New Book By Chris Hedges

A day or two ago I posted a review of Chris Hedges' book American Fascists. Today Salon has an interview with Mr. Hedges in which discusses his latest book, I Don't Believe In Atheists. Being an atheist and a fan of Mr. Hedges' writing, I am looking forward to reading it.

In the interview, Hedges says that his latest work and American Fascists are "connected projects" in that they examine opposite extremes of the same spectrum. He argues that the so-called "New Atheists", but especially Hitchens and Harris, promote a morally neutral secularism which is simultaneously a kind of fundamentalism, one which elevates reason to a status of superiority. Their views are merely the mirror image of Christian fundamentalists.

I found myself both agreeing with things he said at one moment and then shuddering at others. Take this bit:

For example, they believe that the human species is marching forward, that there is an advancement toward some kind of collective moral progress -- that we are moving towards, if not a Utopian, certainly a better, more perfected human society.

You know, there is nothing in human nature or in human history that points to the idea that we are moving anywhere.

A commenter at Salon captured my gut reaction by saying, "You mean ending slavery, giving women the vote, and endorsing gay marriage are not all 'some kind of moral progress'?" Is it fundamentalist of me to think that my society is better in some regard than those who do not allow women to go out in public without being accompanied by a man? On another level, is it fundamentalist of me to think progress was made when people (Bill Maher excepted) recognized that diseases arise from bacteria, viruses, and germs instead of evil spirits? I think Hedges overstates things when he uses words like "utopia" and "perfected". The people he rails against all acknowledge that religion isn't going to go away. Indeed, the New Atheists all agree that comparative religion should be taught in schools. Furthermore, they all realize that, even if religion were to disappear, jealousy, xenophobia, hatred, and other darker elements of our nature aren't going to.

Hedges says that Sam Harris "doesn't know anything about religion or the Middle East". This seems to be a fairer criticism than the accusation that Harris promotes torture. (You can read Harris' views on torture here.) I hope that Hedges pursues this idea in the book because I've found that the best criticism of Harris comes from Scott Atran, a godless professor of anthropology and psychology and I think that Hedges would pursue a similar line of reasoning.

He also says, "I think a lot of their popularity stems from a legitimate anger on the part of a lot of Americans toward the intolerance and chauvinism of the radical religious right in this country." I agree and would add that 9/11 also helped create an environment where the New Atheists have achieved popularity. But I think it would be a mistake to say that New Atheism is merely a fad. While there's no Utopia of Reason to come, they can have an effect on public discourse and create an environment where non-believers are more comfortable coming out of the godless closet.

Should be an interesting read.

**EDIT** - after posting this I read PZ Myers' take on an essay Hedges wrote about his new book. Wow! Hedges is way off base and out in la-la land with this one. Sounds like he spent a lot of time building a straw man to me. What a waste.