Not long ago, I regularly received treatment from a medical professional whose expertise was well-proved over many appointments. She, religiously unaffiliated, was a woman of reason and science, effortlessly melding the most recent studies in her field with more than two decades of clinical expertise. Then, one day, she asked me for my sign and proceeded to explain the personal qualities of Sagittariuses like myself. Though my high opinion of her professionalism remains, her trust in astrology cannot help but bespeak a certain incoherence in her worldview.
I thought of astrology (popular among 30 percent of Americans) and the now-billion-dollar crystal industry when reading Washington Post columnist Kate Cohens new book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). Heavily reliant on anecdotes from her own (admittedly lukewarm) upbringing as a Reform Jew, Cohen aims to cajole her readers to be honest with themselves about their true beliefs by acknowledging their implicit atheism.
This will not only make Americans more coherent, claims Cohen it will benefit American progress, inhibited as it is by religion and its backward bigotry. Yet, I wonder, can Cohens readers (or even Cohen herself) overcome their own intellectual incoherence?
I believe that passing on ones preference for reason, evidence, and honesty pointing out, with conviction and context, where fiction poses as fact is the truly moral choice, declares Cohen in the prologue. This is a constant refrain of We of Little Faith that religious belief is intellectually indefensible, that the scriptures of various faith traditions are full of absurd and morally contemptible portrayals of the divine, and that many people profess belief because of a certain inherited intellectual laziness. I would say that all evidence points to the fact that God is a popular and useful fiction, and that no evidence points to the fact that he actually exists.
Cohens atheism, she explains, derives naturally from a few simple observations. The first of these is that many religious traditions are based on mythical accounts that are obviously fanciful, and that many others such as Mormonism and Scientology are so absurd as to merit nothing but derision.
Yet from the premise that some religions are mythical or downright preposterous, it does not follow that all religions are thus, just as recognizing that the history of medical science has been full of quackery (and often still is) does not mean modern medicine is all illegitimate. Indeed, if there were a God, its at least plausible he might even make use of the mythical genre to communicate truths to primitive cultures whose understanding of the world is informed by such stories, as many scholars posit God does in the Old Testament.
Life is confusing and death is scary, notes Cohen. Thus, she asserts, humans concocted religion to explain death. At least Cohens first point was an argument, albeit a fallacious one. This second argument is sheer, unsubstantiated speculation regarding the existence of a phenomenon, and obtains as little as it would for me to assert that Cohen authored this book as an exercise in self-deception in order to suppress her own fears of the divine and death.
Her third argument is that the holy books of various traditions contain facts now disproven by science and morality now disavowed by modern adherents. Yet the Hebrew Bible is not a science textbook but a collection of various ancient literary genres poetry, wisdom literature, history, prophecy that even its early interpreters did not believe were to be understood as explaining literal, scientific realities (just read Origen or Augustine). And as much as religious traditions such as Christianity declare the absolute nature of various moral principles, does that not allow for their varied application in human history, based on cultural or political circumstances?
Again, if there is a God, and He is a Father of creation, is He not permitted to give us varied moral instructions, based on mans historical and cultural ability to understand and apply them? Is the divergence in instructions I give to my 10-year-old and 3-year-old an embarrassing contradiction or an appreciation for the difference in their maturity?
Cohen also argues that various unfathomable cruelties such as child rape disprove Gods existence. Certainly, child rape is heinous. But is any rape not heinous? Is any cold-blooded murder not unconscionable? But if there is a God, and if He has permitted free will, such human wickedness becomes possible.
Of course, we may demand to know why God does not intervene in the midst of such evil. But what, one might ask, would this look like? Is a good God supposed to intervene every time a rape or murder is about to happen, immediately acting to prevent such harms, say, by staying the perpetrators hand or striking him dead? And, if we demand God to intervene in those events, why not every circumstance where people are killed, injured, or hurt, from natural disasters to skinned knees? This is an exercise in pure subjectivity.
Cohens arguments against God, little more than regurgitations of the tired rhetoric of the New Atheists, are superficial, illogical, and emotive. They are also embarrassingly ignorant. There is absolutely no engagement with any of the classical arguments for Gods existence, be they Thomas Aquinass Five Ways or Anselms ontological argument. Nor is there any interaction with the best responses to the New Atheists, such as from theologian David Bentley Hart or philosopher Ed Feser. Its certainly possible all of the arguments in favor of Gods existence are bad, but if Cohen believes them to be so, she offers no rebuttals.
Instead, she complains that atheists are held to an unfair standard by those who expect them to be able to prove that God doesnt exist. Well, given thats the definition of atheism yes, one should be able to demonstrate that. Or is Cohen demanding atheists be allowed to be intellectually lazy?
We of Little Faith is less a logic-driven treatise than a therapeutic self-help book from someone whos seen the light she even devotes a chapter to helping atheists create their own holidays. Because of this, one observes the same kind of naivete found among zealous new religious converts. When I had children I realized that our lives and our heads are full of half-considered actions and half-digested philosophies and entirely unproven received wisdom, writes Cohen, as if religious people havent also contemplated this fact.
Not that Cohen is entirely ignorant of religious writers. She cites Josef Pieper, Tim Keller, and Rick Warren, among others. She approvingly cites Ignatius of Loyola and C.S. Lewis as guides for reflection, something she has sought to adopt (in a non-religious way) as an atheist. But she also gets basic things about religion wrong. She thinks individual Catholic priests, rather than tribunal courts, grant annulments. She claims that the Catholic Church in 1992 stopped authoritatively teaching the doctrine of limbo, though thats patently false it was never official, magisterial doctrine in the first place, and Catholics are still permitted to believe in it.
Cohen believes that by dispensing with religion, America will become a more prosperous and just society. You can conduct a full life, a wonderful, even profound life, without relying on either the familiar religious structures or the supernatural beings that supposedly animate them. She praises secular societies, which according to measures such as rates of homicide, violent crime, poverty rates, obesity, child abuse, and teen pregnancy, are doing better than religious societies.
Yet this elides the widely-reported fact that these same societies are facing a catastrophic future because of paltry birth rates, growing vocal immigrant communities in (increasingly violent) tension with native peoples, and a deep, nihilistic self-hatred resulting in unprecedented levels of depression, anxiety, and drug abuse.
If people stopped trusting in God to solve their problems they would take more responsibility for their lives and the well-being of the societies in which they live, Cohen claims. Yet the most actively religious people are often the most civically engaged and driven to change the world for the better (ever heard of Mother Teresa?).
According to the Philanthropy Roundtable, the religiously observant are almost twice as likely to volunteer when compared to the non-observant, and donate more than twice as much to charitable causes. Much to the ACLUs chagrin, about 1 in 7 U.S. hospital beds are in a Catholic facility. About 1.7 million American children are educated in Catholic schools, saving taxpayers more than $20 billion annually. The Knights of Columbus annually contributes almost $200 million and about 75 million service hours to charitable causes. Can Cohen name a single American atheist organization that rivals that?
At a superficial level, the arguments made by people like Cohen make sense. If you believe a higher power is responsible for the weather or can stop the spread of some illness, shouldnt that make you intellectually and volitionally lazier? Yet the data does not support that hypothesis quite the opposite, in fact.
Faith, at least in the Judeo-Christian tradition, is more often an intellectual and societal stimulant than a soporific. Yet even if thats true, demography seems to be on Cohens side: millions of Americans are abandoning religion in favor of a secular future. Nevertheless, as Cohens book (unintentionally) shows, that future will be no less incoherent.
Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. He has a bachelors in history and masters in teaching from the University of Virginia and a masters in theology from Christendom College. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands.
Read this article:
Can Anyone Give An Actual Argument For Atheism? - The Federalist
- Secular Americans Are the New Values Voters and This Election Proved It - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Outcry in Hollywood over Minari's placement in foreign-language category - The Guardian [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Zuckerman: Secular values voters are becoming an electoral force in the US just look closely at 2020s results - Palm Beach Post [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Secular 'values voters' are becoming an electoral force in the US just look closely at 2020's results - Jacksonville Journal-Courier [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- The authenticity of the virgin birth | Editorial Columns - Brunswick News [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- FL County That Blocked Atheists from Giving Invocations Adopts Revised Policy - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- To the atheist Sartre: Thank you for this vivid incarnation of Jesus - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Russian New Year: At The Heart Of A Wide Tapestry Of Winter Traditions - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2020]
- Conservative Writer: Dr. Anthony Fauci is Immoral Because He's a Humanist - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Theres More to James Randi Than Meets the Eye - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Wrestling With Foam-Pillow Atheism - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Deadly IS attack threatens China's Belt and Road in Pakistan - Nikkei Asia [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Pope Francis: We need unity in the Catholic Church, society, and nations - The Catholic Telegraph [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Kanimozhi: Our culture is different. They (BJP) cant create fear of other religions here. It wont work in TN polls - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- RTs Waterford Whispers News sketch was woefully unfunny, crude and offensive - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Heroes of the Faith: C.S. Lewis - Keep the Faith [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- James "Jim" G. Rice All Obituaries - The Gazette [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Podcast Ep. 356: Jesus and the Capitol Coup | Hemant Mehta - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- How many Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Mormons and Hindus are in Congress? - Deseret News [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- White Supremacy in the Church: Black Leaders Discuss the Way Forward - University of Georgia [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Critically Acclaimed Spiritual Fiction Vividly Details an Atheist Woman's Transformative Encounters at an Ordinary Garage Sale, Challenging Her... [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- 'I was fat and in my 30s, then I discovered rugby and it changed my life' - iNews [Last Updated On: January 17th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 17th, 2021]
- Unity has long been a theme, and anxiety, for new presidents - Outlook India [Last Updated On: January 17th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 17th, 2021]
- LETTER: America is divided, but not by Trump - The News Herald [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Jason Whitlock Doubles Down On Comparing BLM to the KKK - Black Enterprise [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Horror flick 'Saint Maud' will scare the devil out of you - The Patriot Ledger [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Clenndenning explores nature of God and belief - Central Wisconsin News - CW Media [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Catholic Priest: I'd Deny Biden Communion Until He Repents and Converts - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Women's History Month at the Center for Education - TheHumanist.com - The Humanist [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut Reacts To A Twitter User Who Questioned Her For Claiming She Was An Atheist As A Kid; Tweets A Perfect Explanation - SpotboyE [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut to user who questioned her atheism: My grandfather engraved it in my mind - Republic TV [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Can you be scientific and spiritual? - Big Think [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- I will be ticking no religion in the census there is so much more at stake than you might think - The Independent [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut responds to Twitter user who questioned her about understanding atheism as a kid, credits grandfather - Hindustan Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- For divorced atheist remainers like me, this census was a minefield - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- GOP County Clerk Candidate's First Goal? Putting In God We Trust on Everything - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Richard Dawkins on life after death: 'We're all going to die - but we are the lucky ones!' - Daily Express [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Montenegro was a success story in troubled Balkan region now its democracy is in danger - The Conversation US [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Who are the religious nones and why is this group of Americans growing? - Deseret News [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- After Exposing a Proselytizing Teacher, an Atheist and His Child Are on the Run - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Yes, Virginia, Atheists Have a Worldview - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Battle For The Soul Of Islam Analysis - Eurasia Review [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Lord Muruga's weapon Vel becomes political tool to woo voters in TN - News Today [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Most Democrats and Republicans Know Biden Is Catholic, but They Differ Sharply About How Religious He Is - Pew Research Center's Religion and Public... [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- A Washington Church Created a Bonkers Video Whining About COVID Restrictions - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- What is New Jersey's most popular superstition? (Hint: It brings good luck) - Asbury Park Press [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Mike Moffett: Educating Ed and Easter | Op-eds | unionleader.com - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Congratulations, Atheists: Church Attendance in America is at an All-Time Low. - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Researchers study mental health of believers, atheists - Winnipeg Free Press [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- What the New Atheists miss about the meaning of God - New Statesman [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Image of 2013 Bangladesh riots shared as violence against Hindus in West Bengal - Alt News [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Mormon Church President: People Who Have Religious Doubts Are Lazy Learners - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Keir Starmer promises bill to protect women and girls in wake of Sarah Everard killing - The Independent [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Thailand: Easter of conversion, Christ as the answer to the meaning of life - Malaysian Christian News [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- 'They tried to pray the gay away': Growing up gay in a deeply religious household - The Tab [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Why did Trump lose non-religious votes at the ballot? - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Check Out This Massive (Resurrected) Interactive Chart of Bible Contradictions - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Frank McNally on A History of Northern Ireland in 100 Euphemisms - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- TN GOP Will Fix Statewide Ban on Priests in Government (But Atheist Ban Remains) - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Zoom event to promote dialogue between theists and nontheists - Idaho State Journal [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Podcast Ep. 369: Atheists No Longer Have to Swear to God to Vote in Alabama - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Why the Universe Itself Can't Be the Most Fundamental Thing - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Everything Wrong With Exodus 1 in the Bible | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- THE REAL MRS MUHAMMAD Will Be Performed as Part of Suidoosterfees at Artscape Theatre This Month - Broadway World [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Ford on Fridays: they call me the scat man. The bird scat man. - Victoria Buzz [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Death Cult Pastor: One Day We'll Answer to God Even You, Friendly Atheist! - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Can you believe it? Religions been taking a hit - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Atheist Sues L'Oreal Over Repeated Acts of Harassment by His Christian Boss - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Understanding the hate factory: How Rohan Joshi and his hateful post against Hindus gives us an insight into the liberal mind - OpIndia [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Psychiatrist testifies about shooter's possible motivations in 9th day of Sutherland Springs trial - KENS5.com [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Richard Dawkins loses humanist of the year title over trans comments - The Guardian [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Satyajit Ray's 100th birth anniversary falls on May 2. Sumit Paul dwells on the auteur's cinematic relevance in this age of the pandemic, blind faith... [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Leap of faith: NM-filmed Walking With Herb follows grieving grandfathers spiritual journey - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Letter to the Editor: By being secular, we include everyone - Canton Repository [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Civil ceremonies overtake religious as marriages fall by 53% in 2020 - BreakingNews.ie [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Rewind: Five Spoilery Teases For Marvel's Heroes Reborn, Out This Week - Bleeding Cool News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Chimeras, Richard Dawkins, and the madness of Catholicism - Angelus News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Where Steve Meyer Agrees with an Atheist Marxist - Discovery Institute [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Atheists Respond to National Day of Prayer This Week With Action to Feed the Hungry and Clean Up Litter - Good News Network [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Bob Marley: Reggae king's only Scottish gig remembered on 40th anniversary of his death - The Scotsman [Last Updated On: May 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 11th, 2021]