One argument that atheists will undoubtedly hear from time to time is that religion is necessary because it curbs or prevents violence. Indeed many defenders of religion will accuse atheists of making violence inevitable.
The best response to this tired old claim is that violence is a behavior not a belief. History has proved that persons who hold almost any kind of belief including atheism can and do engage in violence. Indeed devout believers in religions that theoretically preach peace such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism often commit violent acts.
Religious Belief and Violence
Another point that atheists should make is that more secular societies with less religious devotion are generally more peaceful. European countries like Sweden, Britain and Denmark where church attendance is low and a large percentage of the population admits to being non believers have lower rates of crime and violence than countries where most people are actively and visibly religious. The most violent countries like Iraq and the Sudan are also the most religious.
A similar argument can be made in the United States where crime rates are higher in the Bible Belt where many people are fervently religious than in the Northeast where there are fewer believers. In other words the evidence seems to indicate that religious belief doesn’t curb violence and might actually encourage it.
Atheists Have Nothing to Be Defensive About
When it comes to violence atheists have nothing to be defensive about. The idea that atheism encourages violence is simply not true because it isn’t supported by the facts.
I might also add that some very prominent pacifists and opponents of war and militarism such as Bertrand Russell and Carl Sagan have been atheists. This means that a person can be an atheist and promote peace and oppose war.
The best way for atheists to deal with claims that they promote violence is to point out the facts. There is no correlation between atheism and violence. Nor is there any basis in fact for any claim that atheism in any way leads to violence.
Indeed atheists should challenge the people of faith to live up to their own beliefs. They should ask the people who think faith leads to peace why they aren’t trying to get their fellow true believers to live by their own words rather than criticizing others.