This Fathers Day is a great opportunity to reflect on our fathers and father-figures here on earth, and on God the Father, who art in heaven. Michaels reflection is important to us as peasants not only to increase our appreciation of our own fathers and father-figures, but also so we can be more empathetic and understanding of those who struggle with this aspect of relationships and with God. Ultimately, this essay represents a tool for evangelization—if we can understand and empathize with our critics, perhaps we can speak to them and reach out to them, and be a bridge to them into the Church.
A Review
If you spend enough time watching “Christian vs. Atheist” arguments, you will occasionally see the term “sky-daddy” thrown around by the atheist side. It’s easy to roll one’s eyes at it, but what if there’s something to that argument? No, not that it’s a cogent argument but rather that it speaks to something that’s missing in all this controversy.
Faith of the Fatherless by Dr. Paul C. Vitz is a refreshing book that examines atheism from a psychological perspective – not something that’s done very often. As someone who is familiar with Christian apologetic arguments, I found the psychological aspect of this controversy to be both interesting and important. Why? Because the hostility involved in this argument betrayed the fact that it’s not about the arguments. In this book, Dr. Vitz proposes a new theory for atheism: the defective father hypothesis.
Projection Theory
The atheist charge of ‘sky daddy’ is nothing more than a cruder version of Sigmund Freud’s projection theory. Vitz1 described projection theory as such: “God is a projection of our own intense, unconscious desires.” But what if Freud got it backwards? What if the charge of ‘sky daddy’ betrayed more of the atheist’s disposition rather than the Christian?
This is the brilliance of Dr. Vitz’s book. With the use of the defective father hypothesis, he was able to turn the tables on the atheist side in terms of psychology. The second chapter of Faith of the Fatherless focuses on unearthing the lives of many prominent atheists from Friedrich Nietzsche to Christopher Hitchens. In that chapter, Vitz was able to discover dead, abusive, or weak fathers in the lives of these figures. The book as a whole is thorough but curt, readers will quickly discover pertinent facts in the lives of these atheists that they probably didn’t learn in school.
However, the goal of this book review is not to talk about the relationship between atheism and defective fathers. If anything, I am more interested in its mirror phenomenon.
Theists and their Fathers
You might think that if there is a correlation between atheism and having a defective father, then there should be one between having a good father and belief in God. And you would be right.
The third chapter of the book focuses on unearthing the lives of many prominent theists from Catholics (G.K. Chesterton) to Protestants (Edmund Burke) to Jews (Moses Mendelssohn). Thus, one can’t accuse Dr. Vitz of simply focusing on one faith to the exclusion of another. It is also important to keep in mind that the “father” is not necessarily limited to the biological one. Father figures such as uncles and grandfathers are a part of Dr. Vitz’s psychological study.
Personally, I found the biography of the theists to be much more enjoyable to read than that of the atheists. Regardless of what they did or said, I can’t help but feel sorry for the prominent atheists described by Dr. Vitz. On the other hand, I love the heartwarming stories of the love that these figures share for their fathers (or father figures).
The one biography that hits me the most was that of Blaise Pascal. When Pascal’s mother died when he was just three, his lawyer father Étienne gave up his practice to take over the education of young Blaise. The younger Pascal had a very close relationship with his father who was clearly interested in the education of his son. When Étienne died, Blaise wrote a short treatise, “The Death of the Christian”. Said letter “emanate peace and confidence in the salvation of his father”2. I will admit that Pascal’s biography almost made me cry.
While Pascal was a somewhat controversial figure within the Church, he was clearly a zealous figure. His book, the Pensées, is considered to be an important work in defense of Christianity against atheism.
Dr. Vitz’s biographies of prominent theists show the importance of fathers in both the imparting of the Faith and the very belief in God. This brings me to the thesis of Dr. Vitz’s book.
The Thesis of Dr. Vitz
Fortunately, Dr. Vitz seems to be a scientist who cares for the truth. Faith of the Fatherless is not a polemical book. In fact, Dr. Vitz took care to present various counterarguments. He made some qualifications, and he even mentioned a figure who may be an exception to the thesis of this book.
Ultimately, the thesis of Faith of the Fatherless is that atheism is a product of five
factors:3
Historical period
Interpersonal trauma with attachment security (this is where the defective father hypothesis come into play), or in some cases interpersonal incompetence
Above-average intelligence
Ambition and resentment, and sometimes envy, and finally
Their own free will
All five of these factors played a part in their own way. Thus, while the defective father hypothesis is an important part of the psychology of atheism, it is not the only one. In the end, each of us are still responsible for ourselves.
Conclusion and Takeaway
Faith of the Fatherless is a well-researched book regarding the topic of not just atheism but also belief in God in general. I suggest that those who are troubled by the “new atheist” phenomenon check out this book, because it’s not about the arguments.
Now I’m not saying that apologetics isn’t important. However, I do believe that its importance had been overstated in our overly intellectualized society.
In fact, it’s more important to check out the lives of the believers rather than that of the unbelievers. We need to remember that good fathers are conducive to the Faith. It makes sense; God is a father, hence God the Father. If one can’t relate to his own earthly father, than how is he supposed to relate to his Heavenly Father?
This is why it’s unhelpful, if not harmful, for the average man to get too hung up on the minutiae of apologetics. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the arguments – it never is. So how is the believer supposed to approach the atheist and his worldview? The answer can be found in this passage from the book’s epilogue:4
If one wishes genuinely to reach such people, one must address, probably indirectly, their underlying psychology. Aside from the common, superficial reasons, many serious unbelievers are likely to have painful memories behind their rationalization of atheism. Such interior wounds need to be fully appreciated and addressed by believers.
References:
Vitz, P.C. (2013). Faith of the fatherless: The psychology of Atheism. Ignatius Press.
If you enjoyed this essay, you can read more of
’s work at one of his two substacks: His fiction, , and his autobiographical reflections at .Thank you, Michael, for this excellent essay, and Happy Fathers day to you fathers and father-figures who might be reading!
God bless you!
Vitz, 2013, p. 6
ibid, p. 88
ibid, p. 194
ibid, p. 197
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Happy father's day to all the papas our there. And thanks Scoot for posting my review!