recognize this unity: “Your God is one God. There is no God but Him. He is the Merciful, the Compassionate. Behold! In the creation of the heaven and the earth, in the alternation of the night and the day, in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind, in the water which God sends down from the sky and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead, in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth, and in the change of the winds and the clouds which trail like slaves between the sky and the earth; (here) indeed are signs for a people that are wise” (2:163-4). It is also an article of faith with Muslims that the current life is a short sojourn in this world towards an everlasting life in the Hereafter and that our position in that life will depend on the Divine judgment of our actions in this world.

Accordingly, Islam rejects atheism as well polytheism. At the same time, the belief in the Unity of God leads to the acceptance of the unity of humanity and of universe. As for people with other beliefs or without any belief, no human being is qualified to judge another human being. This is the prerogative of the Creator Himself: “For thy Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance” (16:125). For this world, a Muslim is to respect the human dignity of all. The Holy Koran lays down a simple general principle for establishing relationships with others: “Help one another in righteousness and piety but do not help one another in sin and rancour” (5:2). Rev. KEVIN FLYNN is an Anglican priest and director of the Anglican studies program at Saint Paul University. Atheists are no more a monolithic group than are people of faith. Their reasons for holding their particular world view may range from considerable sophistication to unexamined prejudice. In all cases, however, the Christian is called to show atheists the same respect, love, and concern as they would show anyone. Just because the rhetoric of some atheists against believers is characterized by considerable vituperation, there is no reason for Christians to reply in like manner. The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently written a helpful essay “What Do Atheists Mean when They Talk about Religion?” (full text available on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). He points out that, yes, religion is a “coping strategy.” This is true of all intellectual positions: “what enables us to maximize our chances of getting through a complex and rather threatening world.” This is not just “pie in the sky” thinking. Religious belief also includes openness to risk for the sake of truth, a sense of the wonder of things, as well as even a willingness to enter darkness and meaninglessness. He is convinced that atheists are wrong when they assume that the Christian doctrine of creation is a (flawed) explanation of why things exist. Instead, he says, “What the doctrine of creation says is that there is a relationship between everything, every set of circumstances, every phenomenon, and what we can only call a fundamental act that sustains everything. It’s not an explanation — it’s more like a location of what we’re talking about in another context.” The point is that atheists have erred in what they are talking about when they attack Christianity. I agree with atheists who scorn crude or superstitious versions of Christianity. Dr. Williams invites us all to more careful reflection on what we are all really talking about. JACK MCLEAN is a Bahá’í scholar, teacher, essayist and poet published in the fields of spirituality, Bahá’í theology and poetry. First, I should correct your assumption that I am a “religious leader.” Unlike the other world religions, the Bahá’í Faith has been organized by its Prophet-Founder, Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), to function without clerics. In this religion, no individuals exist who are specially trained to serve the religion exclusively, who lead services, perform rituals or preside at events, etc. (Very few rituals actually exist in the Bahá’í Faith).

The Bahá’í Faith is consequently not a congregational religion in which one individual — usually a man stands in front of the believers and guides, directs or inspires while the congregation listens passively and goes home. While individual initiative is a must, in terms of policy and decision-making, leadership lies in the hands of democratically elected 9 member local and national councils, named “spiritual assemblies.” At the world level, the community is governed by an elected body of nine members, the Universal House of Justice. A second appointed branch of the Bahá’í Faith also exists to complement the elected assemblies. This branch consists of individuals who inspire, educate and encourage the community. They are not considered to be religious leaders, but rather, they are appreciated and respected as hardworking, inspiring and respected volunteer servants. Under the guidance of these institutions, the whole community of believers exercises collective leadership by executing “core activities”: children’s and junior youth classes, adult study circles and devotional gatherings. But to answer your question: Bahá’u’lláh regarded “the unique distinction and capacity” of the human being as having the ability to know and to love God. This capacity, he said, “must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation”(Gleanings, p. 64). Atheists or agnostics are not excluded from this process. My personal belief is that atheists cannot entirely fulfil their knowing and loving capacities without recognizing the Divine Source of all love and knowledge. Hopefully, atheists have also chosen a committed path of knowing and loving. Since I have no direct access to the spiritual state of soul of any atheist, I will not venture to hazard a judgment. RADHIKA SEKAR holds a PhD in religious studies and taught Hinduism courses at Carleton and University of Ottawa. An aspiring Vedantin, she is a devotee of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission. Atheism in its broadest sense is disbelief in the existence of a deity or deities. The American Atheists’ Mission Statement defines the lifestyle of its adherents as follows: “An atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god, accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now here on earth for all men together to enjoy, that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it, that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfilment.” Hindus would regard this declaration as quite reasonable. Atheism i.e. nir-vara-vda, “statement of no Lord”, has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many streams of Hindu philosophies. It is considered a valid albeit difficult path to follow.