4. Meaning and purpose

Abstract

‘Meaning and purpose’ challenges the assumption that without religion, life’s meaning and purpose becomes impossible by arguing that many atheists do and have lived meaningful and purposeful lives. Indeed, atheists could credibly claim that life is more meaningful for them than it is for many religious people who see this world as a kind of preparation for the next. When heaven is the ultimate destination, life on Earth is not really valuable in itself. The atheist, as a naturalist, unequivocally accepts human mortality, with no belief in afterlife, reincarnation, or dissolution of the ego as the self rejoins ultimate reality. We mustn't forget the importance of hedonism.