Author: Mawlana Abdul Rahman Mu'tasimi
The Phenomenon of Atheism and Ways to Combat It (Part 8)
Third Topic: Factors and Causes of the Spread of Atheism and Irreligion in the World
To combat atheism, it is very essential and important to understand the causes and factors, as well as the motivations behind its emergence and spread, because treating a disease is possible and feasible only after diagnosing the disease and its cause. Therefore, in the following lines, we will first refer to the causes of atheism in non-Islamic countries and then to its causes in Islamic countries.
Factors and Causes of the Spread of Atheism and Irreligion Among Non-Muslims and in Non-Islamic Countries:
The causes of atheism in non-Islamic countries, especially in the West, are various, some of which are outlined below:
First: Distortion and innovation in Christianity and Judaism and the immoral actions of religious figures in the West
One of the most important factors of atheism is the distortion of divine religions and the negative portrayal of faith by believers in the West, which can be categorized as follows:
A: Distortion of the heavenly books and the introduction of deviant beliefs and superstitions
The distortion of the Torah and the Gospel and the inclusion of certain issues and rulings in them that are incomprehensible and contrary to reason, nature, and science; such as the belief in the Trinity and some other introduced beliefs in Christianity, as well as the belief in anthropomorphism in Judaism and the manner of introducing God, which is not understandable or digestible for any fair-minded person, are among the factors leading people towards atheism.
B: Establishing Conflict and Confrontation between Religion and Science in the Middle Ages
After the division of the Roman Empire into two parts, Western Rome and Eastern Rome, in 395 AD, the center of the Western Roman Empire was the city of Rome, while the center of the Eastern Roman Empire was the city of Constantinople (Istanbul). Scholars and historians have accepted 395 AD as the beginning of the Middle Ages and 1453 AD as its end, thus designating the period from the fifth to the fourteenth century as the Middle Ages. The thousand-year period of the Middle Ages in Europe is considered a time of oppression, terror, and religious superstition.
During this period, when the Church dominated European society, Scholasticism, meaning the dominance of scholastic thought or inclination towards scholastic thinking, experienced significant growth.
The term Scholastic comes from the Latin root Schola, meaning school. In the Middle Ages, knowledge and wisdom were taught only in schools and churches; therefore, the body of knowledge and wisdom became associated with the school (scholastic) and became known as Scholasticism, with its followers referred to as Scholastics or Stoics. This school emerged in the ninth century and flourished until the fifteenth century.
Scholastic philosophy sought to blend Christian teachings with Aristotelian philosophy and, to some extent, Platonic philosophy. Johannes Scotus Erigena, a ninth-century Platonist, is sometimes considered among the first Scholastic philosophers; however, Scholastic philosophy truly began at the end of the eleventh century. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest philosopher of the Middle Ages (thirteenth century), excelled in all schools of wisdom. He was from Italy and studied Aristotelian philosophy for a time under Albert the Great, known as the Aristotle of the Middle Ages. He praised Aristotle to such an extent that later Catholics regarded him with the importance of a prophet. He taught philosophy and ethics for a time as a professor at the University of Paris. Aquinas’s teachings are a synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian principles.
The Scholastic school caused Aristotle’s theories to be regarded with the same authority and credibility as the verses of sacred texts, and opposing or rejecting them was considered heresy and disbelief, preventing scholars from speaking against them. This led scholars to become skeptical of religion and, in their scientific inquiries, to downplay the role of all supernatural and non-material matters, leaning towards materialism. Some scholars, in their struggle against this school, developed a pessimistic view of religion and the existing system, attempting to play a beneficial and effective role in their scientific research by rejecting this school.
In the book “The New Story of Science,” Dr. Robert M. Agros addresses why some scientists, despite the flaws and shortcomings of the materialist worldview, have shown an inclination towards it. He writes: “If materialism is so deficient in terms of breadth, unity, and clarity, how could such a worldview even seem acceptable as a method for Galileo and other thinkers?” The answer is that they were fighting against the dominant Scholastic school of their time. Scholastic scholars emerged about 300 years after the great theologians of the Middle Ages, such as Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure; however, they were thinkers lacking originality and enlightenment, and their barren teachings dominated schools and academies until the late Renaissance. For this reason, some scholars sought to play a beneficial and effective role in their scientific research by rejecting this school.
Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, and many others who were educated in these schools complained about the ongoing disputes of the scholastic teachers and the fruitless, meticulous debates that delved into abstract issues without leading to any solutions. Their teachings and writings often turned into violent arguments. The scholastic teachers had given an exaggerated credibility to Aristotle’s works by misusing theology in philosophy and natural sciences, almost equating it with the authority of the Bible. For someone with common sense, it was clear that a new model for science needed to be developed. This new scientific model, in contrast to the regressive scholastic philosophy where metaphysics and the supernatural dominated everything, had to return to objective, tangible things and the physical world of matter. For this reason, scientists and philosophers like Bacon, Descartes, and Hobbes sought to formulate a new scientific model that would examine the physical world and material issues based on empirical and analytical methods.
Continues…
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