Although atheism is often stereotyped as exclusively physicalistic (“atoms swirling in the void”), many contemporary atheists have developed a Platonic atheism.  Platonic atheism affirms abstract objects, like moral laws and mathematical principles.  Platonic atheists say the system of abstract objects enables them to construct a rich alternative to both theism and physicalistic atheism.  The articles in this issue of Religious Studies Archives show how Platonic atheists affirm the non-theistic reality of the holy and the good.  They embrace mystical experience and spiritual practices.

Eric Steinhart

• Introduction: Platonic Atheism, Eric Steinhart
• An analysis of holiness, Quentin Smith, Religious Studies, Volume 24, issue 4 (1988), 511-527.
• Iris Murdoch and the nature of Good, Elizabeth Burns, Religious Studies, Volume 33, issue 3 (1997), 203-213.
• Mystical naturalism, Leonard Angel, Religious Studies, Volume 38, issue 3 (2002), 317-38.
• Love in dark times: Iris Murdoch on openness and the void, Tony Milligan, Religious Studies, Volume 50, issue 1 (2014), 87-100.
• Religion within the limits of the quest for the highest good, G. L. Doore, Religious Studies, Volume 19, issue 3 (1983), 345-359.