In the PC game Age of Empires II, one of the special abilities the Huns have is atheism. Why?
For purposes of keeping this in GQ, by the way, let’s keep the discussion to the historical Huns, not the computer game ones. I think that Badtz Maru was just trying to give the context of why he was asking, rather than asking about the game per se.
I think they would be pagans. They would worship/invoke some manifestation of power.
I’ll bet it has something to do with the phrase “godless Huns”. I believe the English used this phrase to describe the Germans during both world wars. It probably goes back farther than that though, to the times when missionaries were attempting to convert the non-Christian Huns.
Difficult to know. They were only running around the part of the world with a recorded history at that time for about 70 years. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote about them, but since he was himself an atheist mostly likely he didn’t take any religious practices into his account, though you may want to read his work about them and see for yourself.
Yeah, I was talking about the real Huns, I mentioned the game because that was the first I ever heard of that atheism thing.
“Godless Huns” was an ethnic slur used by the British against the Germans during both World Wars. It’s purpose was, of course, to demonize the Germans and try to draw the US into the war. It worked in WW1, but it took Pearl Harbor get the US into WW2.
The Huns were led in their spiritual lives by shamans. I am not aware of atheism occurring among any prmitive people. Atheism is not a lack of organized religion any more than democracy is a lack of monarchy. It is a developed system of belief.
You did mean “paganism” instead of “atheism”, didn’t you?
Nope, I meant atheism.
Slithy has gyred right to the very wabe!
We take it for granted that all primitives are animists, if they haven’t any “organized” religion.
Why? How come there are no primitive atheists?
Perhaps there isn’t enough developed science in “primative” cultures to take the place of religion.
Without science to provide answers, there is no way for atheists to provide answers to life’s burning questions such as “When was the world created?” and “What happens when I die?” and “Why is Cecil so smart?” So realigion steps in and becomes B.F. Skinner’s “ultimate explanitory fiction.”
There are accounts that claim that Attila possessed the sword of Mars, which is an interesting insight into religion in general at the time.
I know next to nothing about the Huns. But I’ve never heard of any people/tribe without religion; paganism, sun, fire, weather…something. I think that if any people/tribe or even village was atheist (actively denying the existence of god(s), we’d know about it.