Beyond the Atheism-Religion Divide
Krista Tippet and Harvey Cox Jr. on the Fork Between Athiesm and Theology
-When I saw this picture, it made me think about the relationship between atheism and religion in today's world and whether the conflict between them is a healthy disagreement that could help society reach a "breakthrough" or a damaging conflict which will only lead to a "breakdown"
Athiestic Quotes
"God is dead." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Religion is the opium of the common people." - Karl Marx
Introduction
In this day and age, when one thinks of how atheism and religion are related, not too many things come to mind. In the past fifty years, as more people have moved into the cities, as advances in technology have been made, and as more people are literate and have received a formal education, more and more people seemed to find conflicts between science and religion.
God in a Secular City
Professor Harvey Cox, a professor at Harvard, wrote a book on this subject entitled The Secular City to try and explain why this was happening. In this book, he explains that since the 1960's, religion has not been viewed as vital to life. The marginalization of religious institutions is one of the causes for disbelief. But, he follows up this statement saying that God is not only within these institutions. He is in everything, including the "secular city" that chooses to believe that God does not exist. He also claims that as people viewed events of the last century and saw acts of violence being committed in the name of religion, they believe that God cannot be in these actions and then by association blame religion as the problem. Yet this arguement does not seem as satisfactory when we look at the torment and suffering caused by secular figures, such has Hitler and Mao Zedong . These men are categorized separately from religious figures.
Secularism vs. Atheism
When it comes to viewing facts such as these, we see the perpetual conflict between secularism and religion. Most people can understand this conflict just by looking inward at their own faith. Have you ever asked yourself, "I wonder if there really is a God?" or "How could God, who loves me unconditionally, let this happen to me?" Questions like these and having doubt are natural for human beings , especially when it comes to something as large as religion. Making decisions about one's religion affects all aspects of life, from social events to underlying morals. In Harvey Cox's opinion, this doubt and tension is leading to uneasiness towards religion instead of a healthy understanding of it. He says that instead, people are putting their faith into an "omnipotent market," instead of religion.
Today's Generation
Despite this "New Athiesm," as it has been called, the scene on Harvard's campus presents a much different idea of the state of religion in today's world. Mr. Cox was asked by the head of his department to teach a course on Jesus because of a newly made requirement to have at least one course having to do with moral reasoning. Much to his surprise, however, he had hundreds of undergraduates signing up for his class. The most alarming thing though, was that people of every type of religious background were signing up, including Judaism, Islam, Agnostic , Atheist, and many others. "It certainly convinced me that there are a lot of open minds there about moral reasoning and about the need for a religious dimension in moral reasoning," says Cox. This new generation of young people is truly interested in changing the world in small-scale cases, helping the poor, and making sense of reality. They're working in soup kitchens and volunteering at food pantries. But they aren't rejecting religion like former generations. Instead of entirely secular classes, they are signing up for moral reasoning courses or others with some sort of this integrated into the course, such as spirituality in modern medicine. Churches on campus are full on Sunday mornings as students pile in to try and make sense of the world around them.
Hope For the Future
This interest in what religion and moral reasoning has to offer for the world today shows promise for the future. People today, especially the younger generation, are looking to deal with their doubts and concerns on their own terms, not necessarily according the masses, a term used in describing Nietzsche's ideas of athiesm, or the religious authorities. They are looking for new ways to express their faith and this hope for the future looks promising.
