TOWARD A NEW PARADIGM OF RELIGION

The Canadian Atheist, Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 6, Spring 1996, Page 8

Many people, especially the young, are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with established religions. The Vancouver Sun recently reported that 31% of Greater Vancouver residents have no religion and that many of these are atheists. It seems that more and more of us are becoming aware of the perils of people living the fantasy that a mythical god is watching over us as some kind of guardian -- and are speaking out about it! If recent popular music reflects what people are currently thinking, as has been suggested, then we are undergoing remarkable change in our understanding of religious phenomenon. It appears that more of us are realizing that religion is the biggest, most destructive, most pervasive lie ever told. Judging from the increased amount of communication that is resulting from use of the Internet, we are heading for a sudden paradigm shift with respect to religion in general. We look forward to a time when people will regard religion as an unfortunate aberrational part of their cultural background.

We are encouraged by the number of people we hear from who are pleased to have discovered that we exist, and the number of people we learn about who have left religion behind them (or at least are in the process of recovering from it). It is apparent that the Internet is the perfect infrastructure for assisting in this transformation. In the new paradigm the word 'religion' will bring connotations of past cultures and will not represent any current belief system. To bring this about, we must constantly question what appears to be true. We must demand that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

The task of an atheist society is to point relentlessly to the absurdity of religious dogma. Yes, this is an invitation for fellow atheists to come out of the closet. Until recently it seems most atheists have had a ho-hum attitude towards religion. They use the lazy excuse: "Why bother?". Lets get on with placing religion into history. The number of non-religious people is growing but has not yet reached critical mass. Our goal is to push theists into a minority and when they are, there will be real change. Join us! Call us! Write us! Stimulate your conscience! Let's get at it!