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This post is in response to David Brooks’s article, Better Secularists, in the Feb 3 2015 NY Times. In the article he cites a statistics that about a fifth of all adults are atheist, agnostic or without religious affiliation. It’s a good start but where he shows his prejudice and parochial views is when he makes sweeping comments concerning religion. He states:

“Secular individuals have to build their own moral philosophies. Religious people inherit creeds that have evolved over centuries.”

This is curious for two reasons. For one there are so many creeds, moral philosophies, faiths, and denominations that it would be impossible for anyone to know what is the truth—yet so many claim that only their faith and denomination is the truth. Catholics drink alcohol, Baptists don’t; Episcopals allow gays, Evangelists don’t; Mormons believe in works; Fundamentalists don’t. You get the idea. Just like the current problem with militant Islam, it’s not the religion, it’s the indoctrination and then the person. Do they reject the faith of their family and culture if it is bigoted or violent? A secular person should. As the article states, most religions use group-think to keep their members in tow; secularists, by their very nature are a more independent lot.

Brooks states, “Religious people are motivated by their love for God.” Again this is just his opinion and perhaps 30% or 50% of religious people operate this way. But for others, it’s not love but the reward of heaven or the fear of hell. Whenever I discuss religion with someone and the nature of God, once they feel they’re losing the argument, they always end with “well, you better repent or you will be sorry.” It’s a threat. Believe what I believe or be tortured forever. Secularists don’t respond well to this type of motivation. Heaven and immortality are the perfect “bribe” created by man that can never be proven as false—therefore the clergy have profited from it for centuries. Cynical? Perhaps, but take away immortality and heaven and, statistically the number who love God will drop. I don’t the faithful would go out and murder and rape people–another common religious argument against atheism, but certainly it would have some impact.

But one cannot deny the indulgences of Catholicism or the incessant request for money by Televangelists. In addition, murder and crime rates are much higher in the United States, considered by many as a Christian nation, than both secular countries like Sweden and Muslim countries like United Arab Emirates. It’s not a good argument for the Christian God. Considering he parted seas, drowned millions, and turned water into wine at one time, He appears to be asleep, gone, or dead. Funny how the appearances of God and miracles disappeared as our ability to document them improved.

Concerning the burden of secularism I write about this in many of my books. The 12 Unthinkable Horrors, my first book, addresses this directly. Once we accept these “horrors” then we have to create our own morals and purpose in life. I assembled positive quotations for those who don’t need or depend on the universe or God to love them. I also wrote The Good News for Secularists. Being free of the dogma and yoke of religion is good news.

He includes the phrase, “Christianity doesn’t rely just on a mild feeling like empathy; it puts agape at the center of life.” Well, again, some churches do but also lots of bigotry and hate coming from a 2,000 year old book written by a primitive society.

I agree that man is an emotional animal. He also has a predisposition toward supernatural thinking, creating patterns, and invoking “agenticity” to everything around him. God causes the weather, the chance meeting of my spouse, and my recent raise. We don’t need superstitious thinking to be in awe or be good people. Secularists can achieve the same kind of awe and transcendence with science and discovery. We can channel our creativity with art and music. It’s there, it’s just not as common.