Albert Camus Atheism

State of Formation - An Atheist on Albert Camus' Death

(1947).  In each of these works Camus points out how absurd life and existence are.  If you are looking for "purpose," "meaning," or "design" this New Year, don't read Camus.  He might just change your mind.

Camus' life was riddled with troubles and woes.  His poor father died in WWI, he contracted tuberculosis at a young age, married a heroine addict, was denounced by his communist peers and kicked out of the Algerian Communist Party, and died in a car accident after deciding not to travel by train with his family.  All of this in the short life of a winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature .  In spite of all of these hardships, and in spite of his discovery of the "absurdity" of life, Camus managed to be very politically active.  He shows that one can be an atheistic existentialist, believe existence is absurd, and still promote positive social and political change.  He, along with his famous comrade Jean-Paul Sartre, denounced totalitarianism and fascism.  He argued against capital punishment and communism, and promoted a liberal political ideology during the rise of European fascism.  He deserves to be remembered.

Contrary to popular belief, one can believe in the absurdity of existence and still promote humanistic and humanitarian ends.  Nihilism is only one response to absurdity, the other is to continue our projects in the face of meaninglessness.  Camus and Sartre chose the latter.  In this New Year, and in honor of Camus, I suggest we abandon the idea that humans are the "center" or "pinnacle" of the cosmos.  We should also stop imagining that we are being watched over, cared for, and protected by an invisible force.  We ought to embrace the absurdity of existence, denounce all of our conventional meta-narratives, and promote positive social change.  This year will be just as absurd as last, but it will still be ours.

Camus was once asked: “Doesn’t a philosophy that insists upon the absurdity of the world run the risk of driving people to despair?”  He responded by saying: “accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end.  It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.”  As a motivation for revolt, absurdity can give the impetus for positive social change.

Interestingly enough James Cone used Camus’ essay The Rebel in asserting Black (Liberation) Theology in the discipline’s seminal text Black Theology and Black Power. William R. Jones relies on Camus (and Sartre) in asserting a secular humanism in Is God a White Racist? in his critique of Black Theology and the problem of theodicy.

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Albert Camus and the literature of revolt

Atheism