Faith and unbelief go hand in hand since the days of ancient civilizations, the study argues the British historian.
Contrary to popular opinion that atheism is a product of modern civilization, purely secular views of the world spread at the dawn of ancient civilizations. “The current rhetoric positions atheism as something more contemporary,” says Professor of Greek culture at Cambridge University Tim Whitmarsh (Tim Whitmarsh), recently published the results of years of research in the field of philosophy of religion. – However, even the earliest companies perceived atheism in terms of what they considered normal.” According to the findings of the academic, faith and unbelief developed, usually at the same time, and evidence can be found in any culture.
“Believers say about atheism as pathology of modern Western culture, however, a similar statement was expressed in ancient times,” says Whitmarsh. Thus in ancient Greek society, atheism has been far more widespread than in recent European the past. “The idea that the preacher is going to teach you of life, was alien to the Greek world”, – said the scientist. Despite the fact that believers perceive atheism as a mistake in understanding, nobody condemned him from the moral point of view.
Protective form, at least in Europe, religion was only during the decline of the Roman Empire. Initially, however, the struggle was waged not so much against the disbelievers as against the believers in the wrong gods, and especially of Christians. In turn, Christians had already developed the concept of the universality of the Church (here, by the way, came the name “Catholic” from the Greek. universal), which denied the worship of other gods and unbelief. Thus, with the dominance of a particular Church atheists simply attributed to the heretics, therefore, their historical role in secular and spiritual discussions is not always obvious.
