Camp Gagnon - Why Atheism and Disbelief TOOK OVER

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

ATHEISM! Where did it come from, and how did it evolve? This episode of Religion Camp dives into the history of atheism, from its ancient philosophical roots to its rise in the modern world. We’re unpacking the key figures, cultural shifts, and societal impacts that shaped the concept of a world without gods. Skeptics, philosophers, and history buffs—this one’s for you. Welcome to CAMP! 🏕️ SIGN UP TO CAMP NEWSLETTER HERE: https://camp.beehiiv.com/ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 0:56 Origins of Atheism 3:12 Etymology of “Atheism” 4:44 Xenophanes of Colophon 8:38 Protagoras of Abdera 10:45 Prodicus of Ceos 13:20 Diagoras of Melos 16:09 Epicurus + Epicureanism 17:55 Luceretius 21:21 Charvaka 23:40 Christians Labeled As Atheist 25:18 Atheism In Islamic Culture 28:03 Medieval Atheism + Giordano Bruno 32:15 Atheistic Priest Writings + Jean Meslier 36:54 Karl Marx 39:02 Modern Atheism

7% of the global population is atheist. Christians were thought of as the first atheists. Pradigus proposed the idea of naturalism, essentially stating that the gods were just personifications of things beneficial to human life. Humans created the gods, not that gods created the humans. I'm a Catholic kid, I look at these gods, and I go, yeah, I don't believe these gods. I don't think this is real. These gods mean nothing to me.

The death was the end of existence and that there was no eternal soul or judgment. that religion was a tool used by the ruling class to keep the workers in line. This materialist view led Marx to conclude that religion was entirely human-made. In the UK, atheists now outnumbered theists for the first time in history. Where is God? Why is it not around? Why does it feel as though God is so distant? I'll explain that in a second. What's up, people, and welcome back to Religion Camp.

That's right. This is the show where you explore the most interesting, controversial, And thought-provoking stories and theories amongst all religions. That's right. Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, not just the right one, Christianity, but all of them. All right? We're deep-diving and having a lot of fun along the way. Just trying to see how many jokes I can get off without having some type of religious hit put out on me or some type of radical to come kill me.

I hope you guys had an amazing holiday, an amazing advent. All right? Jesus Christ is born. I got my child baptized, which is sweet as hell, no longer pagan. as Father Ben said during his homily. But today, we're not talking about Catholicism. Uh-uh. We're not talking about any major organized religion,

but we are talking about a worldview and a belief held by some of the smartest, most intelligent people of all time. And at this point, I mean, probably a big chunk of the world. I mean, let's look it up. How many people are non-believers? So, looking at the numbers, it looks like 7% of the global population is atheist.

But that doesn't count, perhaps. Buddhist tradition that might not believe in a specific deity but still is considered a faith and that's up to you know 500 mil or even a billion people so it kind of pumps the numbers up. But general people you would ask him say hey do you believe in God? They say no I don't believe in God. I am an atheist 7%. So not actually that much but I mean some of the greatest thinkers of all time. I mean Darwin pretty sure was an atheist. Einstein probably an atheist also married his cousin so nobody's perfect. Let's go through shall we? It'll explore the roots of atheism. It's a weird question, right? You think like, all right,

people just didn't believe stuff. That's not really true. It seems like throughout most of human history, there was some type of spiritual belief system that most people kind of held onto, and it was kind of, it was kind of people breaking through that kind of decided, you know what, I actually don't believe in anything. Scholars, thought leaders, specifically coming from ancient Greece, they kind of initially put pen to paper and said, you know what, I'm going to actually put this thing down and say, I don't believe in all this, all this gods and goddesses and all sorts of stuff. Funny enough, Christians were thought of as the first atheists. I'll explain that in a second. Let's go all the way back to ancient Greece. Our story will begin in the

ancient world, 6th and 5th century BC. It was an era when philosophers and playwrights began to question some of our traditional assumptions about God. Some of them were not explicitly atheistic in nature. Some of these ideas and philosophies helped form kind of what we know today as modern atheists. I mean, even the word atheism, you know, where does that come from? Comes from the Greeks. Theism, also, you know, theist, meaning God, theos, theology, meaning God, and then the prefix A, meaning without God. Atheos, to be godless. So in ancient Greece, the term atheos originally referred to rejecting or abandoning or being abandoned by gods.

There wasn't a term for someone who specifically had disbelief because everyone just kind of believed. Of course, there were people who questioned the existence of the gods, but these people were accused of Acebia, which is also known as impiety, which is essentially the lack of respect for the, I guess, sacred tradition or, you know, the rituals or the religious things or, you know, the conduct of the time, so to speak. So while there was a form of disbelief, there was no, like, official term until around the 5th century. But who were the people that initiated this thought? This is a crazy idea to look around Earth and everyone believes in the gods and deities of the time. And for you to say, I just don't believe any of this stuff.

It's kind of, it's radical for the time. So who were the first people that questioned these things? So let me introduce you to a guy, xenophonies of caliphon. Sounds like a prescription drug, xenophonies. But he was not a prescription drug. He was actually a Greek philosopher around 560 to 478 BC. He was a theologian, a poet, and a critic of Homer. Xenophonies is seen as one of the most important pre-Socratic philosophers

and the first philosopher in recorded history to openly question the gods. Xenophonies wasn't an atheist by modern standards, right? But he was challenging the traditional Greek view of the divine. He pointed out something remarkable. Every culture imagines their God in their own image. That's what he thinks. He's like, we have all these gods. They basically are doing what we're doing.

You know, you got a god of anger. You got a god of, you know, the agriculture. You got a farm god. Got a slutty sex god. Aphrodite. She was Greek, right? Or she Roman? I think Aphrodite is Greek.

Bad, a little baddie affidia. She's an absolute peace. But yeah, gods just resemble what we're doing. So it seemed bizarre to Xenophonies. The Ethiopians described their gods as black. and Ethiopian looking. The Thracians envisioned theirs as pale-skinned and red-haired.

He even said if cows and horses had hands and could draw, cows would draw gods that look like cows and horses would draw gods that look like horses. I mean, isn't that what Hindus did? Hindu drew gods look like, the elephants. And they're not elephants. I guess, I don't know.

Maybe they know something we don't know. They were like, yeah, we're going to make some gods look like animals. I feel like even natives, I feel like they did that too. Hybrids, they're like, yeah, we're going to draw. They're not always in the image, xenophanyes. Sometimes you get, you know, go to India today. They got cows lined up down the street, living a great life, not getting chopped open. I don't know.

That's, maybe there's cow DNA in the Indians, dude. We got to look into the Hindu DNA. Anyway, that's insensitive to them. I'm sorry. It's all my by sobs listening. I apologize for that. Zanophonies also criticized the myth of Homer and Heziod, condemning the immoral behavior of the gods, such as the stories of Zeus lying, stealing, and committing violence.

In their plays, Xenophonies proposed a revolutionary idea. He said, hey, what if instead of all these gods that we got going on, this mount of Olympus where all these gods are going back and forth, quarreling with each other? What about a single abstract deity? His God wasn't human-like necessarily, but eternal, all-powerful, and unchanging. Sound familiar? Zanophonies couldn't get behind the idea of a man throwing lightning bolts at the earth. He considered God to be more rational and principled.

He's not punching holes in the drywall. I hate you guys. Why would you do that? That's not, doesn't seem godly. I mean, you read old Greek and even Roman descriptions of gods. They are moody as hell. I mean, they're quite annoying. Very much like Monster Energy, Kyle gods, you could say.

His critique of religion may not have been outright atheism, but laid the foundation for questioning the very nature of the gods. Inspiring future generations of skeptics. I mean, you've got to think, right? These Greeks and Romans, they believed in potentially hundreds of gods and deities. And this guy's anophonies gets it down to one. that's one away from zero. So you can see how he's kind of paving the way

to kind of distilling this idea of a litany of gods into one general god. This later is the rhetoric that's used against the Christians in ancient Rome. 1941, Hitler took command of the German army. 1997, Titanic premiered in the theaters. 1777, George Washington led troops into the winter quarters of Valley Forge.

There's all these explanations for everything that's going on in our newsletter. That's right. That's where I learned all this. You go on a first date and you're talking to a grill. You're like, hey, did you know? 1941, Hitler took over Germany today. Whoa. And she's probably like, that's you.

You're an awesome guy. You could be the most interesting person on every date. Get laid easier and make more friends if you subscribe to the newsletter. And not only that, I'm sure you've seen. I've been wearing merch. I've been wearing sick brand new merch on episodes of Flagrant. I'm sitting right next to 50 cent in this picture right here wearing brand new merch. Everything that's going on in the camp world, in my world, and in our world is going on in the

newsletter. Smoor Camp, click on the link in the description below. I'll see you there. Let's get back to the show. Now let's talk about another Greek thinker, shall we? Protagoras of Abdera. This is Protagoras, not Pythagoras, the geometry guy. Protagoras was a philosopher around 490 BC, and he's remembered for his statement, man is the measure of all things, meaning that everything is relative to an individual's interpretation rather than an objective approach. Plato credits him with inventing the role of the professional sophist. He had more of sort of like an agnostic approach to the existence of gods. He didn't deny that they existed, but he also didn't accept that they were real, right?

He had never seen a god. He's like, I don't know. He kind of shrugged the shoulders. Maybe. Reportedly, and Protagoras has lost work on the god. he wrote, quote, concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not. According to Diogenes Littarius, the agnostic-like position taken by Protagoras aroused anger, causing the Athenians to expel him from the city, and all copies of his book were collected and burned in the marketplace.

That's right. O.G. Harry Potter said, hey, we can't have this kind of stuff floating around, polluting the minds of young children. Getting them all bricked up for Hermione. We can't let this happen. So they threw it out. My mom did let me read Harry Potter for a long time. Even to this day, she's still like, be careful. I don't even think it was the witchcraft.

I think it was just like, I don't know, the Gringott Spankers, to be honest. I think there's a global conspiracy about the Gringot Spankers that she didn't want me to be exposed to. The deliberate destruction of his works is also mentioned by Cicero, Roman politician. However, some scholars doubt this account because it was written hundreds of years later and not mentioned by contemporaries who frequently referenced Protagoras. These ideas continue to evolve over time spreading throughout the world, and the concept of questioning what defines God or the gods is now a conversation that people are beginning to have. So that takes us to our next guy, Prodicus of Seos. This was another notable figure around the same time period, who was a prominent thinker amongst the sophists. Prodicus, personal writings have never been fully recovered, but what we do have are the writings from philosophers such as Sextus Empiricus, which is an awesome name, Sextus.

That is, dude, Sextus Empiricus? That's for sure a wide receiver for Alabama or something. Give it two years. Cicero and Plato, who have quoted prodigious early works. It's hard to know all these Greek names. I mean, this is insane. You get why no one speaks Greek. It is actually interesting, because all of our words come from Greek, but yet, No one knows any words in Greek.

Like, good morning in Greek, hello in Greek. Thank you in Greek. You could say thank you in like nine languages. You can't say thank you in Greek. Afaristo. That's what it is. Calamera. That's good morning.

Why do you know this? Because I went to Greece. It's hard language to pronounce. That's all I'm saying. So if I'm messing this up, Greeks, I apologize. And I apologize also for any jokes I make about the hair that you guys have on your backs. Anyway, Pradicus also left us the famous allegory of Hercules at the Crossroads.

You ever heard of that? This is where the hero has to choose between a life of ease and pleasure or one of hard work and virtue. Through this, Pradicus wasn't just challenging the religious tradition, but exploring how morality and virtue could be human-centered, rather than given through divine commandments. Prodigus proposed the idea of naturalism, essentially stating that the gods were just personifications of things beneficial to human life. For example, he suggested that deities like Demeter represented agriculture and fertility because they were essential for human survival, but not because they were actually real in some spiritual or metaphysical sense. This perspective challenged the conventional view that gods were supernatural beings who directly intervened in day-to-day human life. Not only was prodigus practically denying the existence of the gods, but his ideas had a deeper philosophical meaning that humans created the gods, not that gods created the humans.

You can see how this is pretty radical for the time. The craziest part about all these guys so far is that they were never actually called atheists or atheists, but they are credited with creating the foundation for what we call atheism today. Now let's get to the most controversial figure when it comes to discussing ancient Greek atheism. Diagoras of Milos, possibly the most controversial during this time was this poet, Diagoras. He's often referred to as the first atheist. He's born in Milos, a small island in the Aegean. Diagoras initially adhered to traditional Greek beliefs, but later became disillusioned with religion, particularly after witnessing hypocrisy in the exploitation of piety.

for personal and political gain. He reportedly criticized the effectiveness of prayer and sacrifices. He is said to have mocked the gratitude expressed to gods for fulfilled prayers, pointing out that no one accounted for the countless unanswered prayers. He openly criticized religious practices and was even infamous for his disrespectful actions towards religious symbols. I mean, this guy was wild. Just a real rebel.

One of the most memorable moments from Diagoras was when he, he was supposedly took a wooden statue of Hercules and used it as firewood, saying, now it can do something useful. Cook dinner. Damn. Diogenes. I mean, that is, I mean, that's risky. I wouldn't do that.

I'm not one to burn religious paraphernalia. Why risk it? You know, that's just, that's my take. But Diogenes didn't care. He was one of these guys. He said, yo, give me that sculpture. I'm tossing it in. He did this to show that the gods did not exist.

And if they did, why would they let him continue to commit blasphemy? Right? If he's being so disrespectfully as gods, why wouldn't they just murk him? Send down a lightning bolt from a mountain, bang. But Diogenes walked around unscathed. This act may not have caused the gods to strike him down, but he ultimately was exiled out of Athens and charged with impiety. So technically, he was punished.

Maybe this is the gods working through the people, you know? That's the way you've got to look at it. Or maybe the people created these gods. and they carried out this exile to preserve their power. Who's to say? I don't know. I mean, yeah, it's me, right? I'm a Catholic kid.

I look at these gods and I go, yeah, I don't believe these gods. I don't think this is real. My gods are real. My God, rather. But these gods are, I don't, these gods mean nothing to me. That's a, I think it's an old Ricky Zervas bit to like, you know, if you're Catholic, you believe, you don't believe in way more gods than you. do believe, you know, and an atheist is just one away from that. That is a good point. I don't believe

in most gods, right? Think about it. All these stories come from Greek writings that essentially quote earlier forms of these stories. So while we don't have the official account of all these guys, we do have the written accounts of philosophers that quoted them and came after them. Now, let's go forward a little bit and talk about Epicurus and Epicureanism. This was a prominent school of thought that was put forward by this guy, Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. And he was, I guess you could describe an atomist, a materialist. He followed in the steps of democratists. And Epicureanism, as it's known, was based on several key principles, namely, one, materialism,

that everything in the universe is made of atoms and empty space. It's pretty advanced for the time. Empiricism, basically that not. knowledge comes from sensory experience. This is things that you can observe through your senses and that you could know through that. And hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain are the highest good. This is what the purpose of life is and what all human beings should be striving for. Epicurus argued that gods, if they existed, were indifferent to human affairs and that the natural phenomena were explained through atomic theory, not supernatural causes,

almost taking on a deistic approach to say that perhaps there are gods, sure, but they're not, They don't care about what we're doing down here. The things that are happening here are outside of their will, so to speak. He even taught that death was the end of existence and that there was no eternal soul or judgment. Scientists often credit Epicureanism as a stepping stone to the scientific method. You can see this strict materialist worldview and this atomist sense of all things that exist as very fundamental to our understanding. of the scientific method and how science has carried out today. They place emphasis on its philosophy and skepticism of the true nature of life.

Now, let's shift gears to go over to Rome. Lucretius, the Roman poet and philosopher also played a significant role in the development of ideas that would later contribute to atheistic thought, although he himself was not an atheist in the modern sense. I'll explain. It's weird. A lot of these older people weren't actually even atheists themselves, but their ideas is practically created what we know of this idea of atheism. Lucretius wrote,

De Rie Riem Natura, on the nature of things, where he presents Epicurean philosophy in its most materialist worldview. He argues that the world has too many flaws that have been created by a perfect divine being. He points to examples like bad weather, catastrophes, wild beasts, even like weeds that grow in your garden,

as evidence that nature was not made specifically for humans. This is what we've kind of come to know today in philosophy as the problem of evil. Why would a perfect God create a world with problems and destruction and pain and disease in weeds also? He used the idea of atomism, which argues that everything in the universe consists of atoms and void. He explained natural events through atomic theory and not through divine intervention, just like Epicurus. Each even claimed that the soul, like all things, is made of atoms and will eventually disperse, insulting and annihilation after death. A famous quote of Lucretius basically goes like this.

He says, all religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher. There's always like an insult in all these quotes and ideas that are at politicians. The philosophers hate the politicians. Philosophers are always like,

we should be running the show. Instead, we got these idiots in charge. Nothing changes. You look back at ancient Rome, ancient Greek, It's the same. You got smart people are like, these politicians are idiots. You got politicians that are like, these smart people don't do anything.

They just sit around and think all day. But it happens all the time. In book five of Derirum Natura, Lucretius presents a primitive version of Darwin's natural selection theory, explaining how nature produces various creatures. But only those best adapted to survive and reproduce. Pretty crazy. A long time ago, this guy just put out this theory.

He didn't have the scientific basis for it, right? He didn't go to the Galapagos. look at Finches, but he had an idea to say that, yeah, I think that, you know, the survival of the fittest is probably how nature gives us adaptable traits. Christian apologists saw this book as an atheist manifesto, fearing it would cause more people to question the validity of God and stray from the grace of Christianity. Another famous quote in possibly his best and most philosophical take is this, air, I should explain, becomes wind when it is agitated. What a useful thing to know, right? But remember, Lucretius wasn't an atheist

himself, though his views, again, very much resemble it. Now, you probably heard of a lot of these people before, right? Epicurus, Lucretius, maybe, I don't know. But at the same time that this school of thought was sort of bubbling in ancient Rome, ancient Greece, the Indians were also having a similar awakening, the same sort of philosophical enlightenment trying to become I'm unbridled from the bondage of some type of strict theistic belief. So I'd like to introduce you to the Travaca School. This is, again, around the same time of Diagris. The Travaca School, also known as the Lakoyata, lokiata.

I don't speak Hindi. But Lakaiata, I think it's pretty close. This was developing in India. This is a school of philosophy focused on Indian materialism and took a bold and different approach compared to many other Indian traditions of the time. The Jarvaca rejected the idea of supernatural forces or gods being responsible for the workings of the world. Instead, they believed that everything could be explained through a natural,

straightforward way without relying on divine intervention or gods or mystical explanations or anything like that. They placed a strong emphasis on the importance of what can be directly observed and experienced, and this was a very scientific approach for its time. They argued that if you can't see, touch, or otherwise directly perceive something, you shouldn't believe it. That if things are outside of your, you know, strict bodily measurements or your senses,

that there's no way to really prove it. So for them, knowledge wasn't something you could gain from scriptures or rituals or, you know, what others claimed about the invisible spiritual world. Instead, knowledge had to come from things that you could directly verify with your own senses, or from evidence that made logical sense. This approach set the Carvaca school apart from many other Indian philosophies,

such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which often focused on spirituality, meditation, and the idea of the afterlife. The Charvacca's rejected the belief in an eternal soul, karma, or rebirth, things that are obviously integral to many Indians' way of life as practicing Hindus. The Charvac has said that life is what you see and experience in the here and now. They even question the value of religious rituals, calling them a waste of time and resources that benefited priests more than the people they were trying to serve. These ideas have an eerily similar resemblance to the Greek philosophies that were going around on the other side of the

world, and we're now starting to see a movement that questions sometimes and even denies the idea of a god or gods. But in some way, this movement becomes a religion in and of itself. Now, let's go back to Rome. All right, and let's talk about the Christians that I promise we'd talk about. In age of Rome, the early Christians were labeled as atheists. This is when they were being persecuted, not only for their belief in a new faith centered on Jesus Christ, but also for rejecting the worship of the pantheon of Roman gods. Roman society was deeply rooted in this polytheistic tradition. They saw religion as integral part to civic life and what it means to be a Roman citizen. Their politics and culture relied heavily on the traditions and holidays and sacrifices and offerings.

And Christians, by refusing to participate in these traditions, disrupted the social order. Interestingly, early Christians, again, were labeled as atheists, not because they denied the existence of all gods, but because they rejected the Roman gods and polytheism specifically. This label was a way to isolate Christians and paint them as, like, disruptive outsiders trying to, you know, destroy Roman society. The persecution of Christians in Rome began as early as the mid-first century, you know, A.D. under Emperor Nero. Following the great fire of Rome, in which Nero was, you know, just dicking around, he scapegoated Christians accusing them of arson and subjected them to brutal punishments and executions. One of the most atrocious executions happened when the Romans would just throw them off an 80-foot cliff called the Tarpean rock that is still there today. Now, of course, the Christians weren't actually atheists, but in the eyes of the Roman society, they were just that.

And they were branded as atheists. But it wasn't just in ancient Rome. Throughout Islamic history, debates between religious scholars and skeptics or atheists were integral to the intellectual vibrancy of societies such as those in Baghdad, Cordoba, and Cairo, key hubs of Islamic scholarship during the medieval period. Scholars like Imam Abu Hanifa, one of the founders of Islamic jurisprudence and Imam Shafia, known for, his contributions to Islamic law, frequently engaged in theological debates with individuals who questioned the existence of God. Imam Abu Hanifa in one infamous debate humiliated an atheist by comparing him to a madman,

saying, would you believe a ship builds itself, then why would you claim the world does? Oh. I mean, I could see that, especially back in the day. When you don't have YouTube and stuff, you don't get to see debates all the time, that's probably a bang. These discussions often took place in a climate of philosophical inquiry where Islamic scholars utilized reason, logic, and scriptural evidence to address the challenges posed by skeptics. Specifically in Surrah al-Jathia, 4524, it is stated that the atheists say, quote, there is nothing beyond our worldly life. We die, others are born, and nothing destroys us but the passage of time. Imam al-Shafi once said, don't love the one who doesn't.

doesn't love Allah. If they can leave Allah, they will leave you. Honestly, a great point. Honestly, a great point. I know some people that don't love Allah. They don't love God. If you don't love God, if you don't love the person that created you, how can you love me? You know what I mean? How can you rock with your boy when things get hardened? Right? I, look, you hear it? Sometimes you hear some Muslim stuff and you're like, yo, am I secretly a Muslim this whole time? Additionally, during the Islamic golden age, thinkers influenced by Greek philosophy, such as, and look, I don't speak Arabic, these names are kind of hard. Can we get them up on the screen so that you guys can understand what I'm trying to say here? Al-Farabi, Avicina, and

Averios. I think is what his actual name is. Averios might be like his, that might be like his, you know, rap name or something. These guys explored themes relating to metaphysics and existence, a lot of the times pushing the boundaries of Orthodox Islamic thought. While many of these scholars upheld a theistic worldview, their engagement with philosophy, occasionally attracted accusations of heresy or atheism. Damn. In modern times, the existence of atheistic thought in predominantly Islamic societies continues, but it is much more private than in other societies.

Because in many Islamic countries, if you are outright atheistic or deny the belief in Allah, you can get thrown into an atheist jail. Now, let's go back to medieval times. Not the dinner theater show, but the actual period. in history. The open acceptance of atheistic views was rare in Europe, and atheism was very uncommon, even a dangerous doctrine to hold. The accusation of atheism was regularly used as a way of attacking one's political or religious enemies, and the repercussions were severe. Like calling someone gay or something today, you know? That was the original gay. Like, you just, in the 90s,

be like, that guy's gay, and then it would be a whole thing. Or like McCarthyism, call him a communist. It is funny. You look back and calling someone a communist and that that was like an issue. Now you just, this is where I got my coffee from, like some communists that works at a corner store here in New York City. Just questioning the validity or the nature of God's creation was seen as punishable, which is what makes the people I'm about to tell you about so crazy out of their mind. Let me tell you about Giordano Bruno. That's a delicious name. I think I should still apostate of kids. Giordano Bruno. At just 17, he joined the Dominican order, also known as the Order of Preachers, a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. Dominic de Guzman in 1216.

The Dominican Order. It'd be a hard one to join. Dominicans are wild. Bruno's thirst for knowledge led him to question established beliefs. He became fascinated with the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus, which is crazy idea that the earth revolves around the sun. Jury is still out on it, but a lot of people believe it. Bruno took it a step further. He proposed that God existed within everything and that the universe is infinite and filled with countless worlds, each potentially inhabited by intelligent beings. Whoa. For a priest back in the day, that is an insane thing to say. These ideas, along with his rejection of key Catholic doctrines like the Trinity and the divinity of Christ,

led to his condemnation. As you can imagine, such ideas didn't really vibe with the time. Bruno's views led him to flee Naples in 1576 to escape charges of heresy, traveled across Europe, going through France, England, Germany, backpacking basically, teaching and sharing his thoughts. But despite his travels and efforts to spread his ideas, trouble was never far behind. At 1592, he was arrested by the Inquisition in Venice. The trial that followed was supposedly lengthy and brutal, and for years Bruno faced relentless questioning from inquisitors who wanted him to recant his beliefs. He had multiple opportunities to save himself, but he famously declared that he could not abandon the truth for fear of death. On January 20th, in the year 1600, after a trial that lasted nearly seven years, Giordano Bruno was sentenced to death for heresy.

On February 17th of that year, he was burned at the stake in Rome's Campo di Fiore. But here's where it gets interesting. While Bruno died for his ideas, those ideas did not die with him. You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea. His vision of an infinite universe and cosmic pluralism laid important groundwork for later thinkers such as Galileo and even Isaac Newton. I mean, that's crazy. It's a little dumb to die for atheism. you know what I mean?

Like, because there's no one waiting for you. Like, if you die for God, whatever your religious tradition is, it's like, yeah, I'm going to die and then I'm immediately going to go see the entity, the being that I died for. But to die for atheism is just like, what's the point? Hey, there's nothing when we die. All right, well, I'm going to kill you if you say that again. And it's like, why would you want to go to nothing? Like, just be like, I was just joking. I was actually lying about all that.

Right? It just seems crazy. You get burned at the stake for just believing in nothing. I mean, it's like, believe in nothing if you want, but to die for it just seems dumb. I don't know. Am I crazy for that? I wouldn't die for that. Now, let's talk about the first atheistic work. Like the first one that was like, hey, this is different than the Greek and Roman guys, because this is a guy that's just like, hey, there's nothing else. This is it, all right? And this is Jean Messlier. This is 100 years after. we make it to the early 1700s, and this is a friend of ours living in a small French town

nestled in the hills of Ardennes. To the villagers, Messleu was the picture of a devoted priest. He baptized their children, blessed their marriages, comforted them in times of grief, diddled their kids. Every Sunday, he would stand to the pulpit preaching about God's love and promise of salvation.

Stayed there for 40 years, doing nothing but good in the eyes of the people. This guy was just a little. the man everyone loved him but beneath all of this jean was holding a dark secret for four decades he lived a double life that's right during the day he led catholic church service comforting the villagers that talks about god's love and promise of eternal life but at night alone in his study he wrote some harsh criticisms of the very beliefs that he preached 1729 news spread through the village that Father Messleier had passed away. Everyone was heartbroken, so sad, went to his funeral,

and his belongings were being sorted when a shocking discovery was made. A 600-page manuscript was found in his home. And it wasn't just any document. It wasn't just, you know, Game of Thrones or something. It wasn't just a random little book he had. This was a comprehensive takedown of organized religion, particularly Christianity and a full-on defense of atheism. Messleer's idea were so radical for this time that his work had been kept secret for decades. It wasn't until 1761 that a French philosopher known as François-Marie Aroote, you might know him as Voltaire, published like 10 or 15% of the actual manuscripts. And it wasn't another 100 years after that in 1864 that we got the complete versions of his writings, titled, Testament, a memoir of thought and sentiments of Jean Messlea.

He wasn't content with just rejecting God, this guy. father Mesliei. He went further, arguing that, one, religion was a tool used by the powerful to exploit the poor, which again goes back to the political aspect of earlier ideas in Greece. Two, the existence of evil in the world was so incompatible with the idea of a benevolent god. Again, this is the problem of evil that we talked about before. Why would a god whose whole basis on being kind and loving allow atrocities to happen in the world? And three, morality doesn't require a belief in a deity. This point parallels prodigus and other naturalistic, materialistic ways of philosophy like Epicureanism, that morality can be found through the natural and understanding

humanity and doesn't necessarily need to be divinely ordained. Now, you might be thinking, surely there were atheists before Messlea, and you'd be right, sure, Diagoras of Milos is often called the first atheist, but Messlier is unique because he was the first one to leave behind a comprehensive, detailed critique of religion and a clear, expression of atheism in Western culture. And the fact that he himself was a priest makes the whole idea of him being atheist even crazier. I mean, here I just even have a couple quotes from his manuscript that go like this. Quote, how I suffered when I had to preach to you those pious lies that I detested in my heart. What remorse your credulity caused me. A thousand times I was on the point of

breaking out publicly and opening your eyes, but a fear stronger than my held me back and forced me to keep silence until my death. Another one. Quote, I wish that all the great men of the earth and all the nobles were strung up and strangled with the guts of the priests. I mean, dang, this is, that's a lot. This guy's, yeah, I mean, that's pretty heavy. Strangled with the guts of, I mean, this, that seems too far.

Like, you're going to be an atheist and you don't have to hope that all the priests get killed, right? that seems. I know priests, and none of them are as pissed as this guy. He's hailed by many as the first true atheist in Western history. His courage to question and, you know, his commitment to reason and logic and his willingness to, you know, write down his beliefs and critiques and potentially sacrifice his entire reputation makes him a pivotal figure in the history of free thought.

Now, let's go on to a very well. known atheist, known as Carl Marx, probably one of the most important figures in the development for atheism in modern times. By the early 20s, Marx had already rejected religion declaring himself an atheist. But here's the kicker. Marks thought simply denying God's existence was a bit childish. Marx's views on religion were far more nuanced than a simple, oh, I don't believe in God. He famously described religion as the opium of the masses. But what did he really mean? First, Marx saw religion as a symptom of social ills, not the cause. It is downriver of all the problems of society in a way to sort of ameliorate people's dissatisfaction with the world that we're in, but still

maintaining the status quo. He believed religion provided comfort to the oppressed, but also kept them from addressing their real problems. And lastly, he believed that religion was a tool used by the ruling class to keep the workers in line. Again, very reminiscent of our French priest, Mestlié. Marx developed a philosophy called dialectical materialism. In simple terms, he believed that the material world was all that existed. No supernatural forces, no divine plan, just the universe and human society, that's it. This materialist view led Marx to conclude that religion was entirely human-made.

He argued that humans created God, not the other way around. Once again, much like prodigus. But here's where it gets interesting. Marx didn't just dismiss religion. He tried to understand its role in society. Again, Marx saw religion as reflecting the economic conditions of society, understand that religion is a mirror to how society operates. He believed religion would naturally disappear when social and economic inequality was eliminated, and he recognized that religion could sometimes inspire resistance against oppression. Surprisingly, Marx was critical of the atheist movement of his time. He thought they were missing the point. by focusing solely on disproving God's existence. He believed that the real task was to change the social conditions that made religion necessary in the first place. And that brings us up to modern times. As we venture deeper into the 21st century, the landscape of atheism continues to evolve.

In recent decades, the religious landscape has undergone a significant transformation with a surge in the number of people identifying as religiously unaffiliated, referred to as the nuns, so to speak, N-O-N-E-S. Get it? This group has grown from 5% of the U.S. population in the 1970s to some estimates even put it at 30% today. That just don't believe in really anything. However, it's crucial to note that not all of the, quote, nuns are atheists. Internationally, this picture is even more intriguing.

A study led by Queens University Belfast revealed that in the U.K. atheists now outnumbered theists for the first time in history. This could very well be attributed to a brand new emerging form of atheism. This is known as the new atheists emerging in the 21st century, and this is a group of prominent authors and thinkers who have actively promoted atheism and criticized religion. This movement has key figures often referred to as the Four Horsemen. This is Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. The new atheists share several key characteristics, a rejection of the supernatural.

They contend that there is no God or divine reality. Emphasis on science and reason. They strongly advocate for empirical science, and they say that is the best basis for understanding reality. And a critique of religion. New atheists argue that religious belief is not only irrational, but also potentially harmful to society. And unlike previous atheist movements, the new atheists actively encourage others to abandon religious beliefs. These guys have, you know, appeared on a ton of different podcasts from Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jordan Pearson, Alex O'Connor, to Rogan. And they often present, you know, the following arguments that religion lacks sufficient evidence that, you know, no one has ever, you know, monitored or measured God or the divine in any significant way.

Religion can foster divisive mentalities and even violence, and science and reason are superior tools for understanding the world. However, this new movement has often faced criticism for oversimplifying complex theological issues, displaying a confrontational tone towards religious believers and kind of dismissing or, you know, kind of, I guess, discouraging the belief in God in any capacity. And again, focusing primarily on Western religions, you know, particularly Christianity in Islam, but not necessarily looking at, you know, Shintoism or Hinduism. as we see in India. And the initial fervor of the new atheist movement has somewhat subsided. Its impact on public discourse about religion and atheism remains significant, regardless, though. The movement helped popularize atheistic ideas and sparked ongoing debates about the role of religion in society.

And we'll continue to expand, I imagine, probably for a long time. I think atheism is probably on the rise. I think more people are believing in it. I think more people are just like, yeah, I just don't have any evidence for God. I think the idea of science is permeated into all aspects of American culture and people kind of want evidence. They want facts. It's difficult to believe in anything. I think a lot of people are, I think agnosticism is also probably on the rise too. I think people are just kind of in two camps.

Like, I don't really know. You know, I think that's probably going to be the largest camp in the next like 10 years, like maybe. I think there's going to be a big maybe crowd because I think people want to believe in some type of higher being, some type of de-es. some type of deity. I think people are compelled sort of naturally by cosmological arguments, fine-tuning arguments, contingency arguments, as they're known of philosophy to say, well, where did all this come from? Why does any of this exist in the first place? Why is there anything at all? Why does anything have to exist? Could there be nothing? Like truly nothing? Now, I think these kinds of questions are are perplexing for most people that are considering the divine or even

their religious, you know, standing in any capacity. So all that to say, I kind of hope more people are just open-minded, you know, to theism in general, to just look around and be like, all right, what is all this for? You don't have to necessarily subscribe to any religious backing or belief system inherently, because that might be a big commitment, but just kind of questioning, like, okay, why are humans here? Where do we come from and where are we going? Is this all there really is? Right. It's just, these are the questions that keep me up at night. I think about planets. And I'm just like, why are there all these other planets? Like, why does any of this exist? It just whigs me out. And I find that religion is a helpful tool for kind of unpacking or parsing

it or at least not deliberating on these questions all the time. So as we look at the history of atheism, one thing's pretty clear. Atheism didn't start out as just some simple disbelief. It wasn't just a bunch of people being like, oh, God's not real. It started as a question. One, why does evil exist? that's a big one that I think all religious people have to have an answer for. Why does God permit evil? Is God not holy good? In which case, that is a potential answer. Or does God permit evil for some other reason perhaps to promote the free will of

humankind? And secondly, where is God? What is this divine hiddenness? If there is a paternalistic type being that wants to convene with the creation, why is it not around? I have a kid. Some of you probably have kids. you love your kids so much. You want to be with them all the time. You want to see what they're doing. You want to see them grow. You want to have a sort of fundamental and intrinsic role in their development. It would make no sense for you to not be present in your child's life. So why does it feel as though God is so distant? This is known as divine hiddenness. And again, is another burden that I think all believers and theists have to have a comprehensive understanding and answer for. Maybe that's a topic for a different video. Throughout history, the question has had dire consequences. Where did we come from?

are we just matter floating around exploding off rocks, or is there some type of unmoved mover that put all this into motion? Although not everyone we covered may explicitly be acclaimed atheists. Most definitely, they played a role in the development of atheistic philosophy. What do you all think? I'm curious. Are you an atheist right now? What is the thing that is preventing you from jumping the gap and believe in the big old GOD?

or are you a religious person that's kind of unsatisfied with the answers of religion and looking towards a materialistic worldview and just kind of accepting like, hey, maybe this is all there is and I should have fun while I'm here and try to do my best, maybe an Epicurean ideal of existence. I'm curious to know what you think. As always, this has been Religion Camp. I appreciate you guys tuning in and listening to the most interesting and controversial history of all beliefs. Again, not just the divine, but even the atheists. in general. We'll be back with more episodes. Don't worry.

Every Sunday you can find me here sitting in this tent, just chatting. Just a one-way phone call, me to you. I'll see you next time. Peace be with you.