The problem is that when new atheists oppose "religion", they always do so with the implicit assumption that it refers to "white evangelicals" (or maybe white catholics)
Even before speaking of Christianity this automatically does a disservice to the world's non-Christian religions
And even when speaking of Christianity this leaves out denominations like Mainline Protestants, Orthodox, Quakers etc. It also leaves out predominantly non-white churches which are important to non-white communities. What about all the Christians in Latin America, Africa and Asia?
Christians can hijack the faith to peddle reactionary shit, but that's far from the whole picture. There's also liberation theology, Catholic workers, radical Christians (ahem :john-brown:) as well as loads of churches doing genuinely important work to help people who need it (e.g. feeding the poor). Clergy may also be more anti-capitalist than you think. Scripture can be incredibly radicalizing and is clearly anti-capitalist.
Finally the science/faith conflict shtick is just a giant misconception. There were and are Christian scientists, including Georges Lemaitre, the priest who helped come up with the big bang. Or Dr Francis Collins, director of the NIH who led the human genome project. Conflict thesis is dead. I think the real debate is now within the realm of philosophy.
Also there's a very clear contingent of imperialist new atheist reactionaries (you know the type :reddit-logo:). Far-right ideologies can spread with or without faith.
I love me some John Brown/liberation theology, but they emerged out of periods of radical social progress and change, not present neoliberal stagnation.
I sincerely hope that the potential for spirituality charging the Left with a sense of social purpose is there—but I also acknowledge that in present-day America, the dominant forms of religiosity are entwined with capitalism, individualism, and the existing social hierarchy.
Let’s not leave Hegel on his head: religion follows a society’s material order, not the other way around. I’m not celebrating the decline in church attendance-i think it mostly speaks to American atomization and general lack of purpose and unalienated time post-2000s.
Non-white Christian here. Just want to say I hate it when people think of Christianity as the "white man's religion". It's exclusionary.
get their ass
The problem is that when new atheists oppose "religion", they always do so with the implicit assumption that it refers to "white evangelicals" (or maybe white catholics)
Even before speaking of Christianity this automatically does a disservice to the world's non-Christian religions
And even when speaking of Christianity this leaves out denominations like Mainline Protestants, Orthodox, Quakers etc. It also leaves out predominantly non-white churches which are important to non-white communities. What about all the Christians in Latin America, Africa and Asia?
Christians can hijack the faith to peddle reactionary shit, but that's far from the whole picture. There's also liberation theology, Catholic workers, radical Christians (ahem :john-brown:) as well as loads of churches doing genuinely important work to help people who need it (e.g. feeding the poor). Clergy may also be more anti-capitalist than you think. Scripture can be incredibly radicalizing and is clearly anti-capitalist.
Finally the science/faith conflict shtick is just a giant misconception. There were and are Christian scientists, including Georges Lemaitre, the priest who helped come up with the big bang. Or Dr Francis Collins, director of the NIH who led the human genome project. Conflict thesis is dead. I think the real debate is now within the realm of philosophy.
Also there's a very clear contingent of imperialist new atheist reactionaries (you know the type :reddit-logo:). Far-right ideologies can spread with or without faith.
I love me some John Brown/liberation theology, but they emerged out of periods of radical social progress and change, not present neoliberal stagnation.
I sincerely hope that the potential for spirituality charging the Left with a sense of social purpose is there—but I also acknowledge that in present-day America, the dominant forms of religiosity are entwined with capitalism, individualism, and the existing social hierarchy.
Let’s not leave Hegel on his head: religion follows a society’s material order, not the other way around. I’m not celebrating the decline in church attendance-i think it mostly speaks to American atomization and general lack of purpose and unalienated time post-2000s.
❤️
that's right
james cone is my namesake after all