One of the foremost experts on the Second Temple Period, Shaye J. D. Cohen, the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, writes, “In the eyes of the ancients, the essence of religion was neither faith nor dogma, but action” (51). Though counterintuitive, this statement seems absolutely correct. If one searches the TaNaKh, the Tosefta, the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Shulchan Aruch, or any other major Jewish work, one will not find any sense of dogma. Quite the contrary, notions of God, creation, wisdom, and afterlife vary innumerably.
Only when Christianity becomes its own, distinct religion, does Judaism, in my opinion, add one creedal rubric: Jews cannot regard Jesus as the messiah. Aside from this notion, Jews remain free to determine how they “jew.”
Atheism does not figure at all into the Second Temple Period, for the gods and God explained natural phenomenon. The idea that a world without supernatural powers existed did not even begin to cross the minds of the ancients. It does however cross many minds today.
But today science explains the rising and the setting of the sun, the changes in the tides, and the causes of sickness. God as a supernatural being plays little role in the world. Unsurprisingly, many scientists do not believe in God as they have the right to do without any judgment.
Yet, a recent study, conducted by Rice University and the University at Buffalo — The State University of New York (SUNY), shows that “Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions.” In fact, “17 percent of atheists with children are involved in religious institutions for social and personal reasons.” The study found three causes for atheists’ involvement in religious institutions: “scientific identity, spousal influence, and desire for community.” While all of these reasons prove interesting, the third, “desire for community,” seems most applicable to the Judaism today, for many prominent Jews have publicly proclaimed their atheism; yet, they nonetheless adamantly affirm their Jewishness.
So what does “desire for community” mean? “Study participants want a sense of moral community and behavior, even if they don’t agree with the religious reasoning.” The same applies for Jewish atheists. As people, they too seek out to live moral lives within a community to which they can most easily interact. And because Judaism does not require belief in God, Judaism does not necessarily pose any obstacles for atheists, and the same goes vice-versa.
Judaism has always encouraged people to struggle with their beliefs, pushing them to question authority and question themselves. Questioning God’s existence ironically functions as an innately Jewish exercise. Yet, it ceases to act as such when one becomes satisfied with the idea that God exists, that God might exist, or that God does not exist. When certainty penetrates the mind, it spreads until it consumes it. At that point, faith, let alone God, no longer plays any role in the world.
Bibligography:
Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. 51.
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, David Bloom attends Indiana University Bloomington where he majors in Jewish Studies and Religious Studies. His column, J-Studs, appears here on alternating Saturdays.
