Mark Krikorian says the West -- Europe in particular -- is living through the question. Doesn't look good. Reading the Father Arseny book, it's amazing how people who believed powerfully in something greater than themselves were able to endure. Religion survived the Soviet yoke, and is making something of a comeback in Russia. But you cannot have an entire nation subjected to murderous atheism for 75 years, and expect it to bounce back. Communism nearly killed Russia's soul, and in so doing, may yet finish off Russia, relatively speaking.
Then again, Iran is a very religious country, right? So why is its population in freefall? Could it be that secularism is not so much the cause of infertility as is modernity, of which secularism is a critical part?
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America has no religion, that the gods. And it seems fine,
Thomas, I'm going to go out on my literary limb, and strongly recommend that you read American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
The flaw in Political Atheitst's argument -- I've been thinking about his points rather a lot -- is in the notion that "post-Christian" is somehow defined by Christianity per se. I submit that it defines itself.
Nothing is born out of a vacuum. What has gone before will influence -- to a lesser or greater degree -- what is now, which will influence what is to come. I believe that it is disingenuous to force definitions out of their contemporary contexts.
Today's Wiccan is not the European midwife, witch, sorcerer or village elder of the previous two millenia. Today's Druid bears little resemblance to his or her namesake prior to the Christian assimilation of the Celts (some reverse that order, btw). Certainly, we must look askance at claims of resurrecting past beliefs in the present -- I have Romano-Hellenic friends who blush and/or anger when I ask them why they have not reestablished temple prostitution -- but that does not invalidate either the beliefs or the attempts.
One last imposition of my personal, pagan perspective: Thomas, those "traditional pagans" you offer respect to are survivors of indirect and direct attacks on the persons of their ancestors, on their cultures and on their spiritual beliefs. Theirs is a strength of spirit that most modern pagans can only dream of. Some of us look to them as role models in a general sense, and strive to be as worthy of your respect as they are.
Monotheism, polytheism, deism, agnosticism, or atheism does not make a person, group or country any more moral than another. It is the actions that makes them moral.
Russia has always been a bad argument. Lenin, Stalin and the State took place of religion. They were God, they were religion. The same holds true of China. A look at post-industrial European countries is the closest things we have seen of an atheistic entity.
Hitler was very religious. He believed in God. Hitler believed in a Christian God built into his warped Teutonic ideal. He hated atheists. There are many speech of Hitler denouncing atheism.
Rod, how was our country able to bounce back after nearly 400 years of murderous Christianity on our shores? Your anti-atheist slam is a vulgar insult to law-abiding THINKING people.
China is more or less an atheist country. The people I know and work with from China want the same thing I do, to live a good life. They have the similar values of life and humanity. Actually, they are probably more for the good of others than most Christians I know here in America. Guess what? My China friends are atheist.
Here in America, we pound religious non-sense into our kids brains to the point where when they are adults, they know nothing better. Only a few, like myself (raised Catholic), can escape the hype and look at the topic from a neutral point of view.
Religion is used to control people. Do people think God really cares if people wrap themselves in the American flag, own guns, and hate gay people? I mean come on... An all powerful being, with the power to create and destroy the Universe. As a PhD student, my brain can't comprehend the Universe. How could such a powerful being be so ignorant?
In summary, people need something in their lives to make it meaningful. People choose careers, kids, religion, science, etc. Making your life meaningful is a good thing. Living for the "afterlife" is not. If every person on Earth lived for the here and now, I'm guessing that the world would be a better place. We probably wouldn't have had 9/11 or many other religious related killings.
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