Ryan asks:
Hello, I am a 15 year old and I am a strong believer in a faith called Asatru. Asatru is the pre-christian religion of the Germans and Norse, so yes, Thor, Odin, Njord, Freyr, Freya. I believe their names and anthropomorphism is only used in place to understand the forces they control, like Thor = Thunder etc. As an atheist, would you say its wrong to believe in something irrational like this, but at the same time I don’t impose my beliefs on others nor do I really think my religion is universally applicable to everyone, because honestly, do we know whats out there? Btw, Asatru, is generally more ethically focussed (Google 9 Noble Virtues for more info) and the faith has a large population of atheists who use it as an ethical base.
Jakes answer:
Hi Ryan. I think what we need to do here is distinguish the difference between a religion and a personal philosophy. For example, I may be an atheist, but I am also philosophically a buddhist. I try to practice the 4 noble truths and to be mindful. Since buddhism doesn’t concern itself with gods or the afterlife it’s not in conflict with my atheism. The same can be said for those who follow the 9 noble virtues. Religion is generally defined as a system of worship ( the politics of mythology if you will ). Asatru in my understanding is more of a personal philosophy which anthropomorphises the elements and attributes of man as a way of understanding the world around us. ( please correct me if I am wrong ) In my eyes this is completely different from those who believe in a personal god, and believe that said god dictates to them how they should live their lives. Asatru, like buddhism asks you to discover for yourself by looking inwards and understanding your impact on the world. The abrahamic religions demand worship and obedience and tell you that your impact on the world isn’t as important as personal salvation in the afterlife. These are two different mindsets and are incompatible. From what I understand Asatru is even against proselytizing.
So I understand why atheists turn to Asatru. I have several friends who practice it. I get it. I don’t see a problem with it.
Some philosophy behind religious thought is deep and has psychological underpinning. The 4 noble truths of Buddhism (and the 8-fold path), the 9 noble virtues you’ve mentioned Ryan, the Vedanta philosophy of Hindus (which I always found to be deep and interesting) … they all help us psychologically in the sense that following them would probably lead to lesser inner and outer discord for us, given human nature and the nature of our social behavior.
I’d say that one should use these insights from various religions/ doctrines (but not without testing their applicability and validity for oneself – or at-least reading reliable testimony of their efficacy) for one’s well being if one must. It’s the accompanying metaphysics that I am against … the personalization of various elements/ natural forces using gods/ dieties, the reference to many lives (karma theory of Vedanta), etc. Believing all this metaphysics is silly in my view. And belief in such metaphysics can actually lead to bad decisions in times of emergencies / crises, whether or not you impose your beliefs on others. For e.g. a Hindu believing in Karma and rebirth may think that someone who has done him/ her injustice will be punished by the law of action and reaction eventually in this life or next. This might comfort him / her and he may not seek justice using his current resources/ current social systems. This in turn will likely encourage the person who caused the injustice in the first place to perpetrate more wrongs. Thus the person wronged and society at large can be harmed by such a philosophy/ belief.
If you are a believer of the 9 noble virtues and someone challenges you to show the virtue of courage by asking you to doing something crazy, like standing in front of an approaching train … and if you take the virtues too seriously, then you just might be tempted to stand in front of the train ! Now that might be courageous, but its certainly not wise …
My take is … take from religious philosophy what makes sense, leave the rest. And be aware that something that makes sense in some cases may not make any sense in other cases. Common sense and rational/ scientific thought are what I’d recommend above any religious / philosophical/ spiritual thought system.
I’ve never been one to fully absorb or follow a set of rules or beliefs(although Buddhism seemed appealing when I was a teen). I’m a strong believer in shaping your own views of the world through experience and learning. I don’t think any philosophy is correct 100% of the time. The world is not static, nor is it black and white. What seems wrong isn’t always wrong, and what seems right, isn’t always the best thing to do. What seems cowardly might actually be intelligent. What seems mean-spirited, may be kindness. What you thought was true may not be so.
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My point is, it’s great to strive to be what your idea of a “good person” is. I definitely do it. But becoming a follower can be a bad thing if you start thinking in absolutes. There is no absolute truth (at least I believe that).
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And if there is any supernatural component to the philosophy, it is likely in conflict with current scientific knowledge, and/or logic. It is likely lacking in evidence, and forces a follower to accept an assumption as truth to accept the belief.
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Well, those are just some things to think about :).