Living with Uncertainty

Brits board the Atheist Bus
Originally uploaded by jurvetson

I chose today’s picture because the red bus atheist campaign in England has been so successful and I like the wording of the banner, particularly the use of the word “probably”. Richard Dawkins (pictured) usually does use this word when saying that in his view there is no God but, perhaps just because of his Oxford manner, gives the impression that really there is no uncertainty at all and that believers are generally just stupid and ill-informed. Of course people who have faith just counter his certainty with their own and accuse atheists of deliberately denying God and leading empty, meaningless lives, which rather leads to a stalemate. This lack of tolerance and understanding of the views of others is obviously a fairly natural psychological result of fears due to lack of control over life and anxieties about strangers. Freud is right I think in encouraging us to continually scrutinize and examine our own motivations and to accept and acknowledge these fears. I think that accepting some uncertainty about the meaning of Life, the Universe and whether a God exists or not, requires a lot of self-confidence or self-control and that we all need to cultivate it to live together more harmoniously.

While I find Atheism to be rationally satisfying, I think that it tends to ignore natural human desires for the irrational and the emotional which belonging to a religion can satisfy, particularly in the area of ritual. Ritual can take the form of ceremonies, stories and celebrations that mark the cycles of life or seasons of the year. Rituals can aid in developing a sense of group values and an idea of shared identity that can allay anxieties and provide comfort in difficult times. Music is, of course, central to ritual as it evokes emotion and creates atmosphere. For some years now I have been celebrating the solstices and the equinoxes as part of what my daughter calls my cult! Although really just an excuse to have a themed party with friends, I really feel that although it is fun, we lack an inherited ritual which is meaningful and emotionally satisfying.

What my historical research has shown however, is that the early Christians used many existing pagan rituals in creating their new religion, so now I can enjoy Easter and Christmas as solar and seasonal festivals without being untrue to my rational beliefs. While I know that we need to be mindful of the fine line between ritual and superstition, and that not everyone shares my world view, I have found that people really enjoy re-connecting with the natural world and becoming more aware of seasonal and celestial events. I think that living, as we mostly do, in urban environments that have very little relation to the natural world and with the decline of participation in meaningful rituals, this might help to explain the increase in depression and anxiety in our modern western world.