ATHEISM AND RATIONALITY

It can be said that atheism is an expression of extreme rationality, as well as a denial of irrationality. While it is true that religion is based on the irrational element of human consciousness, and thus atheism does indeed fit the above description, I disagree with the part that religion is totally devoid of rationality. As I have said on several occasions, there is a strong positive link between religion and culture, and to me, clearly, that link is quite rational. Thus, a person’s adherence to a specific religion can be perfectly rationalized by the sense of belonging to a culture, or at least to a religion-based social group, in which case atheism plays the role of a spoiler, a saboteur of that social connection, which underscores the rational wisdom of that great Biblical adage: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalms 1:14.)