Secular humanist author: There is much intolerance in the world. And secular humanists are responsible for a lot of it.

Frank Furedi, the author of Politics of Fear: Beyond Left and Right (which I've not read), is a self-described "secular humanist" who is puzzled and alarmed by the intensifying intolerance shown toward Christians and Christianity. In an article for Spiked!, "The curious rise of anti-religious hysteria," he writes:

First there was the controversy provoked by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in 2004, and now there is this censorious dismissal of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Both are testaments to a potent mood of intolerance towards expressions of religious faith in popular culture today. The artistic representation of religious conviction is frequently stigmatised with terms such as 'fundamentalist', 'intolerant', 'dogmatic', 'exclusive', 'irrational' or 'right-wing'. As a secular humanist who is instinctively uncomfortable with zealot-like moralism, I am suspicious of the motives behind these doctrinaire denunciations of films with a religious message. Such fervour reminds me of the way that reactionaries in the past policed Hollywood for hints of blasphemy or expressions of 'Un-American values'. Replacing the zealotry of religious intolerance with a secular version is hardly an enlightened alternative.

Although I disagree with some of Furedi's analysis and, of couse, his core beliefs, his piece is refreshingly honest and balanced. It substantiates many of the points that I made in my December 2005 piece for IgnatiusInsight.com, "Is Religion Evil? Secularism's Pride and Irrational Prejudice." Unfortunately, I'm inclined to think that Furedi's calm and careful perspective is the exception, not the rule, when it comes to avowed secularists.

Comments

[Deacon John M. Bresnahan]

So what else is new? Secular Humanists are on the political-social Left and they've been out to destroy religion since at least the French Revolution---- Unless one considers Stalin a Bible-thumper, Lenin a papist, and Mao a Christian mystic.

[MenTaLguY]

The sad thing is that some people try. You'll run into secular humanists now and then who try to make hay out of the fact that Stalin was a former seminarian. Of course, they neglect to mention that he was expelled over his Marxist activities.

[Andrea Lawrence-Stuart]

Having come upon this Blog by chance, I am commenting here to advise there are some of us so-called secular humanists (or whatever we are labeled) out here who do not denounce religion. It has been around as long as man looked up to the stars and it is here to stay. Beliefs, faith, and lack thereof can be a ticklish subject and very personal to each individual, including the nonbelievers. I don't care what Stalin was--he was a bad dude no matter what he was before. There are people, though, who use faith and religion as weapons yet are hypocrites.

There are over 600 Christian sects and none of them agree. I do not preach the religion of atheism (which is sort of a religion too when it becomes an obsession which fuels anger and confrontation--and if strong enough, can start wars). Each religion is true in the eyes of each believer.

Murder, theft, deceit, arson, etc., were already anti-social human failings, i.e., crimes, before they were labeled as sins. Conversely, I am as capable of laying my life down for my friends as any Christian, and any good deed I do is not in hopes of a heavenly reward. I take issue with a lot of other religious contradictions but these are// my own personal views.

Religion has inspired and contributed the most to art, architecture, and music. Yet the religious debate on both sides has been the inspiration for wars, each side claiming their god was the true one. They are doing it today. Anything can be--and has been--deified.

To make rude remarks (faith-based vs. nonbelievers and vice versa)is, however, counterproductive. It is tempting, when one is on the receiving end of an insult, to react and lash out. But it is unwise and feeds mutual hostility. Free speech is a right we enjoy but when it is abused, especially by those who know better, religious or not, then we make new enemies here in our back yard. Likewise, freedom of--and from--religion has now become a hot potato, more than ever. We don't need to hark back to the medieval times to recognize it.

The International Leadership Forum, a nonprofit think tank which maintains a blog (neither religious nor anti-religious) features one or two articles recently contributed by some of our Fellows. The latest, posted by anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, in her series of "Think Your Issue" is titled "Think Your Issue V: Faith- Riven Debates." It is well worth your time and that of any other commenter, whatever his/her belief or nonbelief. Your comments are welcome and there is no registration necessary. The address is (www.ilfpost.org.)