Tired Meme: Atheism=Genocide

The Friendly Atheist responds to the billboard campaign promoting Larry Taunton's new book.

Taunton thinks that because Stalin was an atheist, he committed awful acts of genocide. That argument makes as much sense as saying his mustache was the cause of all the horrors. It’s also an argument that’s been refuted over and over and over again. Stalin didn’t kill anyone in the name of atheism. There’s no “atheist doctrine” other than disbelief in any god. Stalin preached dogmatism in political ways, not anti-religious ones. He replaced god with himself. But, you know, admitting that would undermine the entire premise of Taunton’s book so he just ignored all those facts.