{"id":378,"date":"2019-08-28T09:31:52","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T14:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/joshlawson\/?p=378"},"modified":"2019-08-28T10:30:41","modified_gmt":"2019-08-28T15:30:41","slug":"is-atheism-mirror-image-religious-fundamentalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joshlawson\/2019\/08\/is-atheism-mirror-image-religious-fundamentalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Is modern atheism a mirror image of religious fundamentalism?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Pointing
Photo Credit: Jack P Williams<\/a> Flickr via Compfight<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s a provocative question, I know. Could atheism really be a mirror image of religious fundamentalism? Before you answer, let me put this question into context.<\/p>\n

I recently started reading Karen Armstrong\u2019s book, The Case for God<\/em><\/a>. Armstrong is a former Catholic nun-turned-atheist-turned-religious sympathizer whose work on comparative religion has become quite popular in certain circles over the years.<\/p>\n

The Case for God<\/em> is a general survey of the history of religious belief and practice from the Paleolithic Age to the present. It focuses especially on Christianity, as that is Karen\u2019s background, but it also includes Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism<\/a>, and other eastern traditions.<\/p>\n

Armstrong believes that religion\u2019s purpose is to \u201chelp us creatively, peacefully, and even joyously live with realities for which there are no easy explanations.\u201d At the same time, she recognizes the dangers that lie inherent within the fundamentalist strains of any spiritual tradition or belief system (Crusades, anyone?). She confesses that her own militant atheism began to mellow the more she studied the great traditions of the past.<\/p>\n

This point, in particular, is what struck me from my reading this week. In the opening chapters, Karen refers to modern atheism as a relatively recent historical phenomenon that depends on religious fundamentalism for its survival. Referring to the work of such \u201cnew atheists\u201d as Sam Harris<\/a>, Richard Dawkins<\/a>, and the late Christopher Hitchens<\/a>, she suggests that our modern version of atheism (a fundamental belief in the non-existence of God or gods) is a direct mirror image of the religious fundamentalism it so adamantly opposes.<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019d considered this possibility before, I was impressed with the clarity of Armstrong\u2019s description on this point, especially given her own history as an atheist. And I\u2019m inclined to agree with her, although I think one could make the case that our \u201cnew\u201d atheist types today are not entirely new to the historical scene.<\/p>\n

Anyway.<\/p>\n

Since I began blogging on Patheos a month or so ago, I\u2019ve been surprised to see how many people who might either describe themselves or be described as atheists seem to frequent the Progressive Christian channel. Assuming that you\u2019re one of those people reading this post now, I\u2019d like to hear your response to Armstrong\u2019s position on this matter.<\/p>\n

Do you think it\u2019s fair to suggest that modern atheism is simply a mirror image of the religious fundamentalism it opposes? Where do you draw the line in your own definitions of, say, atheism and agnosticism? Were you once a \u201cbeliever\u201d of any sort, and what relationship does your former \u201cfaith\u201d have to your current \u201cnon-faith?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks ahead for your kind and civil discussion on this matter. The comments are open. Fire away.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a provocative question, I know. Could atheism really be a mirror image of religious fundamentalism? Before you answer, let me put this question into context. I recently started reading Karen Armstrong\u2019s book, The Case for God. Armstrong is a former Catholic nun-turned-atheist-turned-religious sympathizer whose work on comparative religion has become quite popular in certain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[102,9,105,111,108],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","tag-atheism","tag-faith","tag-fundamentalism","tag-god","tag-karen-armstrong"],"yoast_head":"\nIs modern atheism simply a mirror image of religious fundamentalism?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In her book, The Case for God, Karen Armstrong argues that modern atheism is a relatively recent historical phenomenon that is essentially a mirror image of the religious fundamentalism it opposes. 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