Religions of Irreligion: Materialism and Darwinism
Materialism is an ideology that has existed since time immemorial and holds that the only absolute being is matter. According to this false belief, matter has existed from the infinite past and will remain forever. The most significant feature of materialism is its rejection of the existence of a Creator and other religious beliefs. There are many movements and ideologies in the world that hold irreligion as their main dogma, and materialism is the foundation of a great majority of them. To put it another way, the most effective influence in irreligion is materialism.
Since the time of the Sumerians and ancient Greeks, materialist thinking has permeated human history. However, it was mainly in the 19th century that this superstitious belief made its way to a well-established system of thought. But one obstacle to materialist understanding as it gathered momentum was the question, "How did the universe and living beings come into existence?"
It was within the same century that the theory of evolution, presented by Charles Darwin, provided an answer (which actually had no scientific validity) that the materialists had sought for so long. According to this baseless theory, lifeless materials came together coincidentally due to random forces to form the first cell. And according to Darwinism, all living beings on the earth subsequently developed thanks to the evolution of that very first cell.
Through these claims Darwin quickly became the architect of the greatest falsehood in the history of science. His theory, grounded on not a speck of scientific finding, is but fallible reasoning, as he himself admitted. Indeed, Darwin confessed in his book The Origin of Species that the evolution theory was lacking in the face of many important questions.
Still, he expected that advances in science would make it possible to overcome those difficulties and that new scientific findings would consolidate his theory. He often mentioned this in his book, but contrary to what Darwin hoped, advances in science actually disproved the fundamental assumptions of the theory, one by one. Indeed, in spite of all the evolutionist propaganda, the theory of evolution is, as stated by Michael Denton, an Australian biologist, "a theory in crisis."
Throughout the 19th century scientific facts pertaining to the theory of evolution were totally unknown. Meanwhile, for materialists in search of scientific support, this theory was seized as an unprecedented opportunity since what Charles Darwin presented was denial of the existence of a Creator. At that period the assertion that human beings had developed from inanimate materials by pure chance was exactly what the materialists wanted to hear.
Phillip Johnson, a professor at the University of Chicago, renowned and well respected in academic circles for his books and criticisms of the theory of evolution, makes clear what the theory represents for irreligious systems of thought:
...The triumph of Darwinism implied the rejection of God and set the stage for replacing biblical religion with a new faith based on evolutionary naturalism. That new faith would become the basis not just of science but also of government, law and morality. It would be the established religious philosophy of modernity.1
The words of Phillip Johnson indicate the real aim of the advocates of this philosophy of irreligion. Materialists, driven to form an irreligious society that rejects the existence of Allah and His law, claim that there is no one to whom human beings must feel responsible. The misguided rationale satisfies their desire for a kind of human being who is not accountable to anyone. Their ambition is summed up by one of their scientists as follows:
Man stands alone in the universe, a unique product of a long, unconscious, impersonal, material process, with unique understanding and potentialities. These he owes to no one but himself, and it is to himself that he is responsible.2
Any person of sound mind and conscience can see, without difficulty, the senseless reasoning inherent in the statements above. The author of these statements, a scientist with a material outlook on life, attributes man's existence to his own success. However, it is obvious that at no stage of this process did man exercise his own faculty of decision-making or authority. It was Allah who created man on earth in perfect form, but the passion for being "accountable to no one" led materialists to expect that unconscious and mindless matter could form conscious and intelligent beings.
It should be remembered that the longing of disbelievers for freedom from accountability is not peculiar to materialists and evolutionists of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Qur’an, Allah informs us about the existence of previous peoples who shared the same mind-set:
“Does man think that he will be left neglected? Had he not been a sperm from semen emitted? Then he was a clinging clot, and [Allah] created [his form] and proportioned [him] and made of him two mates, the male and the female? Is not that [Creator] able to give life to the dead?”3
As the verse points out, Allah created man from a drop containing sperm and proportioned him. By no means could man have had any authority to exercise over his own creation because he himself was created. However, despite the explicit description by Allah, some people still dare to attribute their existence on earth to themselves and claim to be "unaccountable" beings.
The concept of man's unaccountability, encouraged by materialist thinking and supported by the theory of evolution, dominates modern social structure and the scientific and ideological world of today. This deviant understanding which wages war against the moral values that provide order and unity to society has resulted in generations exposed to ever increasing decline.
Today, science has proved that materialist conceptions as well as the theory of evolution are false, that they are not based on any scientific evidence whatsoever, and that they continue to be refuted by scientific findings. Yet, under the persistent social inculcation of the last 150 years, materialism and the theory of evolution are still being advocated by many people as though they were proven facts. That is because the advocates of irreligion desperately need them both to deny the existence of Allah and to distance people from religion and moral values. Otherwise, they would be deprived of any grounds on which to defend their irreligion.
Defending a Theory Abandoned by Science
Many scientists of our day clearly admit why they continue to defend the concepts of evolution and materialism despite more recent scientific facts. For instance, Phillip Johnson quotes and comments on statements by Richard Lewontin, a geneticist from Harvard University and fervent advocator of the evolution theory with blind faith in materialism:
"The primary problem is not to provide the public with the knowledge of how far it is to the nearest star and what genes are made of... Rather, the problem is to get them to reject irrational and supernatural explanations of the world..." What the public needs to learn is that, like it or not, "we exist as material beings in a material world, all of whose phenomena are the consequences of material relations among material entities. In a word, the public needs to accept materialism, which means that they must [reject] God..."4
These statements clearly indicate the materialists' outlook on life based on misguided rationale. Facts introduced by science today reveal that the claims asserted are contrary to logic and reason. But despite all scientific data, they are blindly committed to their beliefs and continue in efforts on behalf of their cause. Dr. Michael Walker, an anthropologist from the University of Sydney, explains why the theory of evolution is still being promoted:
One is forced to conclude that many scientists and technologists pay lip service to Darwinian theory only because it supposedly excludes a creator.5
Phillip Johnson, who refuses the scientifically unjustifiable claims of Darwinism, elaborates on why it has had such an "irreplaceable" importance for the unbelieving leaders of science and why they maintain it at all costs:
Leaders of science see themselves as locked in a desperate battle against religious fundamentalists, a label which they tend to apply broadly to anyone who believes in a Creator who plays an active role in worldly affairs... Darwinism plays an indispensable ideological role in the war against fundamentalism. For that reason, the scientific organizations are devoted to protecting Darwinism rather than testing it, and the rules of scientific investigation have been shaped to help them succeed.6
The prominent advocates of materialist and atheist philosophies committed to promote them throughout the world have, as stated by Johnson, embraced Darwin's theory of evolution solely because it provides a so-called scientific basis for their own ideologies. This was observed from the time the theory of evolution was first put forward. Karl Marx, the founder of dialectic materialism who harbored enmity against religion, often stressed the significance of the theory for his ideology. And in a letter Marx wrote to his close friend Engels, he made clear his thoughts on Darwinism:
...This is the book which contains the basis in natural history for our views.7
And after having read Darwin's book, The Origin of Species Friedrich Engels commented:
Our theory is a theory of evolution, not a dogma to be learned by heart and to be repeated mechanically. 8
An American botany professor, Conway Zirkle, explains why the founders of communism, Marx and Engels, adopted Darwinism:
Marx and Engels accepted evolution almost immediately after Darwin published The Origin of Species… Evolution, of course, was just what the founders of communism needed to explain how mankind could have come into being without the intervention of any supernatural force, and consequently it could be used to bolster the foundations of their materialistic philosophy. In addition, Darwin's interpretation of evolution – that evolution had come about through the operation of natural selection – gave them an alternative hypothesis to the prevailing teleological explanations of the observed fact that all forms of life are adapted to their living conditions. Actually, natural selection made it possible to drop teleology completely and, as a result, the scientists could explain the organic world in materialistic terms.9
As these statements make clear, the sole reason why Marx and Engels supported Darwin was the aversion they felt for religion. That is why they held on to mechanisms which had no scientific value and were merely figments of the imagination. Indeed, Friedrich Engels explains in his book why he considers the theory of evolution important:
He [Darwin] dealt the metaphysical conception of nature the heaviest blow by his proof that the organic world of today – plants, animals, and consequently man too – is the product of a process of evolution going on through millions of years.10
Obviously, Engels also made the mistake of assuming that the theory of evolution gave an explanation for how the millions of different types of living beings on earth came into existence. It was not only Engels who assumed that Darwin's theory was a verified fact, but Joseph Stalin, the bloodiest communist leader of history, also stressed the significance of the theory in his autobiography:
In order to disabuse the minds of our seminary students, of the myth that the world was created in six days, we had to acquaint ourselves with the geological origin and age of the earth, and be able to prove them in argument; we had to familiarize ourselves with Darwin's teachings.11
Clearly, the common point between the materialist systems of thought and Darwin's theory of evolution is, without doubt, irreligion, and the sole purpose of their advocates is to make people deny the existence of God. In the Qur’an, Allah informs us about the efforts of those who strove in the past to lead people to denial:
And We made them leaders inviting to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped.12
In other verses He points to the end of those who deny and lead people to denial:
Then who is more unjust than one who denies the verses of Allah and turns away from them? We will recompense those who turn away from Our verses with the worst of punishment for their having turned away.13
The refutation of materialism will bring an end to the disbelief which is presently in rapid social ascent with each passing day. Toward this end, it is essential to make people aware of the fact that matter is not of an eternal nature and that, in terms of science, the theory of evolution is entirely unjustifiable.14 Thus, all ideologies that reject the existence of God can be eliminated, and this will be the inescapable end of materialist thought. As Allah stated:
What those [people] are engaged in is destined for destruction, and worthless is what they have been doing.15
The Significance of Darwinism for Irreligion
Some readers may well think that Darwinism and materialism cannot be the most important basis of disbelief because a vast majority of people are totally unaware of these concepts and are neither irreligious nor lead a life completely divorced from religion. At first sight the statement might seem reasonable; in our time people tend not to lead lives based on thought. Goals such as making money and living life to the full saturate every aspect of the prevalent unsophisticated culture, especially among young people. This superficial culture leaves little room for questions such as, "How did I come to exist?" or "Who created me?" People think neither about their creation by Allah nor about the deception of evolution. The vast majority are far more preoccupied with such trivial issues as the lives of celebrities and juicy scandals of pop stars, which irreparably disqualifies them from focusing their interest on deeper subjects, such as how they came to exist. Ordinary concerns, such as making one's living and daily problems, occupy their minds entirely.
Consequently, people who put their faith in Darwinism and consciously embrace materialist philosophy never comprise a majority in society; people live apart from the whole question of religion largely because they do not think. At this point the query might emerge, "Are Darwinism and materialism really so important?"
Closer scrutiny reveals that Darwinism is, in fact, the most important force upholding irreligion because those embracing it, despite the small portion of society they represent, are the people who are in the intellectual forefront of that society. For example, in one social survey in the USA only nine percent of the society said they were atheist evolutionists. However, this section of society holds sway over universities, media, official scientific institutions, and the film industry. The members who direct the entire society, establish education policy, and shape the minds of people through the media are generally the atheist evolutionists.
When considered globally, one observes that this situation is prevalent in many countries. Here, an interesting indication is the cultural and ideological effort put forth by the advocates of communist ideology. It is known that with the exception of a few countries, communism as a political system has collapsed. Despite this, however, communism is still being upheld by some in certain circles because the materialist philosophy, which is the ideological groundwork of communism, is still alive. Meanwhile, communists convey the message, "Marx had some failings in his economic theory, yet materialism is very much alive." Indeed, in many countries communists are still highly organized, having great influence over the realms of science, arts and philosophy. They control the majority of publishing houses, and in book fairs their opinions are extensively voiced. A majority of the columnists and executives in the popular media, generally referred to as the "60s generation," have a Marxist background. Although convinced of the economic failings of communism, they still adhere to the materialist philosophy and consider religion to be the opium of the masses.
Darwinism is the real religion of these people. They believe adamantly in Darwinism and make every effort to revive his theory. It may well be that a significant section of society never concerns itself with the question, "How did I come into being?" but the majority of those who do consider this question have been deceived by Darwinism, thanks to the communist organizations mentioned above. In college a student is exposed to indoctrination by Darwinist instructors, encounters Darwinist and atheist books in exhibits, and receives similar messages when he visits an art gallery or a theater. That is how the culture of disbelief is upheld and influences the educated and urban section of a society. Those who are under its influence assume Darwinism to be a scientific reality and view religion as "a traditional belief held by rural people." Similarly, in the Qur’an when people are asked, "What has your Lord sent down?" the disbelievers reply, "Legends of the former peoples." 16
Nevertheless, religion is an explicit and absolute reality which has nothing to do with tradition. Religion is a relationship with one's Creator, a fact ignored by the blind evolutionists. To eliminate the culture of unbelief and lift the veil of heedlessness from society, it is essential that Darwinism and materialist philosophies be demolished by scientific means.
