Culture with atheism as center?

[T'ai Chi]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

 

[Hokulele]

Does anyone know of any culture, anywhere, from any time period, that had atheism as its center?

I see a lot, all as far as I can see, of cultures with some type of religion as their center.

I think that most cultures incorporate some form of religion (although the religions in question are far more likely to be polytheist or animistic), but I know of few cultures that have religion at their center. Many cultures were far more focused on war, agriculture, exploration and exploitation, and other things. Religion was present, but not necessarily the most important feature of the culture. I doubt that most of the members of those cultures thought about religion other than on particular days set aside for it, or unless something else impacted their lives. Most day to day living and cultural expressions related to, well, day to day living.

What cultures do you see as having religion at their center?

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

Prehaps to paraphrase Mark Twain's comment about Christianity: "Christianity is a marvelous religion – the only trouble is it's never been tried."

"Communism is a marvelous idea, . . . ."

 

[Correa Neto]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole Maya thing turned out.
Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole Taliban thing turned out.

Just wondering if anyone knows how many religion-based cultures disappeared for on reason or another...

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole Christian thing will turn out.
Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole Muslim thing will turn out.

 

[Roboramma]

Well, I can't say that I take your 'response' seriously.

What is important about discussion religion and non-religion in a forum on Religion? Are you for real?

I didn't say, "who cares about religion and non-religion", I said, who cares whether or not there were any cultures that were centered around atheism. What would it tell us if there were? What would it tell us if there weren't?

I don't think it would tell us anything, but you seem to think otherwise, so I'll wait for you to explain what and why.

By the way, this response is serious.

 

[Mercutio]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

It might help to start a new thread on the topic. The opening post has nothing to do with this; I thought you knew, seeing as you wrote it.

 

[Meadmaker]

"Center of the culture" is a pretty nebulous concept.

The ones I know of that are probably appropriate are the communist nations, and revolutionary France, briefly.

On the other hand, Buddhist dominated areas have an agnostic philosophy at the "center of their culture", and northern Europe today could not reasonably be said to have any religion as the "center of their culture".

 

[Wings]

That's a good comment, meadmaker. At least for me, I need to resolve the ambiguity over what he means by "center of the culture" before I can even address the topic.

So, T'ai Chi, what do you mean by "center of the culture"? Are you referring to countries without a predominance of a particular religion being practiced, do you mean a country without a nationally endorsed religion, or something else?

I'm supposing he means "predominance of religious worship" as "center of the culture" and if that is correct, then the only countries I can think of are communist countries.

 

[Zygar]

A much more ancient culture than the modern Communist that was effectively atheist was that of Classical Greece.

 

[IMST]

Roman Catholic
Church of England
Some home-grown Protestant sect?

Shinto
Bhuddism

Shia
Sunni
Christian (various)
Druze

Which is the point I was trying to make. T'ai seems to think there's a central religion in every culture. Since there is more than one common religion in each of these particular nations, it seems to me to prove him wrong.

 

[Mobyseven]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

Not well. This has what exactly to do with the discussion?

 

[Leif Roar]

A much more ancient culture than the modern Communist that was effectively atheist was that of Classical Greece.

Err. How do you consider Ancient Greece "effectively atheist"?

 

[Mashuna]

I see a lot, all as far as I can see, of cultures with some type of religion as their center.

Funny, the cultures I see have some type of religion off to one side.

I guess it all depends where you think the centre is.

 

[Mercutio]

So, T'ai Chi, what do you mean by "center of the culture"? Are you referring to countries without a predominance of a particular religion being practiced, do you mean a country without a nationally endorsed religion, or something else?

From the wording of the OP, another alternative might be that TC thinks of atheism as a religion, and is looking for an atheistic-religion (a)theocracy.

 

[Zygar]

Err. How do you consider Ancient Greece "effectively atheist"?

During the classical period, the culture did not center around the greek pantheon, but instead around philosophy and science.

 

[Dancing David]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

Maybe if you opened your eyes you would know the difference between communism and what happened in Russia, it has been very effective in many small scale settings, like Mexico and India.

 

[strathmeyer]

"Normal society"?

 

[Tumblehome]

Just wondering if anyone knows how that whole communism thing turned out.

You didn't hear? It fell like a ton of bricks, and all because them stinkin' commies didn't believe in God. It had nothing to do with being an incestuous, top-heavy system rife with corruption and paranoia. No, it was pure godlessness that struck them down.

If only they'd believed in God, they could have worked miracles, no matter how corrupt and unmanageable the USSR was, just like all those sleazy banana republics that are now shining beacons of civilization just because they have religion.

Of course, there's China, but maybe that's the exception that proves the rule.

 

[plumjam]

a few attempts have been made to construct atheism-centered societies.

it just so happens that they've turned out to be the most murderous in history.
keep trying though, chaps.
;-)

 

[linusrichard]

It's a pretty ridiculous argument. Apparently, since there have been no cultures that have had, as their center, a disbelief in leprechauns, T'ai Chi would endorse a belief in leprechauns. But whatever. The nice thing about atheism is that, unlike Christianity, Islam, etc., it doesn't demand that you center your culture around it.