Nicely put. Well said! If we allow the religious right to impose their will on us, how do we fight back while retaining our humanism?

Well, if atheists like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the like can talk about spiritual experiences, perhaps we need to find a way to broaden the definition.

Btw; as dominantly logical and analytic as i believe I am, I enjoy some romantic comedies. They balance out my rationality. In a fun, not philosophical, way.

I think I agree with much of what you say. Question; do you think that we should be "street epistemologists" to challenge the faith of the religious as the opportunity presents itself. Boghossian practices what he preaches (so to speak) in his book "A Manual For Creating Atheists"?

I live in a senior retirement village in which Christians are numerous, and a dominant force. I am very cautious about bring up the topic of my atheism for several reasons.

Firstly, it is the community I have chosen to live in at this point in my life given the few choices available. I'm not willing to alienate the many religious believers here. Trouble and confrontation is not what I need now.

Secondly, all most all of them are nearing the end of life and have been inculcated since birth with their faith (IMO, belief without evidence.) I think it would be cruel to challenge their belief system when they are in the last stage of life.

Thirdly, they are usually quite dogmatic and closed minded. Crystalized intelligence I think it is called, though intelligence might not be the operant concept.

Even Boghossian, when his mother was near death and found solace in a Christian artifact she brought into the hospital, remained mute about his views. So did I with my mother when she was near death. I did ask her what she thought would happen to her after she died. I wanted her to feel comfortable talking about it with me if she wanted or needed to. She didn't.

Have you seen atheist Ricky Gervas' movie "The Invention of Lying"? It is quite pertinent to my remarks.

I like Chomsky's answer to the question about his religion. "I don't need it." Genius is being able to say complex things simply.

Interesting. For those that have access to Sam Harris' Making Sense site, see episode #171 - Escaping a Christian Cult; A Conversation with Megan Phelps-Roper, BTW; there are hundreds of episodes on Making Sense with some of the best minds in the world. Interviews usually are about an hour and a half long. (I have no financial or other connection to Making Sense other than being a long time subscriber.)

Well, I did not have the stomach to watch the "debate." I have independent news sources I am comfortable with and I am okay letting them write about this distasteful (understatement!) political environment. After all, those reporters get paid to watch the sewers.

From what I read, Haley was the most rational person on the stage. A Republican woman, IMO, has very little chance of winning any top spot (e.g., president, vice president, or even a cabinet position.) She probably realizes this, which gives her the opportunity to actually be more realistic. Maybe there are enough Republicans who will appreciate and vote for her (tip of the hat to Don Quixote.)
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I certainly appreciate being urged to remember the advice in a former article, and things are not uniformly despairing. It is easy to forget that there are many good people on all sides. Still, it is also important to remember that the majority of German citizens turned a blind eye to the "final solution" (denial is not a river in Egypt.) Also, it is important to remember that the MSM, owned by fascists in large part because of SCOTUS and the 2010 Citizens United decision, make a lot of money fanning the fires of divisiveness.

I certainly appreciate being urged to remember the advice in the article, and things are not uniformly despairing. It is easy to forget that there are many good people on all sides. Still, it is also important to remember that the majority of German citizens turned a blind eye to the "final solution" (denial is not a river in Egypt.) Also, it is important to remember that the MSM, owned by fascists in large part because of SCOTUS and the 2010 Citizens United decision, make a lot of money fanning the fires of divisiveness.

In case you think fascist is too strong a word, check out the recent article by Robert Reich about the five indicators of a fascist system vs an authoritarian one. While I often find Reich pedantic and difficult to listen to, I did not react that way to his article and video about fascism. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-five-eleme...

This post has really caught my attention. I hope others will respond, as so much needs to be said.

I will only remind fellow atheists that the modern atheist movement began in 1960 when Madalyn Murray O'Hare, who had a law degree, sued a Baltimore elementary school on behalf of one of her sons. I think it had to do with religion being ejected into the school; i.e., about the separation of religion and state. She and her family were persecuted by some in the local community, and they eventually were run out of town. It was a nasty business; her son's kitten was gruesomely killed.

She, a son, and her granddaughter were killed and dismembered at their new Texas home in 1995. A large amount of American Atheist money was also stolen. The trio's disappearance was largely ignored by the Austin, TX police department until reporters, years later, determined they were dismembered and buried, along with one of the conspirators. A granite memorial, with an inscribed O'Hare quote, was made in Florida near a large, existing, stone monument inscribed with the 10 Commandments.

Nearly 3/4 of a century later since the saga began, we find the separation of church and state being eroded at the highest levels of government and the legal system.

Why?

" #TheResistance are to blame, and those who have been part of #MAGA are to blame."

No, false equivalence.

IMO, perhaps the failure of atheists to be very effective in countering religious populism is that the essential critical thinking skills require education. The present political agenda by the right is fueling (pun intended) anti-education policies, especially K-12 but also higher education.

I have been involved in atheist groups for a number of decades and we are not influencing the 50% that irrationally (with the exception of the plutocrats) vote for fringe right candidates. The USA is, by far, the most religious of the advanced countries. What are these countries doing that we aren't?

Hmm. So not everyone is a Christian Nationalist. Have a good 4th.