A post like this shows what ag.com can be when its best minds gather around the campfire. To a large degree this religion roasting is surely called for. But not endless, constant, "fish in a barrel" shooting religion roasting. Yes its fun, not reason enough for whats going on here. Religion roasting to the exclusion of the much more imminently world threatening issues , issues deeply entrenched, protected by their own self generated taboos, in fact real world mortally dangerous to many who have dared to even vaguely cross them . As far as i can see. none of you dares to honestly touch these issues. For those of you asleep to the earlier pleadings of this particular outcast, im talking about black lives matter, 99% of its associates, and its handmaiden, feminism. There is much rational criticism to be made of these 2 rampant beast movements. Its criticism much more relevant to the worlds need, and its unrelated to the counter insanity of Trump and Q-anon . Maybe Trump and Q-anon are whats forcing y'all to shy away from your duty here. But its time for all of you collectively to "man up" and get your asses in gear. ..... To quote a friend of one of you overlords here: " Atheism is just a way of clearing space for better conversations "

well and cleanly said. i wish you'd find the courage to address the giant
media sacred cow issues of our own day this way. anybody can shoot fish in a barrel.

I've recently entered into SMS conversation with a new local councillor wantining to improve neighbourhood communication & cohesiveness that extends beyond religion, AFL, cricket and acceptance of superiority of fifth generational right to impose their unprogressiveness beliefs on everyone else.
I don't know yet if it will achieve anything.

I think we are already seeing the desperate reach of some Churches trying to retain their power.

I have noticed since I reached maturity that each generation seems to have more and more people that reject the dogma of organized religion. Many people now go to church because of the social and familiar aspect they experience. They want to associate with people that they feel and respect as like-minded. The continual exposure of greedy perverted church leaders is creating more and more non-believers among the 50 somethings that I know. In other words, the many choices of modern society help these people create there own core group now and help speed up the adoption of a humanist outlook.

I agree that humanism and atheism are quite different but for some people things have to happen in steps.

Atheism does not void itself. It makes necessary what religion had pretended: science, et cetera

All atheism is, is a lack of belief in gods. Anything else is you being a secular humanist.

I agree with you, and would add that, the article also ignores the almost certain direction of religion in the future.

As and intellectual method for understanding the world, religion was superseded twenty five centuries or so ago. When people first noticed it had failed to provide a true description of the world, and they therefore created, first philosophy and then natural philosophy ( a.k.a. science) to address the failings of unregulated culture ( a.k.a. religion).

At that point religion should have died, but it did not, it survived by offering something else, by becoming an alternate voice to the state and the mainstream, especially for those excluded by the state and other secular institutions like medicine and property. As for example, in the Roman world, Christianity prospered by opposing capitalism and fascism, as the dominant world and state views. Then in the Dark Ages by offering an alternative set of humane and altruistic ideals, to oppose violent brutality as the main human cultural norm of the state.

But where does religion go then in the twenty first century, an age when most developed states have embraced humanitarian views and human rights as their flagship ideals. It can only do what it always has, and become the voice of the excluded, which now means, and increasingly means, becoming the institution of the fascist, the racist, the sexist, the violent bully, the fraudulent and the anti-socially. Watch this space, if you think religion is bad now, it will get a lot worse.

I agree with your disagreement about that author's assertion about atheism and Christianity. To my mind, the author shows a troubling ignorance of the nature of atheism and the nature of deist religions (Are there any non-deist religions?) in general.

Value systems (in the sense that I think you use the term) is a vast arena, of which atheism, epistemology, sociology and religion are only parts, and the issue then becomes one of when, where and how do we draw distinctions between those components parts.

I think the author is right. Dogmatic religion is still the overwhelming choice for Americans and lulls have a way of bringing resurgences. This is only my guess and I'm not going to find out if I'm right or not so, in the end, yawn.