Flipping the Line: Stop worrying about God

In this cheeky rebuttal, David McConkey thinks Jen Gerson ought to calm down about insoluable problems

The Line welcomes angry rebuttals and responses to our work. The best will be featured in our ongoing series, Flipping the Line. Today, David McConkey on why Jen Gerson doesn’t need to advocate for a Judeo-Christian revival.

By: David McConkey

“Where have all the New Atheists gone?” That was the question Jen Gerson posed recently, along with some pessimistic thoughts about how — although atheism was true — it still wasn’t enough. My answer to where the new atheists have gone is: “Who cares?” And I say to Jen’s other concerns: “Don’t worry about it!”

Let’s start at the beginning, or at least back far enough. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there was renewed interest in religious fanaticism and terrorism. And the role of religion in Sept. 11 prompted a new wave of criticism not just of Islam, but of all religions. In particular, four bestselling books emerged from the Sept. 11 experience. 

The first book was in 2004, “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason,” by neuroscientist Sam Harris. That was followed in 2006 with “The God Delusion” by biologist Richard Dawkins and “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon” by philosopher Daniel Dennett. Then, in 2007, “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” by public intellectual Christopher Hitchens. These four authors — Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens — became known as the “New Atheists.” 

As Jen points out, now the New Atheists seem old and tired, and sadly in the case of Hitchens, dead. And there is a recent surge of atheists — exemplified by famous Muslim apostate Ayaan Hirsi Ali — converting to Christianity. Jen mulls over several other points, like won’t people lose their moral bearings without religion and don’t societies need some sort of unifying, religious worldview? 

My reaction to the question of where the New Atheists have gone: “Who cares?” Atheism is simply not having a belief in a God, and the New Atheists made that point. But society has moved on. To many people, New Atheists (as well as old atheists) came across as doctrinaire, angry grumps. Atheists were viewed as not good company! And anyway, most regular folks just want to live their lives and don’t want to argue about arcane philosophical quandaries. 

But in the real world, religions are losing ground. Furthermore, atheism — or secularism or whatever you want to call it — in practice is good for people, as individuals and societies. Take a look at the countries with the highest quality of life. The top places are countries like Sweden, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Finland — countries that are more secular than religious in nature. In his book “Enlightenment Now,” Steven Pinker points out that both between countries and within countries, fewer religious places are better for overall well-being. 

What about those studies that find that religious people as individuals tend to be better people than the average? Observers such as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt have a good explanation for this phenomenon. In his book “The Righteous Mind,” Haidt points out that it is not religious belief — but belonging to an organization — that is the factor in making people better. So, don’t believe; instead, belong!

But don’t people need a belief in God for a moral grounding? No. Having a belief in God has over the years been too often an excuse for religious leaders to “choose your own adventure.” Major religions provide little common grounding in morality. There are huge differences in their approach to moral issues, for example, in the role of women, men and the family; respect for LGBT individuals; attitudes toward wealth; the nature of life and death and more. 

An awful example right now is on the world stage: Vladimir Putin presents himself as a paragon of Christianity. The Russian Orthodox Church has blessed the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war. Unfortunately, it is choose your own adventure.

But, if people leave religion won’t they then be susceptible to believing in anything else that comes along? Jen poses this question, and repeats a quote most often attributed to G.K. Chesterton: “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” 

But isn’t the opposite more likely to be true? When I look at those who are, as examples, falling for the QAnon conspiracy theory or looking at Donald Trump as a messiah, I see religious people. Often it is not atheists — but instead religious folks — who exhibit an emptiness that leads them to adopt kooky notions. 

So, I say about people losing their religion: “Don’t worry about it!” At the same time, I recognize that many people draw inspiration from their religion or from their belief in God. Maybe Hirsi Ali for one will find some kind of relief — I wish her only well. 

And let’s recognize that people are complex. Just about anyone, even for a short time, can be duped into voting for a charismatic demagogue, fall for a scam, believe in a conspiracy theory or succumb to a moral panic. Or, as Jen succinctly puts it, we are often “just evil little monkeys throwing shit at each other.”

Big questions — like our relation to the universe, the existence of supernatural beings, what happens after death and the nature of consciousness — are unknown. So don’t worry about it!

And atheism does not mean rejecting a spiritual dimension to life. Jen mentions Sam Harris in this regard and I would second that motion. In fact, as Harris has pointed out, he didn’t even use the word “atheist” in his book “The End of Faith.”

Jen references the “Waking Up” mindfulness meditation app that Harris has developed. I endorse that as well. At the most basic, a meditation practice is paying attention to your own mind for a few minutes a day. I also like the accompanying philosophy, which I would summarize as awareness, gratitude and compassion. As Harris points out, one can explore living a good life without resorting to either religious dogmatism or new age superstition. 

The “Waking Up” app has more than guided meditations. There are also conversations with scientists, philosophers and spiritual teachers. A far cry from the nitpicking grumpiness of the stereotypical atheist! 

Harris recorded an 8-minute audio message at the beginning of this year that sums up how he sees meditation and what he aims to do with the app. You can listen to that message here and also take advantage of a free trial offer. 

There are still more questions that Jen raises. What about filling that void in our souls, the so-called “God-shaped hole”? What if “strict materialism is insufficient as a worldview to meet our collective longing for identity, meaning and purpose”? What if we might even find “that a religion that is probably not literally true may also be a necessary evil”? 

Folks, please don’t overthink this! Let’s be more gentle with others and also ourselves. What if we let go of a belief in God — and at the same time — let go of a belief that there is within us some sort of “God-shaped hole”? What if there is no need or benefit to a “collective longing for identity, meaning and purpose”? What if we don’t need to settle for a religion that is probably “not true” or “a necessary evil”?

I would like to end by suggesting three approaches to living our best selves. The first is to build a good life for oneself and others, in the here and now. The second is to enjoy a spiritual exploration. The third is to be open to being content that what we see right in front of us, is enough.

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