Atheism & Critiques of Religion Flashcards

1
Q

Outline Durkheim’s criticism of religious belief.

A
  • Religion served to unite and preserve communities
  • Religion is a set of practices which serve to unite communities and define moral behaviour
  • Religion is no longer needed to unite society - we should understand that we are what we are because of society, not God
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2
Q

Outline Freud’s criticism of religious belief.

A
  • He viewed belief in God as a projective system of the human mind and superego
  • Believed that moral laws were guilt-based
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3
Q

Outline Marx’s criticism of religious belief.

A
  • Religion is a tool of the Church and higher classes to oppress and control the lower classes
  • Belief in God is used to satisfy emotional needs and give hope that there is a better life after death
  • Religion should be abolished in order to liberate the oppressed masses and focus on helping humanity instead of venerating God
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4
Q

Outline the criticisms of Durkheim’s view of religious belief.

A
  • Doesn’t distinguish between being a part of a religious community and belief in God
  • It doesn’t take into account religious figures who went against societal norms e.g Jesus
  • Societies develop but religion stays the same
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5
Q

Outline the criticisms of Freud’s view of religious belief.

A
  • Religion is not just projective - it is also intrinsic
  • He attributed all religious behaviour to the projection of the psychosexual drive and the person’s relationship with their father - a study found that religious belief correlated more closely with the relationship with the mother
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6
Q

Outline the criticisms of Marx’s view of religion.

A
  • State and church aren’t as closely linked as he thought
  • Religion can be said to promote social change
  • Capitalist systems do not preserve religion
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7
Q

Outline Dawkins’ criticism of religious belief.

A
  • Dawkins believes that religious belief is unnecessary and that there is no special meaning to the world
  • He also criticises religion as being like a virus and being memetic and that religious teachings are ignorant and misleading
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8
Q

Outline the criticisms of Dawkins’ view of religious belief.

A
  • Dawkins act as fundamentally as the religions he tries to criticise for being fundamental
  • Dawkins suggests that religious belief is memetic, using the analogy of passing on genes. However, this analogy doesn’t work as genes cannot be changed, but religious beliefs can be re-evaluated
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