Christian extremism is a poorly understood and often neglected phenomenon. Although we are constantly hearing about Muslim extremists, America is plagued with a Christian extremist movement which we ignore at our peril. Christian...
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Christian extremism is a poorly understood and often neglected phenomenon. Although we are constantly hearing about Muslim extremists, America is plagued with a Christian extremist movement which we ignore at our peril. Christian extremism includes the components of Christian fundamentalism (i.e., biblical inerrancy, evangelism, premillenialism, separatism/sense of persecution, and biblical literalism with regard to creation) and adds some additional components (e.g., exclusivity, anti-intellectualism, social conservatism/anti-liberalism, intolerance, theocratic strivings, and militant opposition to modernism).
Image via Wikipedia It must be difficult to be a Christian extremist parent in 2009. First, those pesky public schools actually want to educate your children in science so they'll be able to compete in an increasingly complex job market. Second, some dare to teach method of sex education which have been shown to be...(gasp)...effective, instead of simply preaching "don't do it." And now, some schools have the nerve to realize that bullying detracts from the learning conducive environment... Read Full Story
I was motivated, at least in part, to start Atheist Revolution because I was becoming increasingly frustrated to see politicians and media in the U.S. obsess over Islamic extremism in the Middle East while ignoring Christian extremism at home. In the couple of years since I have been blogging, little has changed. There is still a tendency in the U.S. to see religious extremism as problematic only as long as one's own religion is exempt from similar examination. Yes, there have been some... Read Full Story
Friendly Atheist has a good post asking us all to consider whether we truly support freedom of speech. He is right to note what appears to be considerable hypocrisy around this issue. We pick on Christians for their hypocrisy because it tends to be so common and obvious, but I'd like to remind us that atheists are not immune from making the same mistake. This is a good subject for some discussion in light of the recent news about atheist billboards, bus campaigns , and the like. It is easy... Read Full Story
Image via Wikipedia The month of November brings both Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving , but it also heralds something even more special - the war on Christmas. It is almost unfortunate that this war is nothing more than a marketing campaign by Christian extremists to solicit donations from their deluded supporters. If only the war was real, it could bring atheists together to denounce Christian privilege as a potent cultural factor for maintaining extremism. But sadly, the war on Christmas is... Read Full Story
Image by Getty Images via Daylife I fully realize that I will not live to see the end of Christian extremism in the United States. Far from being a source of despair, this encourages me to do what I can while I'm here. In fact, I'm feeling a bit optimistic at this moment that we may finally be nearing the beginning of what is almost sure to be a long and tortured decline of at least one form of Christian extremism. Specifically, I am very encouraged by what I'm seeing in the GLBT community... Read Full Story
Image by stevegarfield via Flickr Late last month, Bligbi wrote a great post titled " What century do we live in again? " I don't know about you, but I find myself asking that question every time I open a paper, watch a news program on TV, or get my fix of news from multiple sources on the Internet. Increasingly, I find myself feeling embarrassed for humanity. I know we can do better than this, and I am becoming increasingly impatient that we refuse to do so. Here are some quick examples of... Read Full Story
My post asking whether atheists should consider picketing Christian extremist churches generated some great comments and spawned some interesting e-mails as well. Unfortunately, it appears that some who commented and e-mailed seemed to miss a couple of what I thought were crucial points in the original post. I'd like to clear these up and continue the discussion here. In the original post, I was discussing the possibility of picketing Christian extremist churches and not all Christian... Read Full Story
Image via Wikipedia Here in the American bible belt, it is fairly common for meetings to begin with a prayer. This bizarre practice can even be found happening at public universities and state governmental institutions. Is it legal? The answer seems to depend greatly on who one asks. According to an October 28, 2008, press release issued by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld the use of sectarian prayers before government... Read Full Story
I think atheists can generally agree that Christian extremism is a problem. The hard part is agreeing on tactics to oppose it. I have a question for the atheist readers today, one I'd like you to think about before responding. As atheists, should we consider picketing the Christian extremist churches in our communities? Let me elaborate a bit before you answer in case this idea strikes you as absurd on it's face (which it still might be). My goal is not to sell you on the idea but to find... Read Full Story
The tagline for Atheist Revolution is "Breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America." Most people are familiar with the concept of "religious extremism," but what exactly is Christian extremism? I trust that you are used to hearing terms such as "religious extremism," "Islamofascist," "Islamic extremist," and the like. If you have been exposed to any of the American media's coverage of Bush's unjust war in Iraq, you have encountered these phrases countless... Read Full Story
