New Atheists versus The Appeasers

In the course of a post dismantling a claim that New Atheists are fascists, PZ Myers offers some superb examples of the difference in how New Atheists and the surrendering apologists of religion who call themselves "progessive" respond to religious abominations:

Too often, the conversation between so-called 'progressives' and their opponents is one of gelatin-spined appeasers trying desperately to stave off the tyrants of the right by frantically retreating from the conflict.

"I want to chop off my daughter's clitoris," says the Islamist. "Oooh, that's not nice," says the 'progressive', "and your deep, rich cultural traditions make me hesitate to object."

Meanwhile, the New Atheist says "NO. There is no ambiguity here: your children are individuals, you have NO RIGHT to butcher them. And being an ignorant barbarian is no excuse."

"I demand that the public schools respect my mythology and teach everyone that the earth is 6000 years old," says the Christian Dominionist, "and also, you can't ever say a word to my children that contradicts Scripture." The 'progressive' replies, "Well, we wouldn't want to offend anyone, so maybe we can find a curriculum that doesn't use the "e" word and doesn't stir up any conflicts between science and religion. Let's compromise."

The New Atheist says, "You're wrong. You're worse than wrong, you're stupid. We're going to educate your children whether you like it or not, because they have a right to grow up without your self-inflicted brain injury."

"Belief in God is an essential part of being human and must be nurtured for the good of civilization," says the Evangelical. The 'progressive' cheerfully agrees, ignoring the sectarian tribalism that religion fosters, ignoring the absurdity of the Evangelical's very specific, very peculiar adherence to a dogmatic mythology, for which this happy acquiescence to an absence of critical thought is a convenient foot in the door.

The New Atheist instead argues that religion must be relegated to the status of a personal quirk, an affectation or hobby, and that the real heart of modern civilization lies in science, and reason, and evidence-based decision-making. Religion is a barbarous obsidian knife poised over our chests — put it in a cabinet and admire it as a work of art, but don't ever wield the damned thing ever again.

"Homosexuals are a disgusting abomination," scream the fundamentalists. The 'progressives' respond, "Oooh, well, we were going to advocate tolerance and equality, but in the light of your rousing certainty, we'll yank this commercial that blandly suggests that maybe gay people are human just like you."

The New Atheist, at this point, just facepalms incredulously and walks away from these lily-livered fair-weather advocates for equality.

Mr Sparrow's argument that all New Atheists are fascists rests on one point: the blanket claim that we're all Islamophobic bigots who want to exterminate all Muslims, and he suggests that it is reasonable to disbelieve in a god, but we have to do it while somehow not annoying Islamic fundamentalists. Somehow, in his mind, the Global Atheist Convention has become a staging area for a few days of focused hate on Islam — and he demands that we take a stand and denounce the speakers. Having attended the last Australian convention, that's a weird characterization of the occasion. Sparrow might want to look at the Dublin Declaration on Religion in Public Life, which is a much more accurate summary of the attitudes expressed in these New Atheist gatherings.

It's a very progressive document. Not in the sense that some 'progressives' believe, in which the only progressive value is surrender, but in the sense that it actually stands firmly for positive values, like freedom of conscience and thought, equality before the law, and secular education for all. That we actually believe in something, and that we stand up for it in speech and deed, does not imply that we're totalitarian fascists, except to people who think the only true progressive response must be silence, and inaction, and acquiescence.

Sparrow knows this. He has another column where he rebukes the idea of reform by conciliation and appeasing the right, but he only takes that stand on purely political issues. It's strangely common to see how adding religion to the mix of issues seems to make so many people drop to their knees and start bowing in obedience.

If you're not an appeaser of the freakazoids, you're neither fascist nor progressive: you're a liberal.