(In my view, atheists are far less politically dangerous than fundamentalists of any stripe.)
This is the prevailing view, and I realize I raise a question at great risk of violating a fundamental principle: it is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Nevertheless, I wonder about the validity of this statement in recent history. Chinese communism was and is stridently atheist. Within the first few years of taking power over 30 million of their own people were murdered for the cause. The pace has diminished, but general human rights violations and even persecution persist. These were avowed atheists, I believe. Russian communism was possibly less prolific, I am not sure, but eliminated many of its own people. Religion anywhere was good enough grounds to invite less than pleasant attention. Atheism was not that pretty, if my history is right (and I do not mean right-wing!). At the same time, I realize fundamentalism is a good whipping boy now, and do not wish to take that away from you. Disclaimer: to my knowledge I am not a fundamentalist. I do think such a thing as "fundamentals" can be beneficial, such as check-book balancing, teeth brushing, so on. |
