Angry atheist books sell, revealing new intensity to public angst over faith
By: RACHEL ZOLL - Associated Press | ∞
The time for polite debate is over. Militant, atheist writers are making an all-out assault on religious faith and reaching the top of the best-seller list, a sign of widespread resentment over the influence of religion in the world among nonbelievers.
Christopher Hitchens' book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," has sold briskly ever since it was published last month, and his debates with clergy are drawing crowds at every stop.
Sam Harris was a little-known graduate student until he wrote the phenomenally successful "The End of Faith" and its follow-up, "Letter to a Christian Nation." Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" struck similar themes ---- and sold.
"There is something like a change in the Zeitgeist," Hitchens said, adding that sales of his latest book far outnumber those for his earlier work that had challenged faith. "There are a lot of people, in this country in particular, who are fed up with endless lectures by bogus clerics and endless bullying."
Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, a prominent evangelical school in Pasadena, said the books' success reflect a new vehemence in the atheist critique.
"I don't believe in conspiracy theories," Mouw said, "but it's almost like they all had a meeting and said, 'Let's counterattack."'
The war metaphor is apt. The writers see themselves in a battle for reason in a world crippled by superstition. In their view, Muslim extremists, Jewish settlers and Christian right activists are from the same mold, using fairy tales posing as divine scripture to justify their lust for power. Bad behavior in the name of religion is behind some of the most dangerous global conflicts and the terrorist attacks in the U.S., London and Madrid, the atheists say.
As Hitchens puts it: "Religion kills."
The Rev. Douglas Wilson, senior fellow in theology at New Saint Andrews College, a Christian school in Moscow, Idaho, sees the books as a sign of secular panic. Nonbelievers are finally realizing that, contrary to what they were taught in college, faith is not dead, he says.
Signs of believers' political and cultural might abound.
Religious challenges to teaching evolution are still having an impact, 80 years after the infamous Scopes "Monkey" trial. The dramatic growth in homeschooling and private Christian schools is raising questions about the future of public education. Religious leaders have succeeded in putting some limits on stem-cell research.
And the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a national ban on a procedure critics call "partial-birth abortion" ---- the first federal curbs on an abortion procedure in a generation ---- came after decades of religious lobbying for conservative justices.
"It sort of dawned on the secular establishment that they might lose here," said Wilson, who is debating Hitchens on christianitytoday.com and has written the book "Letter from a Christian Citizen" in response to Harris. "All of this is happening precisely because there's a significant force that they have to deal with."
Indeed, believers far outnumber nonbelievers in America. In an 2005 AP-Ipsos poll on religion, only 2 percent of U.S. respondents said they did not believe in God. Other surveys concluded that 14 percent of Americans consider themselves secular, a term that can include believers who say they have no religion.
Some say liberal outrage over the policies of President Bush is partly fueling sales, even though Hitchens famously supported the invasion of Iraq.
To those Americans, the nation's born-again president is the No. 1 representative of the religious right activists who helped put him in office. Bush's critics see his Christian faith behind some of his worst decisions and his stubborn defense of the war in Iraq.
"There is this general sense that evangelicals have really gained a lot of power in the United States and the Bush administration seems to represent that in some significant ways," said Christian Smith, a sociologist of religion at the University of Notre Dame. "A certain group of people sees it that way and that's really disturbing."
Mouw said conservative Christians are partly to blame for the backlash. The rhetoric of some evangelical leaders has been so strident, they have invited the rebuke, the seminary president said.
"We have done a terrible job of presenting our perspective as a plausible world view that has implications for public life and for education, presenting that in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of people who may disagree," he said. "Whatever may be wrong with Christopher Hitchens attacks on religious leaders, we have certainly already matched it in our attacks."
Given the popularity of the anti-religion books so far, publishers are expected to roll out even more in the future. Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, says religion has been one of the fastest-growing categories in publishing in the last 15 years, and the rise of books by atheists is "the flip-side of that."
"It was just the time," she said, "for the atheists to take the gloves off."
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Monica wrote on May 24, 2007 9:14 PM:I'd say it's about time atheists took off the gloves. I find this development exciting and refreshing. I look forward to reading many of these titles especially Dawkins' "The God Delusion".
Religion is winning? wrote on May 24, 2007 10:43 PM:Get real, creationist have been trounced even in the backwater states like Kansas. Even the pope has come around and joined the ranks as a supporter of evolution. What I find most hypocritical is the stand conservatives take on global warming. They pretend to go to science and say that science has not proven that global warming is caused by man. But they do not apply science to anything in the bible. Is that a double standard or what?
Steve wrote on May 24, 2007 11:22 PM:How do you know there is a God? You believe a story your parents told you? How do you know there isn't? Instead of believing anything anyone says, find out the truth. I'll give you hint, it has NOTHING to do with anything you think, feel, emote. What's left? It's always been there. What is it?
Who wrote on May 25, 2007 5:30 AM:YES, the religion of no religion is finally coming out of the closet! It is about time that they take their place in this world and be recognized for what they are "a group of people with like beliefs in the way the world was created and exists". Sound familiar? That's right atheism is just another word for a religion! The religion of no religion and it should be given the same status in this country as every other religion and the beliefs of this religion should not be forced on the rest of us no matter what we believe! Separation of church and state should apply to the "NEW" religion of atheism the same as it is to any Christian religion! The analogy of what is right for the goose should also be right for the gander should apply here! No more special treatment for the "I don't believe in God!" religion, It's about time!
John wrote on May 25, 2007 7:24 AM:Unfortunately, followers of religion are consumed with the after-life rather than the present.
Ted wrote on May 25, 2007 9:51 AM:I have an excellent comparison. I wondered why so many people believe in a supreme being and it would be the same as believing in Santa Claus. You can find a lot of people world wide that believe in Santa until you are told otherwise. It's the same thing with religion.
Interesting how Atheists... wrote on May 25, 2007 10:17 AM:make up only .4% of the United States Population, but are so loud and vocal. 76.5% of the United States is Christian. Also Interesting is the number of negative replies, here, from the .3% Atheist Readers. It's about time Christians start taking off the gloves. The Majority Rules!
Theresa wrote on May 25, 2007 11:52 AM:I think everyone has missed the point and that is cultural diversity. All belief systems have value even the atheist beliefs. Why are humans so insistent on claiming that their flavor of belief is the only valid one? It’s this way of thinking that gets humanity into trouble. People are flawed. That’s just the way it is and instead of finding fault how about taking a deep breath, analyze the bigger cultural problems and work towards a peaceful solution. Oh and by the way I’m Wiccan and I place great value on freedom for all belief systems.
AGNOSTIC wrote on May 25, 2007 5:19 PM:I don't know whether there is a God or not, whether supernaturalism is real or not. I think that is unknowable. I can say that the Mad Pumpkin is God. You cannot disprove that, even though on its face it seems ridiculous. To me the God of Judeo-Christianity & Islam is no more real and valid than Zeus or any one of thousands of other theist fairy tales that man has invented to explain and deal with the unknown. I have read Dawkin's "The God Delusion." It is a series of assorted arguments asserting that theism is wrong. I agree with his position, but he is so dogmatic and strident that he comes across as a militant, almost fanatic advocate. Theism will eventually fade away and be recalled as a quaint and somewhat odd endeavor in the history of human thought.
The Majority wrote on May 27, 2007 9:29 AM:Unfortunately those in the "majority" can't live with the thought that we weren't "created" by God. They need the rules of God to live by otherwise they'd be running amok. It's time to look at and accept the athesits views and not condemn them to hell.
John wrote on May 28, 2007 11:47 AM:If there are only 2% of the population that don't believe in God than why is the book(s) selling so well? Also, if only 2% of the populace are athiests then I must know them all! I'm 55 years old and have known very few believers in all those years. Seems like the bible thumpers are misrepresenting the facts on that as well.
Darcy wrote on May 28, 2007 7:05 PM:I don't know any Christians either... I must know all of the people you know John.
John wrote on May 29, 2007 5:36 AM:Then 88% percent of the crimes committed in the U.S. are by "believers".
Who wrote on May 29, 2007 6:24 AM:I do not care if these books become best sellers. Knowledge is power! The more you know the better to make decisions about how you live your life. These books and how well they sell, as they explain Atheism also serve as notice to the rest of us, including the courts that Atheism should become one of the recognized beliefs / religions in this country. Once recognized as such it should no longer receive extra consideration as far as separation of church and state is concerned. Atheism, as the religion of no religion, should also be held spearate from the governance of OUR country! Only fair, RIGHT?
John wrote on May 29, 2007 11:29 AM:Religion is the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power; i.e., a personal God. Atheism is NOT a religion. There is no worship of a God or a belief in magic.
the difference wrote on May 29, 2007 12:25 PM:religion is a concept that is man made -dogma created by man in order to control man. spirituality on the other hand is hard wired into our brains, - an understanding that there is something greater than ourselves for which we hunger. the question is how to balance man's perceptions with the truth that lies within each and everyone of us.
Ceawford wrote on May 29, 2007 2:37 PM:How come "Christians" come to my door monthly to "hound" me into their beliefs but NONE have commented in this blog? I had expected to see their silly arguments about blind "faith" etc here.
Crawford wrote on May 29, 2007 2:38 PM:How come "Christians" come to my door monthly to "hound" me into their beliefs but NONE have commented in this blog? I had expected to see their silly arguments about blind "faith" etc here.
Who wrote on May 30, 2007 5:38 AM:Difference has the right idea about spiritual beliefs BUT I would argue that the Atheist also have a set of beliefs that they live by. They probably include many of the same beliefs about how to treat people as any spiritual person. AND just like any Christian or Religious person out there Athiest live there lives based on their beliefs that God does not exist and therefore they make decisions to challenge the people who do believe! They also enjoy those beliefs the same way as a Christian or Muslim or any other organized religion or belief. Therefore my assertion that Atheism is in fact a organized belief system that should be recognized the same as any other!
John wrote on May 30, 2007 10:03 AM:Atheism is non-belief. There is no atheist bible containing sets of myths from which to follow. I do not worship the invisible. A believer perceives this as a "challenge" and a threat.
John wrote on May 30, 2007 11:36 AM:Like door-to-door salesmen who hope to stumble upon those gullible enough to be duped into falling for their sales pitch.
Ahhh but John wrote on May 30, 2007 11:42 AM:You do have beliefs that you follow! All of these books and things that outline the nature of atheist. It is also a belief not to worship the invisible or to not believe in the myths of the bible as you call them. Take a while to think about it from a different perspective and you will realize the your belief that there is no God is a well defined set of beliefs that has been justified in the same way as believers justify their belief in God! Like I said, "The religion of no religion!"
John wrote on May 30, 2007 2:55 PM:We can go round and round with this but I have more important things to do. As a non-believer I am not preoccupied with the supernatural or life-after-death. Nor are there set rules or commandments dictating my actions. Non-belief is a negative (i.e., characterized by the absence rather than the presence of distinguishing features). Interesting how the believer tries to define one who does not share their views. Believers are satisfied with borrowing the words of others before them rather than thinking for themselves.
the other John (the Baptist?) wrote on May 30, 2007 4:14 PM:Religion is generally described as the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods. Non-believers do not worship idols or invisible entities nor do they congregate in organized groups to swap personal revelations. Non-believers have nothing to prove. One cannot explain the unexplainable. Yet, believers persist in their attempts to convert other to their concept of the unknown.
To the Johns wrote on May 31, 2007 5:22 AM:Nothing to prove? How about the non existence of God or what ever you want to call it? How about the atheists fight everyday to have their beliefs overshadow the beliefs of religious believers? How about the explosion of books sales about athiesm and gathering the non believers together around those writings? And how about your nothing to prove line when you are exposing your thoughts and "beliefs" about your non belief? All of these indicators are sure signs that you do in fact have a firm set of beliefs that help you to live your life, I trust, in an honorable manner in the same way that people with the belief in a higher power live theirs. This debate has been great fun, THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!!!! Respectfully, a believer.
Johnoside wrote on May 31, 2007 8:07 AM:If you don't believe in my invisible man, he'll punish you forever!
jeremy wrote on May 31, 2007 8:09 AM:So you're saying if I don't believe that Santa Claus is real, then my disbelief in Santa is a religion? That is one of the truly most profound fallacies of logic I have ever heard.
GAN wrote on May 31, 2007 10:48 AM:Just to get this out of the way and be open I'm a bible believing Christian and by the way a statistician. Does “evolution” happen. Yes MICRO evolution does happen and so what. Is that inconsistent with God. Absolutely not. Micro evolution and creation are observationally equivalent with respect to MICRO evolution. Figuring out origins is very much like a detective figuring out who committed a crime. For example, if you find a finger print at the crime scene that matches suspect one and not suspect two then that fact supports the theory that suspect one committed the crime. However, if you find a foot print of size nine shoes and both suspects have size nine shoes then that foot print does not help eliminate either suspect because it is consistent with both. Maybe some else out there has seen life come from…well come from something other than life but I have not. In fact, in all my forty plus years of life I have only seen humans from humans, and dogs from dogs, and cats from cats, etc, etc, etc. Wait doesn’t that sound like “after it’s kind” from Genesis. .
John wrote on May 31, 2007 11:31 AM:So, who cares?
To Gan wrote on May 31, 2007 12:05 PM:Your own comment proves your ignortance of the subject; you wrote: "in all my forty plus years of life I have only seen humans from humans . . .". Genetic diversification through mutation and natural selection takes thousands, millions, and billions of years depending on the exten of the diversification. The fact that you don't believe it becasue you haven't seen it in your forty years is a really sad piece of evidence against it. Have you seen Jesus in the past forty years? And please don't saw "I have seen his work", because you have seen the evidence of genetic diversity as well in those years. I am asking, "have you seen Jesus in your forty years?"
John wrote on May 31, 2007 4:24 PM:Wow. Let's all calm down! It's a fact that there are those who have not been influenced by the hearsay of an ancient and superstitious culture, or by religious autocrats. We need to respect that the believer will continue their lives based on the perceived wisdom of others. Most mature adults have the mental capacity to make their own unbiased decisions. Proselytizing is such a waste of time and effort.
GAN wrote on May 31, 2007 4:36 PM:To TO GAN. Stories do not equal evidence. Where are the observations in your theory. Genetic diversity is just as consistent with the biblical viewpoint as it is with evolution (whatever version you pick). Therefore, it is irrelevant in the debate. So re-read your post and other than saying basically "it takes too long to observe" which is NOT evidence but a story where are the observations. Insults by the way are not evidence either.
To Gan wrote on May 31, 2007 6:02 PM:"Stores do not equal evidence" Yet your beliefs come from stories in the Bible. Nice critical thinking GAN. Evidence of genetic diversity through natural selection and mutation are found in the fossil record. You can see them, very unlike your faith. They take to long to observe in action, but there evidence is in the ground. The evidence of your belief is in your head. By the way, the word "ignorant" is not an insult, it simply means you do not understand the subject of which you speak (or vocabulary).
To Gan wrote on May 31, 2007 6:11 PM:John you are right. I won't argue this anymore. A tolerant society sometimes has to tolerate the intolerant. Instead of arguing about whether or not the talking snake talked the rib woman into eating the mgic apple (from the treeof knowledge no less). . .I am going cook dinner.
To Everyone, wrote on Jun 1, 2007 5:16 AM:This little debate sure went the way of ugly very quickly! Ask yourselves why that was necessary? I usually find when I start spouting angry, harmful words that my temper has been aroused because someone doesn't agree with me. Agree to dis agree and live together for the highest good of all of us. That is one of the most important things we do in this country and one of the things that keep this country from falling apart! I guess I am preaching here a little, I hope it does not often anyone! Be well!
Not wrote on Jun 1, 2007 10:26 AM:Checking a box on a survey or saying "yes" when asked "are you a Christian?" does not a Christian make. Neither does going to church. This vast majority who call themselves Christians in these ways need to look at their behavior and thoughts. I'm pretty sure that the percentage who are Christian would be quite low. Also, it is absurd to call atheism a religion. It certainly does NOT have any organized system of beliefs, rites, practices, or shared understanding of anything. All atheists have in common is not believing in God. Buddhists, for example, are atheists. Not all atheists are Buddhists. Ethical beliefs, by the way, are not the same as religious beliefs. So while most atheists probably agree that lying, stealing, and killing are wrong, and so share ethical beliefs, this doesn't make them religious. There are many, many good reasons to behave in this ethical manner that have absolutely nothing to do with religion, with a religious icon proclaiming these rules, with an afterlife, with a story of how the life came to be.
Belief = Religion? wrote on Jun 1, 2007 4:21 PM:I believe that the sun will come up tomorrow. I believe the stars are very far away. I believe I actually did exist yesterday. And just a moment ago. If you look up "religion" in the dictionary, you will surely find that this set of beliefs is certainly not a religion.
Argue for it wrote on Jun 1, 2007 8:06 PM:and it is yours! You all won't admit it but you have a very well defined set of beliefs that runs your life. The same as believers have a set of beliefs, rather it comes from a religious book or just a belief in a higher power. As said above, you know certain things to be true and you have "faith" in them. You know they will repeat over and over again the same as a believer knows that his beliefs work for him and that they will work over and over. So like I said above, on May 25th as Who, the religion of no religion! Those are your beliefs., like it or not!
John wrote on Jun 2, 2007 10:43 AM:Talk about beating a dead horse! But, here goes. You are attempting to define a non-believer in the context of the comfort zone that you have established for yourself. The absence of a belief does not equate to a religion. I do not have a set of beliefs, period. Action occurs in the present, not predetermined or influenced by words or ideas from a book. I think your point is; e.g., a person who has no opinion or belief in, say, the occult, magic, the Tooth Fairy, the holy ghost, etc., is actually practicing a religion. Your logic concludes that all thinking persons alive have religious beliefs, including the non-believer.
To John wrote on Jun 4, 2007 5:39 AM:Actually, all I am trying to say in all these posting is that atheist deserve the same consideration as a Christian or Jew or Muslim or any other group, PERIOD! No more, no less. They do not deserve to be treated any differently then any other group, whether you call them a religious group or a non believing group. Therefore, decisions like crosses on public lands should be decided by the majority of the people, no matter what group they are in. That, in my opinion, is how this country was set up to run. Not by the courts making out of context judgements to support their own political positions using atheists as their pawns!
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