Dr. Graham Oppy is an atheist and a leading philosopher of religion. He has a lot to add to recent discussions about atheism and agnosticism. When it comes to the reality of gods, Dr. Oppy argues that each of us fits into one of these four categories: theist, atheist, agnostic, and “innocent.” Interestingly, this clashes with some current ideas on these topics.

In this wide-ranging interview Dr. Oppy addresses a number of important questions. Should we think of an “atheist” as someone who simply lacks belief in God? Is it true that all babies are atheists? Should atheists and agnostics be thought of as skeptics? Is there any important differences between atheism and agnosticism? What is the “big picture” naturalism, and how does it relate to atheism? How can one mount a comprehensive case for atheism? What do we make of the fact that many smart and educated people are not atheists? Should an agnostic think that in principle no one could know there is a god? And what should we make of alleged evidence for theism, in the form of alleged miracles or special religious experiences?

• Dr. Oppy’s home page
• Atheism and Agnosticism (free pdf ebook)
• “Atheism and Agnosticism“
• Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)
• skepticism
• naturalism
• theoretical simplicity
• Bayes’ Theorem
• Advaita Vedānta
• miracles
• William James, Varieties of Religious Experience (free audiobook)
• Dr. Kai Man Kwan
• How a French Atheist Becomes a Christian Theologian (Guillaume Bignon)
• Hume on Religion
• the epistemology of disagreement
• Richard Feldman – Reasonable Disagreement
• Tuggy, “On Counting Gods”
• This episode’s thinking music is “Two Pianos” by Stefan Kartenberg.
• Rastafarianism