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Atheists Gather in Burbank: A Humanist's Response
By Anthony B. Pinn
October 27, 2009
www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religionandtheology/1894/atheists_gather_in_burbank:_a_humanist's_response
An atheist convention, attended by premier non-believers Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, inspires some reflections on the virtue of a positive, productive humanism, rather than the anti-theism that dominates the discourse.
...History shows that reason may alter the posture of faith-based communities, may force them to shift their language and limit their size and their socio-political reach, but it will not destroy faith. The very definition of faith should make this apparent. Atheists miscalculate the core significance of theism if they assume it is about doctrine and creeds, ritual forms and physical structures; those things most often attacked. Theism, at its core, is about the making of meaning and the establishment of stories and practices related to how and why we occupy time and space; ritual, doctrines, sacred texts and so on are only cultural manifestations of this deeper meaning. These rituals and doctrines are secondary, not primary: They are modified, they shift, they change to fit the historical-cultural context. Attacks on theism’s theological or ritual shortcomings, while correct in some regards, will not end theism.
Theism and atheism/humanism will persist, and any real gain we make toward healthy existence for our world must involve collaboration (not assimilation) and partnerships between moderates within both groups. This is not denial of difference and doesn't require rejection of one's chosen orientation. Rather it involves recognition that a mature approach to life rejects fundamentalism of any kind, and demands complex relationships of shared ethical commitment even when those relationships are burdened with tension.
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