Episode 250: Atheism and Sobriety | The Moral Center

In this episode, I have a conversation with John Huey about atheism and sobriety. This is the first in a series of essays that John will be writing about atheism and sobriety, and in this essay, he examines the moral structure of atheism and how that relates to recovery.

‘What is the “Moral Structure” of Atheism as it Relates to Sobriety?’

By John Huey

At the outset, I need to state, at the very beginning of this series of articles and associated podcasts, that I am not an academic or expert regarding the history of atheist thought and its ultimate impact on society.

I do have nearly 35 years of experience in various phases of the recovery movement and as a long-term (33+ year) member of a Secular Recovery group.

These thoughts, as expressed in these articles and podcasts, are primarily from personal experience only and, therefore, are not at all definitive of or proscriptive for anyone but me.

Unlike many who came to whatever form of “unbelief” defines them as a secular person as an adult, I have been a committed atheist since age 12 and carry very little/no baggage from my early training in a middle class, WASP, mainline Protestant denomination.

Through the entire process of undertaking and then embarking on my own journey in sobriety, I have often wondered why a truly secular position as regards abstinence is so widely and deeply misunderstood. This even includes, seemingly, some who define themselves as non-believers.

In thinking about this, for reasons of general clarity and personal utility, I wanted to, for myself as much as anyone else, delve into various aspects of my life as a determined atheist to delineate and explain my personal positions as regards my own recovery, as well as regarding various so-called recovery “movements”, more clearly.

It is hoped that this striving for personal clarity may have some utility for others as they encounter attitudes and assumptions about who and what atheists are that may not be founded on reality.

One of the greatest sources of misunderstanding regarding atheists and atheism is found in questions surrounding concepts of morality and what constitutes a “moral” life.

What is “moral” for the atheist anyway?

Eric Wielenburg, in his essay, ‘Atheism and Morality, which can be found in the very useful Oxford Handbook of Atheism, articulates distinctions regarding this question quite well when he states that, “sometimes, ‘morality’ refers to human moral beliefs and practices; other times, ‘morality’ refers to moral truths or facts.”

He further goes on to “make the case that the question of whether there are objective moral truths is independent of the existence or nonexistence of God.”

In making this distinction the religious positions regarding “moral principles” can be seen as exactly what they are as being concocted to support the “articles of faith” of specific branches of organized religion and/or as the underpinnings of various “spiritual” movements such as the recovery organizations that evolved from the Oxford Group in the 1930s.

A more holistic, universal awareness of what is inherently good (not killing, not stealing, not assaulting others, etc.) as well as the baser, and opposite, human traits that are referred to as “evil”, concludes that these states are purely human in origin and, thus, more explicable. A newly sober atheist can proceed, as a matter of rational thought leading to more rational actions, to an individual ethical code without the influence of whatever substance may have contributed to the erosion of known, ethical, thought and action earlier in life.

My own assumption was always that it was better and more rational to make these positive decisions and life choices while being motivated by what is real rather than what is unseen and irrational by its very nature. This can be articulated as a response to Natural Law which is, of course, in its classic definition,