Natural Atheism

This monograph presents atheism as the default human position, arguing that religious belief requires cultural indoctrination while disbelief emerges naturally in the absence of religious instruction. Eller, an anthropologist, challenges the common assumption that humans possess an innate tendency toward religious belief, proposing instead that atheism represents the baseline cognitive state from which individuals depart only through socialization.

The work's central thesis contends that children born into environments without religious exposure naturally develop as atheists, requiring no special argumentation or philosophical sophistication to reach this position. Eller distinguishes between what he terms "natural atheism" - the simple absence of god-belief - and more deliberative forms of atheism that emerge through conscious rejection of religious claims. This distinction proves crucial to his argument that atheism need not be understood as a reactive stance against theism but rather as the original human condition.

Drawing on anthropological evidence and cross-cultural analysis, Eller examines how religious beliefs propagate through social transmission rather than spontaneous generation. He argues that the diversity of religious beliefs across cultures demonstrates their constructed rather than innate character. The work engages critically with cognitive science of religion scholars who propose that humans possess a "god module" or natural tendency toward supernatural beliefs, countering that such tendencies, even if they exist, do not inevitably produce theistic worldviews without cultural scaffolding.

The monograph's significance lies in its reframing of the atheism-theism debate. Rather than treating atheism as a position requiring justification, Eller shifts the burden of explanation to theism, asking why and how religious beliefs arise from an initially non-religious state. This approach challenges both religious apologists who argue for the naturalness of belief and New Atheist writers who focus primarily on refuting religious arguments. By grounding his analysis in anthropological observation rather than philosophical argumentation, Eller provides an empirical foundation for understanding atheism's emergence and persistence.

His work contributes to broader discussions about the origins of religious belief, the role of culture in shaping worldviews, and the proper baseline for understanding human cognitive defaults regarding supernatural claims. The monograph suggests that treating theism as normative reflects cultural bias rather than psychological reality.