1 of 4
This Week:
- 'Brights' and the religion of secularism
- Places & Culture
- City Scene: Washington, D.C.
- Weekly Digest
War journalist Ernie Pyle's claim that there are no atheists in foxholes may be an overstatement, as atheists hasten to point out. Converted atheists may indeed be outnumbered in the bleak misery of battle, as some venture, by those who "have entered battle devout believers but ended up coming away without any faith all." But the adage identifies a presumption of most believers and agnostics: that God and religion are the default beliefs of human beings, prone to "kick in" at moments that jeopardize denial of the transcendent. The burden of proof, in other words, regardless of the Enlightenment, is on the shoulders of atheists to show that they really are "above" religion.
The emergence of the curious term "bright" to describe an atheist, naturalist, and/or humanist, shows how hard this is to pull off, as Cullen Murphy suggests in this month's Atlantic Monthly. Murphy notes that "brights" chose their name as an upbeat alternative to the prevalent self-description "godless Americans," although he points out that the number of pejorative names for believers rivals that of nonbelievers, including zealot and dogmatist. (And besides, doesn't "bright" make believers out to be dim bulbs? Was C.S. Lewis in the dark?)
The revealing test, the always tongue-in-cheek Murphy says, will be "the degree to which the brightness crusade itself begins to take on religious overtones." Religion has fasting; secular culture now has luxury fasting spas. Religion has saints and martyrs; secularism canonizes Einstein, Darwin, and Orwell. Religion has relics; secularism has celebrity memorabilia on eBay. Religion has predestination; secularism has "the alcoholism gene, the laziness gene, the schizophrenia gene."
The brights also have the most damning religious trademark of all: schisms. The American Atheist Association takes issue with the word "bright." Others disagree whether "bright" is an adjective or noun. The internecine spats may make Judge Snyder's pronouncement on a classic Simpsons episode unnecessary: "As for science versus religion, I'm issuing a restraining order. Science should stay 500 yards from religion at all times."
Murphy doesn't mention that many "bright" Web sites are running an evangelical playbook: "Shine the bright light! Spread the Word!" implores BrightRights.org. Still, he says, "It is only a matter of time before brightness takes on some of the trappings of a religion." All that's missing is an official brightness hymn, and Monty Python fans will not be disappointed by his suggestion. Full story
Related:
- Why Atheism is a Faith: an essay in my series on belief at NBierma.com
- Stanley Hauerwas and others on "brightness" from the Chronicle of Higher Education
- Why scientists can't ignore God, from the London Guardianand CSICOP.org
- The history of "under God" from the Weekly Standard and related letter
From the Washington Post:
NAIROBI—The maiden issue of Kenya's first literary magazine carries a smoldering tale of a taboo romance between two Kenyans. … Deeper inside the stylish journal, which arrived in bookstores [last] month, is a parody of the city's corrupt and potbellied mayor and an "Editor's Rant" column that asks if the government values intellectual and artistic pursuits. Kenyans say the energetic and provocative 291-page quarterly called Kwani? —which means So? in Sheng, a slang mix of English, Swahili and several tribal languages—is an exciting sign of new freedom for writers. Booksellers used to be terrified to sell anything more contentious then East African coffee-table volumes on wildlife or the commissioned and glowing biography of the autocratic former president, Daniel arap Moi. Moi stepped down last December [in] the first change of power ever witnessed by more than half of this young country's population. In the euphoria, people declared the birth of a new Kenya. Full story
share this page
RSS Feed
