Has science disproved God? : The attempt of atheist fundamentalism to hijack science to disprove God

Abstract

The aim of this bibliographical research is to analyse mainly how the question of God's existence was tackled by a new form of secular atheism which emerged after 9/11. This movement expressed its ideas loudly on the mass media, particularly in a number of bestseller publications, such as The God Delusion of Richard Dawkins, the leading figure of this group. This study questions Dawkins' assumed right to dismiss any religious belief in a personal God, thereby reducing God to a mere scientific hypothesis. Dawkins laboured hard in trying to disprove classical arguments for God's existence concluding that "there almost certainly is no God". This research also considers in detail the reaction of a number of authors who have criticised Dawkins' ideas. Dawkins' assertion that science has practically disproved God is lastly addressed, concluding that his work is philosophically flawed, based on claims from materialism and naturalism. His is not really a genuine contribution to science, but is a strong form of atheist fundamentalism, cheap propaganda aiming at influencing untutored people, who without reading Dawkins' works are already expressing publicly similar ideas. This thesis tries, though briefly, to develop a necessary and relevant dialogue between such views and sound Catholic theology in a post-modern world.