Expert: Philip A. Stahl - 4/21/2008

Question
I want to know what most atheists opinion about free sex especially in womanizing, sleeping with other people's wife (oops) and prostitution.

Another question, as we know that majority of US citizen is believers, they don't like to vote any atheist for president / federal state governor or other public leader, how US atheists solve this problem.

best regards

Answer
Hello,

Unfortunately, I cannot speak or write for "most" Atheists, because each Atheist is different. Thus, any random sampling of those who claim to be Atheists is as likely to concur with my replies to you, as diverge.

In my first book (still available at American Atheists) 'The Atheist's Handbook to Modern Materialism', I devoted an entire chapter (VI)  to Atheist Morality.

At the cornerstone of this were the following premises:

i) The Earth, so far as we know, is the only, inhabited planet.

ii) Life then is critically important to the Materialist-Atheist.

iii) By extension, the preservation of human life and quality is of highest value for anyone who asserts that THIS LIFE is ALL there is. (E.g. Atheists, who disavow any "afterlives")

Thus, any pragmatic ethics must be founded on the above, especially (iii). It therefore stands to reason that the ethical Atheist will display behaviors, in so far as he is able, which promote and reinforce (iii).

In this light, "Free sex" (by which I presume you mean outside of marriage) is ethical and moral provided precautions are taken which ensure no adverse consequences accrue.

The first of these is that means must be taken to ensure there is NO conception. Unwanted babies - children are an immense social and economic drain on any society, and hence undermine its life quality. Thus the moral-ethical Atheist always uses birth control unless a child is mutually desired by BOTH partners.

The second precaution can be called using prophylactics, or (medically accepted) measures to impede and all sexually transmitted diseases - such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV-AIDS, Herpes simplex or any others. Obviously, if such diseases are spread they will also impact negatively throughout the society and reduce its life quality.

As for prostitution, as my book chapter points out - no reasonable Atheist sees a problem with it so long as the above precuations are taken, and - in addition - the entire activity is regulated by government so the women participating are not abused or exploited. Alas, this cannot apply to the U.S., for example, since the activity is neither regulated or controlled except in one state: Nevada.

As for "sleeping with other people's spouses" - no and no, this is a non-starter. Since marriage is the cornerstone for a stable society and may also entail children, any Atheist who would engage in extra-marital sex is undermining his/her society and its life quality at some level, and hence violating precept (iii) noted earlier. Thus, this is something the ethical Atheist will refuse to do. Not out of fear of getting caught, but out of concern for the society he or she inhabits.

The problem you mention about Americans voting for an Atheist for high political office is serious and real. It was first highlighted in a 2006 University of Minnesota study and survey conducted by Penny Edgell et al. (See: University of Minnesota News, March 31, 2006, “Atheists Identified as America’s Most Distrusted Minority, According to new U of M Study.”)

Their study, based on a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households, disclosed that atheists now occupy the bottom rung of social respect for minorities in American society. They’re now regarded as contemptuously as communists were in the 50s, and rated in social worth below Muslims, immigrants and homosexuals today.

The study noted that a significant number of respondents associated atheism with an array of moral misbehavior, including criminality and materialist emphasis. In addition, the findings “seemed to rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individuals who are not concerned with the common good."

In a way, this is nothing short of astounding given that as a nation and people, Americans are notorious for giving short shrift to the “common good” as evidenced by consistently voting for no-tax or tax cutting candidates, when they *know* the outcome will starve government of the resources needed to advance the needs of the vulnerable, such as the 47 million currently without any health insurance.

So, to me, it more appears Americans in the survey (the "believers") are using Atheists as scapegoats for their own deficiencies, and especially their own worship of the "rugged invidualist- every man for himself" ethic - drilled in since frontier days.

As to what can be done to alter American's distorted perception and get them to vote for Atheists, there are several:

i) Continue to invoke poltiical activism to get more congress "critters" to acknowledge that freedom FROM religion is as important as freedom OF religion.

ii) Continue educational imperatives to show what Atheism is and how it is a natural outcome of scientific scepticism. (My new book, 'Atheim: A Beginner's Handbook' goes into this in much detail.)

iii) Come out of the "closet" and announce one's Atheism and ALSO, show by consistent, personal example that one is not some form of amoral or immoral "monster". Volunteering is also a way to promote this.

Hope these answers address your questions adequately!