Fundamentalist Atheism

Nicholas Kristof had an interesting Op-Ed piece in yesterday's New York Times with the title, "A Modest Proposal for a Truce on Religion." He refers to the number of books and websites which are dismissive of religion. Concerning Dawkins book and website he writes, "It's a militant, in-your-face brand of atheism that he and others are proselytizing for." Noting that approximately 1-2% of Americans describe themselves as atheists in polls, another 15% report that they are affiliated with no religion, and in some literature this category is described as the religious group that is growing the fastest.

Kristof writes,

...the tone of this Charge of the Atheist Brigade is often just as intolerant--and mean [as the rigidity and discrimination of religious fundamentalism]. It's contemptuous and even...a bit fundamentalist.

"These writers share a few things with the zealous religionists they oppose, such as a high degree of dogmatism and an aggressive rhetorical style," says John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. "Indeed, one could speak of a secular fundamentalism that resembles religious fundamentalism. This may be one of those cases where opposites converge."

I mentioned in a blog several days ago that I find all kinds of fundamentalism in society--the right is not the sole possessor of this type of thinking. I am reminded of a metaphor for the mind as a window: a window stuck open is as worthless as a window stuck shut.