Fundamental Atheism!

[juvenile_philos]

This is part two of my thoughts on so-called "Atheist Fundamentalism". Part one can be found here.

I ended my last post with a promise to discuss "pushiness" when it comes to atheism. In doing so, I would like to give a bit of context. It is well-documented that atheists are a despised and hated group in the States. A 2007 paper[pdf] from the

Comments

[anonymous]

I think the real issue is dogmatic thinking or faith based thinking. You find the issue any time an individual gives up his/her critical capacity to blind faith in another person's word/action. The more "infallible" the doctrine and the more implicitly (re: acritically) it is believed, the more obvious. Religion is an easy dogma to get other zealots to jump on your bandwagon...but it could just as easily be replacing religion with a political party or philosophy or government.

The thing is, to make people commit such atrocities, they have to completely believe in "us" vs. "them" mentality and that "they" are somehow subhuman compared to "us." That's why religion works so well -- it's a black and white line dividing the saved from the damned.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea we were chatting about of a "trade embargo" movement against any/all who commit crimes against humanity OR who support those who do. You're not asking people to give up their spirituality, just to stop condoning and giving money to people who preach hate and death. If they meant the platitudes they mouthed, they would support the idea, if only to clear their own name. Like the gay-straight alliance, but for religious-based atrocities. It has greater potential than responding to blind hate with more blind hate... Most religious people are deluded conformists, not cruel zealots.

-Dani