Criticism of Atheism - Atheism and The Individual

Atheism and The Individual

In his Pensées, Blaise Pascal criticizes atheists for not seeing signs of God's will. He also formulated Pascal's Wager, which posits that there's more to be gained from wagering on the existence of God than from atheism, and that a rational person should live as though God exists, even though the truth of the matter can't actually be known. Criticism of Pascal's Wager began in his own day, and came from both staunch atheists, and the religious orthodoxy. A common objection to Pascal's wager was noted by Voltaire, known as the argument from inconsistent revelations. Voltaire rejected the notion that the wager was 'proof of god' as "indecent and childish", adding, "the interest I have to believe a thing is no proof that such a thing exists."

An article in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2004 suggested that atheists might have a higher suicide rate than theists. According to William Bainbridge, atheism is common among people whose social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in some industrial nations. Extended length of sobriety in alcohol recovery is related positively to higher levels of theistic belief, active community helping, and self-transcendence. Some studies state that in developed countries, health, life expectancy, and other correlates of wealth, tend to be statistical predictors of a greater percentage of atheists, compared to countries with higher proportions of believers. Multiple methodological problems have been identified with cross-national assessments of religiosity, secularity, and social health which undermine conclusive statements on religiosity and secularity in developed democracies.