Comment: Does “non-belief” also require “belief”?
Commonly atheists like to think that religious people have belief in a god whereas atheists hold no belief. This then is the basis for arguing that the obligation is on theists to prove the existence of god and not atheists to prove the non-existence of god.
However I think “non-belief” also requires belief. Here I take belief to be a justified claim to knowledge. So, to have a belief means you see enough support for a claim that something is true. Let’s look at some non-theist examples of disbelief.
Most people support the urgency and seriousness of human-accelerated climate change. They believe justified in claiming that this is a serious threat that we face. The climate change supporters, mostly non-specialists, would feel convinced by the wide-ranging support from scientists, political and religious leaders. Typically they would see this reinforced by selective observations of extreme weather reports.
However many others are not convinced by the evidence or the strength of public opinion that we face a crisis. Some of those are also specialists in the field, though in the minority. Typically they are called “climate change skeptics”. No one would seriously suggest that these people have no beliefs about the seriousness of climate change even if their stated position is “not convinced”.
Many people believe homeopathy is an effective strategy as alternate or complementary medicine. Their belief is supported by homoepathic practicians, personal experience and stories of others. Other vehemently deny homeopathic claims citing lack of scientific support. They equally hold strong opposite beliefs. Still others are unconvinced either way. However they still hold beliefs that the “jury is out”, believeing the evidence does not clearly support either position.
Whether or not you support the truthfulness of a claim you have a belief about the supporting evidence. I could imagine the only people who have tryly “no belief” would be those of are totally unaware of the subject. A person may have no belief about “dark energy” if he or her had never heard of the concept.
This description however does not conceivably apply to a concept of god within our western society. Whether you believe, disbelieve, or unsure, you have a belief, a reasonable claim to knowledge – one that you should be able to articulate. Claiming that a non-belief in a god as having no beliefs with the implicate claim that the onus is on atheists to prove is a fatuous claim. Atheists, agnostics, and naturalists need to be able to articulate their positions convincingly and persuasively.
Alex McCullie
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