Joseph McCabe

“ Materialistic Atheism—and any other kind is so rare, comparatively, that it need not be considered here—is the kind of negative position which is, nevertheless, based upon a massive knowledge of realities. For most Theists nature proves, in one way or other, the existence of God. And this at once makes science a rival interpretation of nature and the natural enemy of religion. ”

“ If we could put to the American people the relevant facts of history and truths of science as freely and unceasingly as the Churches put their untruths, no one can doubt the issue. Unfortunately, but very naturally, most people who quit church-going do not want to hear religion mentioned again. ”

“ It is the stark poverty of the Roman Catholic Church in men of distinction. They have only seven per 100,000 of their members in Who's Who, to the Unitarians 1,185 per 100,000; and how many of these Catholic supermen are simply prelates, politicians, businessmen, etc., we are not told. But the very fact that the intellectually distinguished amongst the 30,000 men and women in 'Who's Who' so remarkably prefer to say that their affiliation is Unitarian is significant enough. Large numbers of Unitarian congregations do not demand belief in God in their members. ”

“ They do not lie merely beyond the range of science but beyond the range of thought. Why Huxley coined the new word we need not consider here. He was himself in the accepted meaning of the word an Atheist. The leading British religious apologist in his time was Gladstone, and Murray's famous Dictionary, in defining an Atheist as "one who denies or disbelieves the existence of a God"—Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary and Webster's New International Dictionary give the same definition—quote Gladstone using the word in that sense. ”

“ But we can easily show that the proportion of atheistic scientists in the more advanced countries of the world is about the same as in America and Great Britain. In the first place, nearly all the distinguished professors of science in France, Russia, and Japan are Atheists, and this would balance any less proportion of them in other countries. It would, however, he useless to inquire how many scientists are Atheists under the present regime in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain. A large number of atheistic professors have been dismissed and are in exile. ”

“ But there has in the last 20 years been the same frantic attempt as in America to induce them to stand out on the side of the angels, especially since Bishop Barnes was, on the strength of a knowledge of mathematics, admitted to the higher scientific world. In the weightiest of scientific periodicals, Nature, there actually appeared a few years ago an editorial imploring men of science to see that Atheism led to the "horrors" of the French and the Russian Revolutions. ”

“ The distinction between Greater and Lesser is taken from Cattell, and the names that are starred as of special distinction in his book were selected by leading authorities in each branch of science. Again, therefore, the procedure is ideally impartial, and the result adds to the triumph of Atheism and the rout of preachers who say that it is "only the small men" who are Atheists. Of the Lesser scientists 35 percent believe in God; of the Greater only 13 percent. The Atheists are 65 percent of the Lesser and 87 percent of the Greater. ”

“ Like most of his class, he had not the least idea how enormously Atheism has spread, but the direct answer is that a few thousand people with almost no resources do not usually make a spectacular success against a billion-dollar corporation that controls the general education of the country. ”

“ We mean men who are prominent in the service of science, not any college-teacher of physics or biology. And it seems that, according to this exact British test, I kept my words, as I usually do, well within the truth. Not 20 percent, but only about 10 percent, of the more distinguished men of science believe in a personal God. ”

“ Do you believe that science negatives the idea of a personal God as taught by Jesus Christ? It was open to any atheistic scientist to reply No, since science never discusses God, yet, significantly, the favorable replies now fell to 103 (mostly chemists, physicists, and mathematicians) , and 26 said yes. It illustrates the relative morale of Atheists and believers that 25 of the 26 Atheists allowed the publication of their names, and only 67 of the pious 103 gave such permission. ”

“ Let us not fool ourselves with phrases like, Great is Truth and it will prevail. They knew quite a lot of truth in ancient Greece, and it was buried for 15 centuries, Yet it is an inestimable advantage to have the truth on your side, and it is the first point in the strengthening of the position of the Atheist in recent years that we have got weighty corroboration of our claim to possess the truth. ”

“ Further, the book grossly deceives the public by giving them the impression that all the Fellows of the Royal Society are men of science, if not the cream of British scientists. The rules of the Society expressly state that candidates are not necessarily of distinction in science but may be "such that their election would be of signal benefit to the Society." ”

“ About 75 percent replied, and there could not possibly be a fairer test. The only weakness I see is one that favors the Godly. Cattell's list includes teachers of science in religious colleges and universities, and we are not prepared to take these as quite impartial witnesses of the same value as the others.
But Professor Leuba knows well that the gross results are not enough, and he classifies his men into Greater and Lesser and into the four categories of Physicists, Biologist, Sociologists, and Psychologists. ”

“ What is more important, it includes 47 foreigners, a large number of colonial professors who are admitted often on imperialist grounds, and a singularly large number of men with no academic position and, as far as I can see—I have read through the entire list—of no name whatever in science. ”

“ So atheistic organizations remain small and poor, opposing ridiculously slender resources and activities to a clerical organization with 250,000 servants of one kind or other and an income of a billion dollars a year. One of those literary men who feel that we aggressive Atheists are "on the wrong line" asked me how it was that we had such poor results. ”

“ Therefore, while Professor Leuba distinguishes between believers, disbelievers, and doubters, I take both the latter groups as men who are without belief in God and therefore Atheists. For those, however, who regard the distinction as of any importance I may say that of the nearly 2,000 men of science who replied to the question whether they believed in a personal God only 30 percent said Yes ”

“ Is man in some degree responsible for his acts of choice? They might as well ask if free will accounted for acts of free will. It is meaningless that 173 replied Yes, but worthy of noting that 80 of them were in the physical sciences, and only four were psychologists or physiologists—the only men fitted to judge. ”

“ Scientific Believers (percent) Lesser Men Greater Men 1914 1933 1914 1933 Physicists 50 43 34 17 Biologists 39 31 17 12 Sociologists 29 30 19 13 Psychologists 32 13 13 12 Henceforward any preacher or writer who claims that the big men are believers, who quotes "A little learning is a dangerous thing" or "The fool said in his heart," who tells his people that it is "the camp-followers of science" who represent its teaching as materialistic, is guilty of frigid and calculated inaccuracy or has not read the outstanding piece of documentary evidence. ”