“Those who deny the existence of God destroy human nobility.” This was written by the English thinker Francis Bacon 400 years ago, affirming that atheism is intellectually superficial and morally harmful. He believed that a little philosophy leads human minds toward atheism, but delving deeply into philosophy guides them back to religion. Atheism, he argued, is not morally neutral but stands behind major crises in humanity by removing the moral barriers that prevent sin.

The primary issue with atheism is that the ethics it produces are heavily utilitarian, requiring constant external oversight. When this oversight is absent, the physical barriers between man and vice disappear, leading to sin without any internal alarm or resistance.

In the 16th century, atheism in the West faced social rejection, viewed as a threat to societal morals and ethical integrity, because atheists lack moral standards founded in religion. Strangely enough, this perspective persists even today in some Western societies. The Russian author Dostoevsky encapsulated it in his famous novel “The Brothers Karamazov,” where one character declares, “Without God, everything is permissible.” This means that faith and conscience serve as internal checks against deviant and destructive behaviors. This was also proven by opinion polls and a study conducted in 2014, titled “No Good Without God,” which confirmed that atheists are viewed as threats to values and morals and that this provokes disgust towards them.

The atheistic argument in ethics hides behind rationality, claiming that good and evil are determined by reason alone, without the need for religion to set these standards. However, this transforms reason from a tool for perception into an entity capable of setting standards.

The truth is that reason alone cannot define good and evil; it requires external, transcendent standards to be unbiased and universally applicable. The logic states that we need a form of authority other than ourselves. Thus, atheism fails to produce ethics from a philosophical standpoint, opening the door to vices and sins, including various forms of sexual deviance.

Interestingly, atheism itself acknowledges the existence of universal morals and judges people's behaviors accordingly, such as a citizen's betrayal of their country. Atheism cannot claim that individual reason alone sets the standards for treason. No one will agree with them, as society, authority, and law would vehemently oppose this view, and such acts would not find media support or celebration. However, if an atheist advocates for sexual deviance and perversion, they may find protection and support despite the destructive impact on social fabric and moral strength.

Studies have shown that religious individuals are less likely to use pornography, and those who abstain from it often have religious beliefs and practice religion. Conversely, pornography use increases with weaker religious ties, confirming that religion has always been the primary regulator of sex throughout human history. The absence of religion signals a destructive sexual chaos.

Therefore, the term “Sexual Atheism” emerged, referring to viewing sex as if God does not exist, meaning that desire and circumstances alone determine sexual behavior for atheists, who do not see it as sinful. The promotion of contemporary atheism and the absence of religion as a moral and behavioral guide led 53% of Americans in a Gallup Institute poll more than two decades ago to say yes to sex outside of marriage, considering it acceptable. This percentage has increased with the rise of digital media and internet pornography, threatening the institution of family and marriage in the United States.

A 2022 book titled “Three Sexual Revolutions: Catholic, Protestant, Atheist” ⁽¹⁾ by Professor David R. Carlin discusses three sexual revolutions that influenced the West. The first, Catholicism, organized sexual chaos in the Roman Empire. The second, Protestantism, affected monastic communities by allowing clergy to marry, reducing their deviations, and permitting divorce in cases of adultery. The third, atheism, permits adultery and moral decay, making American society worse than it was in the 1960s. Modern sexual deviations know no bounds, and atheism has led to the loss of all Christian sexual morals.

Atheism and Pornography

Studies concluded that atheists in the United States are more likely to view deviations like adultery, homosexuality, and drug use as morally acceptable. Some atheist advocates also promote pornography and child sexual exploitation, such as Harry Hay (d. 2002), an atheist and prominent advocate for homosexuality who founded organizations defending it and child exploitation.

The Western experience offers two models of the connection between atheism and moral decay. The first is Denmark, one of the most atheistic countries globally. In 2005, it ranked third among the most atheistic countries, and by 2017, surveys showed that only 15% of Danes believed in God, with 46% not believing.

Denmark also ranks high in pornography production, being one of the largest producers of child-targeted pornography. Since abolishing laws banning the production and sale of pornography in 1969, Denmark experienced a sexual explosion, publishing the first children's pornography magazine 50 years ago. By 2018, 54% of births in Denmark were illegitimate.

Denmark is also the third most supportive European country for homosexuality in 2023, being one of the first countries to recognize and legalize same-sex marriage. According to a 2023 European Commission survey, 69% of Danes support same-sex marriage.

The second model is the Netherlands, which ranked thirteenth among the most atheistic countries in 2005, with 44% atheists. Despite being the first Protestant country, only 22% of Dutch people consider themselves believers.

This widespread atheism led to the disintegration of the fabric on which the Netherlands was founded, with a dramatic decline in religiosity. Many churches have closed, and a 2022 report indicated that the number of Catholics, the second religion in the country, attending church—once 80% in the 1950s—dropped to just 3%.

This atheism and “agnosticism” (not knowing if there is a God) led to seeking spiritual fulfillment through immersion in sex. In 2022, more than 71,000 illegitimate children were born in the Netherlands, accounting for 42% of births that year. As the search for religion and meaning becomes individualistic, sex and pornography become means of salvation, representing a form of nihilism for both individuals and society.

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(1)   Three Sexual Revolutions: Catholic, Protestant, Atheist.

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