Camus' philosophical rejection of religion in “The Stranger” and “The Plague”

Philosophy
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Introduction
Albert Camus is one of the few people in the world who have a number of tiles to his name. He was journalist, a Nobel peace prize holder an award winning author. He was also described by others who knew him as a philosopher although he refused to accept the last title. However, the stance he took on various issues providing and the kind of arguments he advanced throughout could be seen to have philosophical angle. There are various issues that Albert discussed and took a standpoint on. His views o various issues would elicit different reactions and some of these views would bring changes. One of the issues that he strongly spoke about and against was religion. As an author, he used his books to develop his ideologies. The argument on religion was well advanced in two of his books The Stranger and The Plague. His arguments were not always straightforward and would sometimes be confusing. This is because his arguments were not necessarily either or. His justification and foundation of his argument always had philosophical backing. One aspect that came out clear is that he rejected religion and its canons. He did so philosophically provided backing to his argument and assertion. This discussion takes focus on the justification he provided on his strong rejection of religion.
The Stranger
This is one of the books that Albert Camus wrote and which he used to further assert his philosophical rejection of religion. In this book, Camus argues that religion is a pure creation of man. According to Camus, for something to have a strong following, it must deep and profound connection wit nature. In his argument, he sees religion as a mere creation of man out of desperation to believe in Supreme Being bigger than him. According to Camus there is absolutely no justification of having something which is seen as having the effect of brain-washing people to belief in things or beings that does not exist. It is important to point out at this juncture that philosophy is mainly built on logic. Any aspect, therefore, that appears to beat logic is quickly discredited by philosophy. The fact that religion emphasizes the belief of a being that has it been seen by any human being is seen by philosophy to be illogical. As a result, philosophers such as Camus refuse and completely reject any assertions of the genuineness of religion (Camus, 2012).
Against the Order of Nature
According to philosophers, for something to be considered logical and hence valid, it follows the rules of nature. Anything that goes beyond or falls short of such rules and goes against then is seen as invalid and illogical hence rejected by philosophy. The argument of Camus in the stranger is that by embracing religion, there is a counter or contradiction to the order of nature that argues that people will die. Since religion talks of life after death, that is seen to go against nature and hence cannot be accepted by philosophy. Camus was of the view that religion should be rejected because it prevents man to see life what it is (Camus, 2012). It disconnects man from reality by creating the possibility of a longer and better life after death. Camus was of the view that man should not be misled to believe of another life after death. As such man should live life to the very fullest with the knowledge that death is imminent and life can be cut short.
This view of religion has been openly expressed in the novel The Stranger. One of the main characters in the book appears to advance the argument against religion. He looks at life from w wholesome point of view and is determined to do everything that he possibly can before he dies. He believes that there is no other opportunity to be free and happy after death. This is an indication of the strong stance taken by Camus against religion.
Absurdity
It may be worthwhile to note that Camus was not always an ardent oppose of religion. He was born in a Christian family and grew up following with the teachings of the Catholic faith. It is only later that he after intense study and understanding of religion he later came to reject it. Camus felt that the life of a human being, from a philosophical perspective was irrational and simply absurd. It had no strong foundation or backing upon which it rested. In addition, the life that people I the world live, he saw it as an absolute vanity and irrational with no meaning. He therefore argues that due to the emptiness, void, absurdity and meaninglessness of life, religion was brought in to bring meaning. He therefore saw religion as one illogical concept, meant to comfort people by providing some rational explanations of the way things are. As time went by, Camus would become an atheist having completely rejected all canons upon which religion rests. Of even greater reason for rejection of religion is the process by which religion was used to rationalize the life of man (Camus, 2009). He saw it as mare method of brainwashing people to believe in non-existence aspects thereby giving them false hope.
Conflict Within?
There have been arguments from some quotas that what seemed as rejection of religion by Camus may have well been a representation of his inner dissatisfaction. In both The Plague and The Stranger, the reader gets the feeling that the author is trapped between two realities. He is torn in between not knowing which to follow. On one hand, he admits that religion provides comfort and hope to the absurdity and meaninglessness of life. He even admits and shows that he experiences form of void within him which he seeks to feel. However, being a philosopher, he could not come to bring himself to accept that he had found comfort in something that he considered a creation of man. Religion, according to him was not a natural concept but one that was rejected by humankind. It is therefore seen as an act of cowardice the fact that Camus rejected religion. Other philosophers have criticized the foundations upon which the philosophical canons of Camus were built. They argue that in philosophy, it is not sufficient to make an argument without justification. One must have a justification and provide tangible argument for it to be considered valid. However, for Camus, most of his arguments were more of assertions. An argument must also address those who are of contrary view and justify why they are wrong. However, Camus appeared to ignore any of the contrary arguments advanced and would instead assert his opinions (Camus, 2009).
Freedom
This is the other aspect that is seen to have informed the stand taken by Camus on religion. He felt that religion took away the autonomy, independence, liberalism and freedom of man. The fact that mankind subjected himself to a higher being was one of the issues of contention. He felt that instead of bringing rationalization, religion made the life of man even more irrational. This is because it made him believe in a ‘non-existent being’ that was given so much power. In the Stranger, the outright rejection of religion is evident. The author appears to frown at some of the characters whom he believed were living irrational lives as result of religion. They could not pass any judgment and they seemed to accept anything that comes to their lives no matter how painful. It is this that absurdity that puzzled him and he blamed it all on religion hence his rejection. Camus also portrays an element of rebellion. This is because he does not seem keen to address some of the arguments raised which are contrary to his view. Instead, he appears stuck to his opinion and pronounces to be the correct position. Most philosophers are of the view that Camus was rebellious as a way of dealing with the conflict within him.
One area that Camus and other philosophers appeared to agree on was the fact that the life of a human being was void and somewhat meaningless. What they did not agree on was the best way to deal with absurdity and turn around the life of a human being. While some people opted to use religion to bring about value, give hope and take away absurdity, Albert Camus thought of it differently. He argued that the absurdity and meaninglessness that characterized the human life could be overcome through values both social and personal. Albert also disagreed with the fact that values are deeply entrenched in religion. He argued that values are obtained as a result of moral acts of human beings. He was of the view that embracing religion was an act of fear and cowardice which took away the autonomy of man (Camus, 2012). It was also seen as an easier way of dealing with the absurdity of human life. The author of The Plague and The Stranger advocated for a hands on approach. He believes that by being rebellious and taking a strong stand against religion, then man gains his autonomy and freedom. This allows him to live life as h...