The literary archaeology aimed at discovering the earliest openly advocated position on atheism appears to be an on-going pre-occupation amongst scholars.28 Not unlike much of Western philosophical thought, the formative ideas which gave rise to atheism as it is understood today can be traced back to Greek antiquity and contestations to the polytheism which characterised that period of human history. Both David Sedley (2013) in his publication, From the Pre-Socratics to The Hellenistic Age, and Jennifer M. Hecht (2004) in her work, Doubt: A History, present the Socratic period, and the trial of Socrates (399 BCE) in particular, as a defining timeline in the emergence of atheism within the public square, within the context of Greek antiquity. Whilst much is known of the significant place of Socrates within the history of atheism, albeit largely through the writings of his scholar Plato, this timeline does beg the question as to what might have preceded the Socratic period (469/470 BCE–399 BCE) regarding the idea of non-belief.
28 Sedley, D. (2014:125-134). From the Pre-Socratics to The Hellenistic Age. Onfray, M. (2007:27-19). In Defence of Atheism.
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Jennifer Hecht (2004:31, 153), makes repeated references to Diagoras of Melos as being one of the earliest recorded self-pronounced atheists of the 5th Century BCE. Although what is known of Diagoras is considered anecdotal, his articulations, even when viewed from the present, reflects the core of the challenge to the worldview of the religious. He openly demystified secret religious rites practiced in ancient Greece, thereby causing others to rethink through such previously uncontested practices. Jan Bremmer in his chapter, ‘Atheism in Antiquity’, also notes the other prominent 5th century BCE philosopher, Protagoras, who questioned the generally accepted belief systems, but who Bremmer considered to be more of an agnostic; a point illustrated in the following extract of Protagoras as quoted in Bremmer’s, Concerning the Gods.
“Concerning the gods I am unable to discover whether they exist or not, or what they are like in form; for there are many hindrances to knowledge, the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life.”
Jan Bremmer (2007:12)
Building on understandings of Diagoras, Hecht (2003:36) introduces the case of philosopher and rationalist, Anaxagoras (circa 500-428 BCE)29, who was considered the first person to be indicted for pronouncing his atheism. It took a meteorite falling to earth in 467 BCE to convince Anaxagoras that the ‘heavenly bodies’, including the sun, were merely material objects devoid of any mystical or divine attributes.
“This was the origin of a conflict between religion and science. Here, new information, new empirical data, led to a direct challenge to the way in which the gods were envisioned.”
Hecht (2004:36)
29
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Developing the case of Diagoras further, Jan Bremmer highlights the personal costs and risks which accompanied apostasy and the parodying of the gods and the institutionalisation of the mysteries of the time.30
“When he *viz., Dhiyaghuras al-mariq, or “Diagoras the heretic, or apostate”+ persisted in his hypocrisy *or “dissimulation”+, his unbelief and his atheism, the ruler, the wise men [or philosophers, hukama] and leaders of Attica sought to kill him. The ruler Charias the Archon [Khariyus al-Arkun (415–4)] set a price on his head *literally: “spent money,” badhal+ and commanded that it should be proclaimed among the people: “He who apprehends Diagoras from Melos [Maylun] and kills him will be rewarded with a large sum [badra, traditionally a leather bag containing 1,000 or 10,000 dirhams+.”
Jan Bremmer (2007:18-19)
The significance of Jan Bremmer’s recounting of the repercussions faced by Diagoras for his public stand, cannot escape an academic project of this nature as this could possibly represent the first recording of a ‘fatwa’ type decree for apostasy; the type popularised in recent years with the pay-off price placed on the life of British-Indian author and self- pronounced atheist, Salman Rushdie, for his publication The Satanic Verses. In its principle31, the decree by Ayatollah Khomeini the supreme religious leader of The Republic of Iran, declared on 15 February 1989 calling for the paid murder of Salman Rushdie, is not dissimilar to that decreed against Diagoras.32 A more recent instance of the repercussions to be suffered for challenging religion is that of the murder of journalists at the French weekly
30
Bremmer (2007:18-19) uses the 11th Century recordings of Arab Mubashshir, whose writing in turn, Bremmer notes, is directly or indirectly derived from Apollodorus, the Athenian historian (circa 180-120 BCE). 31
The opening quotation to this chapter (Whitmarsh 2015:7) places current day realities such as the fatwa decreed upon Salman Rushdie within the still relevant context of the history of atheism. The case of Zineb El Rhazoui, discussed below, is further illustration of the need to connect the historical dots with the present.
32
Drawing on the significance of the account of the case of Diagoras, and of particular relevance for this study currently, is that on the 2016 anniversary (The notoriety of the decree is only amplified by a ‘fatwa’ having an ‘anniversary’.) of the decree, Iranian media announced the renewal of the fatwa at a renewal price of $600 000, in addition to the $3 Million set by Ayotollah Khomeini in 1989.
Reference: Independent UK. Dated 21 February 2016. ‘Salman Rushdie: Iranian state media renew fatwa on
Satanic Verses author with $600,000 bounty’. Available online:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/salman-rushdie-iranian-state-media-renew-fatwa-on-satanic- verses-author-with-600000-bounty-a6887141.html. Accessed 12 July 2016.
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satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and the need for the surviving staff member of the newspaper Zineb El Rhazoui to remain under 24-hour state police guard as the most protected woman in France up to the present.33
Lest it be construed that atheism or agnosticism were rapidly developing phenomena in Greek antiquity, Bremmer (2007:11) paints the socio-religious landscape as one characterised by temples and representations of gods within social life and with religious rites of passage through life. Although certain ideas in opposition to gods and the dominant religious rites and practices did surface, they were not widespread and were more confined to sporadic individual voices, rather than being a widespread social phenomenon.
In his acclaimed work, Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World, Tim Whitmarsh highlights the reality that notwithstanding a changed time and context, we continue to ask of religion and atheism the same questions the Greeks did.
‘We are still, in the twenty-first century, grappling with issues that are at least two and a half millennia old………..Disbelief in the supernatural is as old as the hills. Already in the fourth century BC, Plato imagines a believer chastising an atheist: “You and your friends are not the first to have held this view about the Gods! There are always those who suffer from this illness, in greater or lesser numbers.”’
Tim Whitmarsh (2015:1)
In some respects, the South African landscape of atheism and religion, not unlike that of Greek antiquity and even the Middle Ages, resemble the reality that one could not wish away religion. (Bremmer 2007:11) As were the temples, polytheistic gods and the religion of Greek antiquity, so was the permeating influence of Christianity during the Middle Ages, and so it remains for South Africa to the present, with atheism a relatively minority force.
33
Emma-Kate Symons (2016). ‘Zineb el Rhazoui, Charlie Hebdo survivor, discusses why the world needs to
‘Destroy Islamic Fascism’’. New York Times, 18th October 2016. Available online at,
http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/10/18/zineb-el-rhazoui-charlie-hebdo-survivor-discusses- why-the-world-needs-to-destroy-islamic-fascism/. Accessed on, 6th November 2016.
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As much as this study aims to construct a broad overview of the schools of thought of atheism, by drawing on the development of divergent approaches to the subject internationally and contestations to religion from within the different faith traditions, there is no escaping the central place of Christianity within the South African religious landscape. Understanding atheism in the South African context as a response to Christian hegemony, therefore, necessitates a recovery of the earliest and most formative ideas on atheism which continues to inspire and inform the development of the phenomenon in South Africa up to the present. Gary Hyman captures this general point succinctly.
“It is also worth noting at this point that the story of the appearance of atheism is part of a wider story of the appearance of ‘unbelief’ in relation to Christianity. For, as we shall see, atheism is but one species of unbelief that emerged alongside, or in reaction against, other forms such as scepticism, ‘free thinking’ and, later, agnosticism. All these varieties of unbelief have their own distinct characteristics, but they are all part of a wider story of the gradual weakening of the hold of Christian orthodoxy on Western thought and Western society in general.”
Gary Hyman (2010:1)