Hallowed Atheism

Today, in a post labeled “Hallowed Secularism,” Andrew Sullivan writes:

They are, despite the propaganda of the atheists and the fundamentalists, compatible—even necessary for one another. Bruce Ledewitz, a non-believer himself, discusses his new book Hallowed Secularism:

I am afraid that without the influence of religion, secularism will eventually succumb to a weary relativism, or even nihilism. That is the fear as well of other secular thinkers, such as Austin Dacey, in his book, The Secular Conscience. My proposal is that secularists continue to learn from religion, especially the lesson that Martin Luther King, Jr., called, “the moral arc of the universe.” Religious symbols and language, such as redemption, salvation and forgiveness, can have real meaning for secularists.

But as any fan of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer can tell you, ideas like redemption, salvation and forgiveness are powerful ideas with real meaning even for atheists. When Willow nearly destroys the world out of grief, she must seek redemption, salvation and forgiveness through her family of choice—her friends. This is all takes place outside the structure of any religion we would recognize as such.

Yes, she is a fictional character, in a fictional universe in which vampires and demons are real and the Christian God’s absence is repeatedly implied and occasionally made explicit (see, for example the season 4 episode “Who Are You?” the season 6 episode “After Life,” and the season 7 episode “Beneath You”) , but that only underlines how powerful these ideas are even shorn from religious baggage—and not just for secularists, but for atheists as well.

Indeed, these ideas are, or, as the hosts of WNYC’s Radio Lab and psychological philosopher Joshua Greene put it, and expression of our “inner chimp”—deeply ingrained in our human DNA. They do not depend on belief in a deity for their power.