I wrote this article in response to the thread What is an atheist?.
Look at the pie chart below to understand better the relationships between the 6 main groups of religious believes :
A-Ag-De-The-Po-An Chart (letters = beginning of each word)
I have arranged each belief diametrically opposite to the most diverging belief.
The chart is adjanced according to the historical cycle of religions, turning clock-wise, from the no-religion of primitive socities, to the Animist tribes of the neolithic, to the polytheism of the bronze and iron age civilisations, to the monotheism of antique, medieval and modern civilisations, to the deism of the 18th-century Enlightenment, to 20th century agnosticim and modern atheism (which can be called "philosophical" or "rational" atheism).
It is not known whether prehistoric people were ever atheistic. Most likely, they were all animistic, as signs of rituals have been found in caves and other prehistoric sites. Primitive people feared the forces of nature (e.g. thunder, waterfall, huge trees...) or were in awe in front of them (e.g. sun, moon...). They thought of them as gods of the spirits of nature. This is why animism and polytheism are very close. Real polytheism is more developed though, as it incorporates a mythology with gods that have human forms and attributes, and gods for things associated with (antique) civilisations, such as agriculture, wisdom, strategy or commerce.
Then came a "super-god" more powerful than all the polytheists gods that declared that only him had to be revered. This actually started within a polytheistic religion, in Egypt, with the monotheistic cult of Amon-Ra (the Sun God). We can see a connection with the Japanese Shinto Goddess Amaterasu (Sun Goddess) as supreme deity, although the Japanese kept her as a leading figure within animistic Shinto (quite unusual combination of near monotheistic elements in an animism). Usually, this was done to assert the legal rights of a ruler, be it the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Kings of Babylon, or the Emperors of Japan.
The Jewish people was a kind of exception for their time. Being a small tribe between two big empires (Egypt and Babylon), they had to create something that both justified their rights to live in their "chosen land" and give them the moral strength to resist their neighbours. So they became the chosen people of the only true god, and thus created the first strong monotheism in order to survive captivity, slavery, invasions, and much later, the diaspora. It still works to this day (!)
After that Christianity and Islam had an open path to base their legitimity on the strongest available monotheism, and claim that other religions were wrong in order to convert as many people as possible. This was originally done for survival and out of faith, but soon to accumulate power and control the masses (no wonder Christianity chose Rome as the seat of their power, as from the start some envisioned it to replace the Roman Empire, and indeed the Roman Empire crumbled a bit over 100 years after Christianity became the official religion).
Monotheism expanded through the Middle Ages in Europe, North Africa and West Asia. Islam entered India in the 16th century. Christianity entered the Americas at the same time. After it became a race to convert as many people as possible, resulting in most of Europe, America and Oceania to become Christian, West and Central Asia, and big chunks of South and South East Asia to become Muslim, and Africa divided between the two and the original animist religions.
Christianity being older and Western civilisation more advanced, from the 18th century, educated people have started questioning its vailidity. This was called the Enlightenment, and resulted in the French Revolution. Deism (Cult of the Supreme Being) became the official religion of France under Roberspierre, then it turned back to Christianity soon after under Napoleon. But this was a first sign of mentalities changing.
After WWII, many disillusioned Europeans started questioning again the existence of a providential and loving god, or any god at all. Many people became agnostic when looking back at the pst atrocities committed in the name of religion. People just couldn't accept that their god would allow such things to happen and stopped believing in distrust. Sciences also demonstrated that many of the most fundamental dogmas of the Church were totally wrong. Some people rejected the Old Testament and only kept the teachings of the New one. They became known as the Hippies ("peace and love").
Others went further and analysed all the logical errors of Christianity and theism as a whole. They became the (strong) Atheists. Other just lost interest in religion as it was not needed in their now prosperous lives. They became religion-less people or "weak Atheists".
I want to stress the big difference between weak and strong atheism. I only realised that after coming to Japan though. Strong Atheists are typically logical and rational people who question everything and are thirsty for knowledge. Weak Atheists, though, are usually easy going people who don't care much about "serious subjects" such as politics, religion or philosophy. However "weak Atheists" are potentially theist (usually deist) people and typically superstitious, while strong atheists are neither.
Now let's have a look at the relations between opposite.
Deism >< Animism : Deists believe in only one god, who only did one thing "create the universe", and does not interract with human lives. Animists are the exact opposite. They believe in an unlimited number of very minor gods (e.g. just a stone, or a tree), which don't have much or any power, but interract with humans on a daily basis.
Agnosticism >< Polytheism : Agnosticists are reluctant to believe in one or many gods because of lack of proofs. Polytheists believe in one or several of many gods according to their mood and the situation. Their proof is that they are the gods of "something" (e.g. love, good luck...) and if they wishes are granted, it "proves" the existence of the deity. They are the exact opposite in the way that Agnosticist are very skeptical and don't believe in something easily, while Polytheists believe anything that may act as a proof (even if it isn't) or invent proofs where they lack.
Atheism >< Monotheism : Monotheists typically believe in one almighty god that created the universe, decide when it ends, and judges whether people go to heaven or hell. It is the ruler-type of religion that intervenes in our every action and thought. Everyday events only happen by the will of god and not because of direct cause and effect. Atheists reject any possibility that any supernatural power exist, do not believe the universe was created or will end, nor in parralel (supernatural) dimensions such as heaven and hell. Nature is as it is, and they do not believe in man-made or man-centered tales explaining why things happen the way they do. Only sciences and reason can explain nature.
Look at the pie chart below to understand better the relationships between the 6 main groups of religious believes :
A-Ag-De-The-Po-An Chart (letters = beginning of each word)
I have arranged each belief diametrically opposite to the most diverging belief.
The chart is adjanced according to the historical cycle of religions, turning clock-wise, from the no-religion of primitive socities, to the Animist tribes of the neolithic, to the polytheism of the bronze and iron age civilisations, to the monotheism of antique, medieval and modern civilisations, to the deism of the 18th-century Enlightenment, to 20th century agnosticim and modern atheism (which can be called "philosophical" or "rational" atheism).
It is not known whether prehistoric people were ever atheistic. Most likely, they were all animistic, as signs of rituals have been found in caves and other prehistoric sites. Primitive people feared the forces of nature (e.g. thunder, waterfall, huge trees...) or were in awe in front of them (e.g. sun, moon...). They thought of them as gods of the spirits of nature. This is why animism and polytheism are very close. Real polytheism is more developed though, as it incorporates a mythology with gods that have human forms and attributes, and gods for things associated with (antique) civilisations, such as agriculture, wisdom, strategy or commerce.
Then came a "super-god" more powerful than all the polytheists gods that declared that only him had to be revered. This actually started within a polytheistic religion, in Egypt, with the monotheistic cult of Amon-Ra (the Sun God). We can see a connection with the Japanese Shinto Goddess Amaterasu (Sun Goddess) as supreme deity, although the Japanese kept her as a leading figure within animistic Shinto (quite unusual combination of near monotheistic elements in an animism). Usually, this was done to assert the legal rights of a ruler, be it the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Kings of Babylon, or the Emperors of Japan.
The Jewish people was a kind of exception for their time. Being a small tribe between two big empires (Egypt and Babylon), they had to create something that both justified their rights to live in their "chosen land" and give them the moral strength to resist their neighbours. So they became the chosen people of the only true god, and thus created the first strong monotheism in order to survive captivity, slavery, invasions, and much later, the diaspora. It still works to this day (!)
After that Christianity and Islam had an open path to base their legitimity on the strongest available monotheism, and claim that other religions were wrong in order to convert as many people as possible. This was originally done for survival and out of faith, but soon to accumulate power and control the masses (no wonder Christianity chose Rome as the seat of their power, as from the start some envisioned it to replace the Roman Empire, and indeed the Roman Empire crumbled a bit over 100 years after Christianity became the official religion).
Monotheism expanded through the Middle Ages in Europe, North Africa and West Asia. Islam entered India in the 16th century. Christianity entered the Americas at the same time. After it became a race to convert as many people as possible, resulting in most of Europe, America and Oceania to become Christian, West and Central Asia, and big chunks of South and South East Asia to become Muslim, and Africa divided between the two and the original animist religions.
Christianity being older and Western civilisation more advanced, from the 18th century, educated people have started questioning its vailidity. This was called the Enlightenment, and resulted in the French Revolution. Deism (Cult of the Supreme Being) became the official religion of France under Roberspierre, then it turned back to Christianity soon after under Napoleon. But this was a first sign of mentalities changing.
After WWII, many disillusioned Europeans started questioning again the existence of a providential and loving god, or any god at all. Many people became agnostic when looking back at the pst atrocities committed in the name of religion. People just couldn't accept that their god would allow such things to happen and stopped believing in distrust. Sciences also demonstrated that many of the most fundamental dogmas of the Church were totally wrong. Some people rejected the Old Testament and only kept the teachings of the New one. They became known as the Hippies ("peace and love").
Others went further and analysed all the logical errors of Christianity and theism as a whole. They became the (strong) Atheists. Other just lost interest in religion as it was not needed in their now prosperous lives. They became religion-less people or "weak Atheists".
I want to stress the big difference between weak and strong atheism. I only realised that after coming to Japan though. Strong Atheists are typically logical and rational people who question everything and are thirsty for knowledge. Weak Atheists, though, are usually easy going people who don't care much about "serious subjects" such as politics, religion or philosophy. However "weak Atheists" are potentially theist (usually deist) people and typically superstitious, while strong atheists are neither.
Now let's have a look at the relations between opposite.
Deism >< Animism : Deists believe in only one god, who only did one thing "create the universe", and does not interract with human lives. Animists are the exact opposite. They believe in an unlimited number of very minor gods (e.g. just a stone, or a tree), which don't have much or any power, but interract with humans on a daily basis.
Agnosticism >< Polytheism : Agnosticists are reluctant to believe in one or many gods because of lack of proofs. Polytheists believe in one or several of many gods according to their mood and the situation. Their proof is that they are the gods of "something" (e.g. love, good luck...) and if they wishes are granted, it "proves" the existence of the deity. They are the exact opposite in the way that Agnosticist are very skeptical and don't believe in something easily, while Polytheists believe anything that may act as a proof (even if it isn't) or invent proofs where they lack.
Atheism >< Monotheism : Monotheists typically believe in one almighty god that created the universe, decide when it ends, and judges whether people go to heaven or hell. It is the ruler-type of religion that intervenes in our every action and thought. Everyday events only happen by the will of god and not because of direct cause and effect. Atheists reject any possibility that any supernatural power exist, do not believe the universe was created or will end, nor in parralel (supernatural) dimensions such as heaven and hell. Nature is as it is, and they do not believe in man-made or man-centered tales explaining why things happen the way they do. Only sciences and reason can explain nature.
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