A "religious" question.

Is it possible to be an Atheistic Jedi?

Yes. I'm an atheistic Jedi, in that I don't believe in any type of God.

If, however, when you use the term "atheistic", you are referring to Jedi who only believe that which has been scientifically proven, I think you may have a harder time finding them- they seem to be a slightly rarer breed of Jedi. While I don't believe in a God, I do believe in the Force. Which I think need not be seen as a supernatural belief, one can easily view the Force as one's inner compass.

Jediism places a large emphasis on inclusiveness; I see nothing in it's doctrine that is incompatible with atheism.

mariofan251 wrote: Is it possible to be an Atheistic Jedi?

Yep, I think there are quite a few here at the Temple. I might even be too, by some definitions of atheism or definition of a deity... perhaps.

Having been brought up a Catholic, it was hard for me to answer this question when I first came to the Temple. As my understanding grew of the Force, I became more clear on this question.

To be an Atheist means you believe in a god. In the Initiates program you will find the works of Joseph Campbell and Alan Watts. The idea here is that humans give names to ideas like good and bad, right and wrong. There can be no right if you don't know what wrong is, and there can be no good if you do not know what bad is. So in this context, In order for you not to believe in a god, one must exist.

Having said that, to be a Jedi does not require you to have a religion of one kind or another. In my interpretation, the Force Is, Always Was, Always Will Be. The energy field that binds all of nature, which includes humans, exists whether you believe in it or not.

My best suggestion is to complete the Initiates program and study more of the works of Alan Watts and Joseph Campbell. I have read from these two authors beyond the Initiates program and have found them very enlightening. I have also studied some Buddhist texts to enhance my understandings.

The most important thing I can tell you here is this:

It is your path to follow, do not take my word for this or anyone else's. We can help you on your journey, but the footsteps must be yours.

To be an Atheist means you believe in a god.

To clarify: To say you do not believe in a god means that you are inferring there is a god not to believe in. So to say you are Atheist means you believe there is a god.

I take this from the works of Joseph Campbell who states that we as humans created white to be opposite black, good to be opposite bad. There needs to be an opposite to Atheism and that is God.

So I say again, To be an Atheist means you believe there is a God to oppose you!

If I say I don't believe in unicorns that means that unicorns must exist? Or that Santa Clause must exist for me to believe he does not exist? I need a little help with that.

Anyway ...

Atheist means non-theist. There are non-theistic concepts of God. Deism or Pantheism for example. In common use generally a person who says they're an Atheist does not believe in any God.

Yes there are plenty of non-theistic Jedi.

Don't miss 7 Types of Non-Believers at http://www.alternet.org/story/155685/no_religion_7_types_of_non-believers_?page=entire .

Absolutely possible; especially because there are atheistic Jedi here.

Like Adder, I might be considered atheist under some definitions, but like Hypatia, I believe in the Force, too.

And with that...

MTFBWY,
LTK

I call myself an atheist Jedi (as I said in chat) so it is very much possible

I do not 'believe' in The Force as a matter of faith or trust in the existence of some kind of deity or higher power

My 'belief' in The Force is a viewpoint. A perspective and a way of looking at the world and how we are all interconnected. I do not believe there is some vaguely undefined (and scientifically unproven) 'energy field' but there are many Jedi and some do

We are all equal in our beliefs. We just present different perspectives. Much the same with any religion


The link for Br John didn't work for me some I'm reposting here:

http://www.alternet.org/belief/155685/no_religion_7_types_of_non-believers_/ (I think it's the same one but he might want to double check)

Thank you very much.

What I find beautiful is that there is belief, but not 'belief in' something ....

I would not say that I'm an atheist, nor not an atheist. It doesn't matter.

And science is a very shaky foundation for anything. Science is a practice, not an end of 'truth'. We can 'prove' something scientifically, yet the science of tomorrow 'proves' in another way that which was contrarily proven before, to a more or even less correctness, and so goes what on can 'believe in' from the foundations of science.

There's no need to 'prove' the Force, nor God, nor Tao, nor Winnie-the-Pooh scientifically. Physics, Aristotelian to current quantum or relativistic, should serve to calm one's faith in science.

Feel, don't think. Cultivate, don't calculate ...