The Existential Vacuum

Friedrich Nietzsche’s pronouncement of the death of God is well-known. Perhaps this is because his three famous words have turned out to be somewhat prophetic: atheism is more popular in the Western world than ever before. What is less well-established, however, is that Nietzsche’s dramatic declaration was not intended to be celebratory. Despite his thoroughgoing atheism, Nietzsche was in fact deeply concerned about the decline of religious belief. He could not deny that a confrontation with nihilism – which typically follows from atheism – was a threat to humanity’s stability and well-being. Could it be that Nietzsche’s worry about the impact of atheism is being vindicated by the global mental health crisis that we have witnessed over the past few decades? I think the answer is affirmative.

The Existential Vacuum of Atheism

Modern-day atheists are typically heavily influenced by the scientific progress made over the twentieth century. This goes some way in explaining the decline of religious faith. Perpetuated by the emphasis on rational analysis that came out of the Enlightenment, scientific explanations of the world began to supersede supernatural explanations. Divine mysteries of the universe lost their strength as science began to tell us that we are nothing but a complex arrangement of atoms that have come about by unintelligent and automatic forces. In other words, that there is no ultimate meaning, no God-determined rights and wrongs, and, in the broadest sense, that nothing truly matters. This nihilistic outlook is aligned with most atheistic beliefs, and it is starkly different from the religious outlooks which were dominant throughout most of human history.

So why was Nietzsche so frightened about the “death of God”? Well, for Nietzsche, Christianity provided humans with something that a nihilistic outlook cannot replace: ultimate meaningfulness. The urge to derive meaning from our lives is a part of human nature. Granted, a nihilist can still derive contingent meaning from their lives – for instance, from their occupation, nationality, or family. Yet, while this is still important, it is fundamentally distinct from the necessary meaningfulness that can be derived from one’s religious inclinations. This ultimate meaningfulness gives one’s life a meaning as a whole; the kind that can fill you with the conviction that, in an ultimate sense, your existence matters.

Religion can give a person a sense of meaningfulness which isn’t merely derived by the individual, but that exists independently of us; the kind that leads one to believe that the answer to ‘why are we here?’ is not that ‘we just are’.

For this reason, nihilism runs the risk of creating an “existential vacuum” – an overriding feeling of meaninglessness. According to the psychologist and psychotherapist Victor Frankl, who coined the term, the existential vacuum is “a widespread phenomenon of the twentieth century”. This is no coincidence. The rise of atheism has left the world in a state of meaninglessness. Nietzsche himself said that “he who has a why to live can bear almost any how”. The ongoing decline of religious belief in the West has left us empty of fundamental meaning – empty of a ‘why’ to our lives. And without this ‘why’, it is sadly unsurprising that levels of psychological well-being are declining on a global scale.

Meaninglessness and Mental Health

There is good reason to believe that the relationship between increasing rates of anxiety and atheism – both of which are particularly prevalent among the younger generation – is not one of mere correlation, but causal connection. Three interrelated symptoms of mental illness can be seen pervasively in Western societies today: boredom, addiction, and depression. As Nietzsche anticipated, and Frankl observed, these symptoms are exacerbated by the ever-growing existential vacuum.

Boredom is often described as the deep-seated feeling that you are missing something. Yet, the more we entertain and instantly gratify ourselves, the more bored we may feel. This suggests that boredom is a feeling that is much more permanent and substantial than one that can be alleviated easily. I contend that in many cases, this missing something is meaningfulness. Indeed, it makes perfect sense that an existential vacuum would lead to boredom and restlessness. If one is lacking a sense of greater meaning, then it is only predictable that they would often be inflicted with the sensation that something is missing from their lives.

It is well-established that boredom increases the likelihood of addiction – boredom leads to the desire for instant gratification, which, if met, can start the vicious and never-ending cycle of addiction. As well as this indirect connection, we can reasonably propose that an existential vacuum would also directly increase the likelihood of addiction. Note that a key feature of religious belief is that it involves submission to a divine being or an ultimate meaning. It stands to reason, then, that the absence of this spiritual submission – a submission which was dominant in human history – will often lead one to seek submission in other, more dangerous forms.

It is a tragic fact that depression rates are rising in many Western countries. To give just one example, there has been a marked rise in rates of suicide amongst middle-aged men in the United Kingdom. While this concerning fact doubtless has many roots, it is highly plausible that the rising popularity of atheism is a crucial factor. Take, for instance, the anxiety associated with a ‘mid-life crisis’, which describes a feeling of emptiness and unfulfillment in the approach of old age. Repeatedly, this feeling is linked to an overriding sense of meaninglessness, epitomised by one asking themselves questions such has “what has my life been for?”. The connection between meaning and mental health is stark here. In many cases, one might even say that a mid-life crisis is a direct result of a nihilistic outlook on life.

A New Awareness

To be clear, I don’t want to suggest that a content and fulfilling life is possible only for those who have religious faith. Nor do I wish to imply that meaninglessness is the only factor for the overall decline of mental health. These would simply be absurd claims. Still, it seems likely that the ongoing secularisation of the Western world is causally connected to the recent decline of mental health. And what’s more, these trends are not showing any signs of slowing down. In light of this, we ought to re-evaluate society’s implicit dismissal of religion as merely delusional and consider the ways it can counteract the existential vacuum that Frankl was warning of.

There are many important lessons that we can take from religion, and, as we have seen, one of these is the importance of having an objective sense of meaning in one’s life. As we look towards the future, we need a conception of religion that allows people to acquire meaning without overturning their deep-seated nihilistic beliefs. Indeed, even if this isn’t the objective meaning that religious faith can provide, an atheist may still learn, for instance, from religion’s emphasis on cultivating a sense of meaning by living by a set of positive values that fend of the vices of boredom, addiction, and depression. By becoming more aware of the pitfalls of an existential vacuum in our lives, we can think more deeply and take greater care when seeking the antidote for meaninglessness.