The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World

Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the unconverted
Review: There's an old cliche about the ferocity of the converted. McGrath's depiction of "atheism" demonstrates the validity of that assessment. Although he restrains his fury over the views of those who deny deities in the early parts of the book, his control erodes as the pages are turned. By the concluding chapter he's in full rant about those who have the temerity to leave the embrace of Christianity. In presenting this history of atheist thought in the Western world, he works in purely narrative mode, devoid of any analytical methods. Atheism, in McGrath's view, is a simple denial of established churches, projected to encompass their foundation, a remote deity.

McGrath's book purports to be a history of "atheism". From the outset he portrays it as a "movement" launched during the Enlightenment, later flourishing to a mild degree. He selects various thinkers who challenged the hegemony of Christianity in Western Europe over a single century - bracketed by the Fall of the Bastille and demolition of the Berlin Wall. Those dates are either signal flares or red flags to the reader, as McGrath understands well. The French Revolution, as a logical expression of the Enlightenment, sought to reject the overbearing Christianity France had suffered. As McGrath notes, both the revolution and the logic failed.

The author parades a gallery of "atheists", critical of the Church. With so many elements to criticise, they projected beyond Church institutions to its foundation deity. Among those in the line-up for judgment, McGrath hoists Voltaire, de Sade, Marx and Freud. If there is one atheist thinker that stands out in this rogues gallery, it is Ludwig Feuerbach. Feuerbach's analysis of the failings of Christianity became, in McGrath's view, a pillar of non-theist thinking. Both Marx and Freud, and many between turned to his ideas the most realistic. Although McGrath incessantly points out Feuerbach's financial difficulties [imposed by a deity?], he cannot help but note his lingering influence.

As McGrath warms to his theme, he seizes any opportunity to grant atheism a foundation role where he can discern one. Freud's psychoanalyis and admiration of Darwin are founded on atheism first and medicine after. Marx and Lenin's struggle to overcome the flaws of capitalism are driven by the desire to create a "godless" society. Finally, of course, the rise of Hitler's Nazi movement are founded on a dream of a society without divine guidance. Strange then, that McGrath conveniently overlooks Hitler's own "bible" declaring that in elminating the Jews, he was doing "the Lord's work". He also omits mention of Hitler's support from the Vatican.

Hitler, Lenin and others who dismisses Christianity and other religions pale into insignificance when McGrath reveals the real devil. Richard Dawkins, Britain's most eloquent athiest, appears again and again. McGrath drags Dawkins into view, excoriating the Darwinian's vilification of superstition and contempt of blind faith. In doing so, he rather overreaches himself. Accusing a man with a view 4 billion years deep of "ignoring history" is almost the ultimate irony. To McGrath, a convert from teen-age atheism, Dawkins refusal to follow his path is the ultimate heresy. With a reach crossing many borders and the impact he's likely to have on souls instead of just bodies, Dawkins is clearly the more formidable enemy. Besides, the others are long departed.

If there's anything humorous in this book, it's McGrath's attempt to reach the "younger set" with his reference to "spirituality" in the Star Trek TV series. He claims Gene Roddenberry restrained any Christian [he says "spiritual"] expression on the series. In doing so, he neglects to note it was Roddenberry's hope that religious sects would be shelved over the next three centuries. McGrath compounds this distortion by claiming one character restores a sense of "spirituality" to the series - Chakotay of ST: Voyager! The most opportunistic and devious character after Will Riker! Not an example to hold up for emulation. In any case, Chakotay's character worships ancestral spirits, one of the many "heathen" practices Christianity has expended much energy trying to eradicate.

In short, this book is just a cry of desperation. McGrath's focus on "atheism" as a movement against Christianity reveals a narrowness inexplicable for a man who teaches theology. McGrath lines up his enemies, mowing them down at the end of each presentation. As a Christian, he's unable to conceive of individuals finding faith inadequate. He wants an organisation that he can assault and dismember. It's not there. That makes it easy to pick off targets as they arise, but it fails utterly to subdue the notion that Nature shows there is no need for deities.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Rating:
Summary: Ignores demographic data on atheism....
Review: This flimsy "history" of atheism over the past few centuries mayu comfort theists, but it is terribly weak and shallow scholarship. Very poorly researched indeed. The most obvious matter is this: if atheism is vanishing, then this should be shown through basic data and evidence. The author presents none. It isn't hard to find. Sociologists of religion have generated much data. see the work of Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris, Steve Bruce, Grace Davie, etc. for starters.

What we know is that rates of atheism have DRAMATICALLY increased over the last century is such countries as Germany, Great Britain, the nations of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, France, etc. And we also know that significant segments of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Israel are atheist. Indeed, Phil Zuckerman (Pitzer College) has tabulated total world population of atheists at somewhere between 500 million and 740 million -- more atheists on the planet than at any time in history.

Twilight of atheism? Nice try. Sure, religion is boomin in poo and impoverish countries, but in many nations in Europe, as well as selected Asain nations, and many eastern euorpean and former soviet nations, atheism is strong and increasing.

You can say atheism is dying, but when you provide no tangible demographic data to support this contention, then, well, all you get is pithy myths. Of course, theists are generally happy with that, never generally needing data to believe in anything.

Rating:
Summary: Ebb and Flow of Atheism in Modernity
Review: What gives with the reviews that criticize this book for what it never said it would be about: it promised the rise and fall of atheism in modern world? It delivers the chronicling of the social and political movements that were a part of atheism's history, rather than the desired by some philosophical, abstract analysis of atheism's thought system.

McGrath has a personal stake in this movement, and not just a abstract, academic one, but a personal history involving culture, politics, religion. No sanitized removal of this thought system apart from its weaving into fabric of society and its political and social dimensions could tell this story.

McGrath is proficient in analyzing subjects which interest him. His fame as investigator into such as: Luther's Theology of the cross, Intellectual foundations of Pre-Reformation theology, Calvin, King James Bible, Justification of God history, etc. What an amazing list! Check out anyone on these who knows anything, and you'll find McGrath's works on such at the top.

This latest contribution achieves that same prominence for those of us who have followed and read his past contributions. It is thorough, well documented, fresh and erudite.

His main premise is that atheism is in a twilight zone, where it has faded to shadows of society. It flourishes in times when religion oppresses, but suffer withdrawal when spirituality is an asset to people's lives. Thus, now is downtime for atheism.
This as McGrath rightly clarifies does not infer that it will remain down for the count. This quote shows some of that: "The future looks nothing like the godless and religionless world so confidently predicted forty years ago. Political opportunies and cultural sensitivity have led to religious beliefs being treated with new respect. The atheist agenda, once seen as a positive force for progress, is now seen as disrespectful toward cultural diversity."

For the discerning reader who will judge the work on the agenda set out by the author (clearly done in this work) will find this a fascinating and well laid out "snapshot" look of the period which McGrath lays out as rising (French Revolution) of golden atheism period to its decline (following of Berlin Wall and Communism).