The Case for Naturalism

"Atheism" is a fine word, and I'm happy to describe myself as an atheist. God is an idea that has consequences, and those consequences don't accord with the world we experience any better than countless other ideas we've given up on. But given a choice I would always describe myself first as a "naturalist" -- someone who believes that there is only one realm of reality, the material world, which obeys natural laws, and that we human beings are part of it. "Atheism" is ultimately about rejecting a certain idea, while "naturalism" is about a positive acceptance of a comprehensive worldview. Naturalists have a lot more work to do than simply rejecting God; they bear the responsibility of understanding how to live a meaningful life in a universe without built-in purpose.

MORE: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/05/07/the-case-for-naturalism/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feedutm_campaign=Feed%3A+CosmicVariance+%28Cosmic+Variance%29utm_content=Google+Reader