Atheism & Critiques of Religion

Question 1

Outline Durkheim’s criticism of religious belief.

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

Outline Freud’s criticism of religious belief.

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Outline Marx’s criticism of religious belief.

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

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

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

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

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Outline the criticisms of Marx’s view of religion.

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

Outline Dawkins’ criticism of religious belief.

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Outline the criticisms of Dawkins’ view of religious belief.

Answer 8

• 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