In a recent survey of the nation's philosophy professors, Notre Dame philosopher Gary Gutting found that agnosticism is the minority view by a wide margin; 73 percent of philosophers incline toward atheism while 15 percent incline toward theism, leaving a mere 6 percent for agnosticism.
Those who do believe in a greater power tend to be drawn by either rational argument or religious experience, both of which defy scientific/empirical investigation. But insisting that the deity be scientifically testable tends to misunderstand religion's true purpose, says Gutting:
"There’s nothing in the Bible that presents God as a well-confirmed scientific hypothesis, and there’s a great deal that emphasizes that the truths of religion are beyond human comprehension. In spite of this, believers too often play the double game of insisting on God’s transcendence and mystery to meet rational objections, but then acting as if they’d justified a straightforward literal understanding of their beliefs."
What atheism fails consistently at is modeling the human communal experience. What it provides is rejection of tradition, rejection of ritual, and rejection of mystery. But it has a great deal of difficultly offering anything in its place. In that way, it parallels the rise of individualistic materialism.
Josh Lieb, producer of the Late Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, explains how he's maintained faith in God despite all the evidence to the contrary:
Read more at the New York Times
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