Exploring the Rise of Atheism as a Religion in America: The New Fundamentalists

Stephen Cunningham: I have an MDiv in Theology, but I also have a healthy respect for non religious views. Chris Hedges presents a convincing critique of people who think that they have “the truth,” atheists or religious fundamentalist. We should not take a “my view or the highway view.”

United States on Feb 18, 2022

Lucretia Martenet: Chris Hedges should be required reading. This is a companion volume to his book on the fundamentalist take over of America. While atheism may be seen as a counterattack to bizarre religiosity, Hedges thesis is that it has become a type of religion itself and that society is losing a basic structure at a time when it needs it most.

Canada on Apr 14, 2019

Amazon Customer: More repetitive rant than argument. Not what I would have expected from Mr. Hedges.

Canada on Apr 15, 2018

C. J. Boorman: I was disappointed. What started out as a great critique of the worsts aspects of religion and atheism returned to an apology for religion juxtaposed to his straw man anti-'new-atheism' position. He is right of course that the enlightenment brought with it the 'hope' and faith of a utopian future (a new religion), where there was no more conflict, war, etc. It was born from the failure of religion to bring anything but war, conflict and oppression for the vast majority of society. It was people like Grotius and his ideas of natural laws, which we could all agree on, which served as the basis for the end of religious wars. It was the emptiness of religious conjectures, about the natural world, which were refuted by scientific discoveries, that led to reformation and reassessment of what 'true' religion is. Hedges talks about people cherry-picking their faith position, as if it is a good thing; that there is no absolute truth, or right way, but that's ok because the Bible (or religious texts) are all metaphor and allegory about spiritual 'truth' unobtainable through reason. Some atheists may have hope for a better future but I don't. What Hedges talks about as the corruption of man...

United Kingdom on Nov 09, 2016

Simon Perry: Hedges is trying to shift some of the key elements of this debate away from the traditional 'god exists', oh-no-he-doesn't, oh-yes-he-does game. Instead, he is attempting to look at the political dimension of atheism in today's US (a very different animal from UK or European atheisms). He is onto something, I think, but it becomes a bit boring and predictable in places. It's quite negative in fact, and he doesn't really present a positive case that has proper coherence - but who can blame him, seeing what he has seen. I suspect that in future debates on this topic are likely to be moving towards the field where Hedges is fighting - and on that basis I believe the book is recommendable. Plus there is no disputing that Hedges is a great writer, and despite being downbeat the book is quite a pleasurable read.

United Kingdom on Jul 28, 2015

Al: Chris H brilliant as usual. I consider my self an atheist but I love how the author exposes the hidden prejudices, manipulation and interests of those who claim to lead the "atheist" movement. It's an eye opener.

Canada on Feb 08, 2015

Sahra Badou: Religious people, or theists, depend on faith. They believe in a God whose existence cannot be scientifically proven. In other words, there is no evidence that God exists. Atheists also depend on faith. They believe that God does not exist since there is no scientific evidence of His existence. But there is also no scientific evidence that He does not exist. Both theists and atheists therefore depend on faith. We all live our lives based on faith.

According to the author, both theists and atheists are organized groups. Theists have religions, such as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Atheists also have organized groups, such as Nazis, communists, fascists, and liberals who base their faith in science and science alone. Atheism is a system with beliefs and an ideology. It is a system based on faith.

There have been many atrocities committed throughout history in the name of religion. There have also been many atrocities committed by non-theists groups, such as Nazis and communists. Scientific progress brings both peace and destruction. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, the majority of them women and...

United States on Sep 13, 2008

Keysar Trad: This book is not about religion, it is about the blinkered thinking of some leading athiests who fall into the trap of doing exactly what those they criticise do: simply attempting to polarise views into "us" and "them".
Hedges references well his arguments throughout the book. One does not need to agree with his assessment of all religions, however, what he has revealed about the goals and the stated methods to achieve these goals by leading proponents of athiesm is very very eye opening.
This is a very significant book, it shows that fundamentalism also exists amongst athiests and this fundamentalism can be just as dangerous as any other.
Hedges presents compelling argument as to why fundamentalist athiests deserve to be considered in the same light as religious fundamentalists and rightly outlines through numerous examples that these are as closed minded as each other.
The book contains many very useful quotes from the leading athiests of our time, these quotes show that their rhetoric and their solutions are just as perturbing as those touted by religious extremists.
This book is well worth reading and recommending to others, I have already ordered a copy for a...

United States on Jul 06, 2008

LindaT: My interest in this book came from a nasty experience in college some years ago. I was talking about Christianity and its effect on my life. Apparently my views were too conservative and/or orthodox to suit two people I was talking to. They started to get in my face and insist that I was wrong. No matter what I said, they would take turns interrupting me and insisting that I was wrong and that Christianity had "changed," and that I needed to change with it. That I had been raised in the home of an ordained minister and had just about cut my teeth on a Bible didn't matter - to them, I didn't know that I was talking about and they wouldn't listen. I was bothered by this - not so much that they didn't agree with me, but that they wouldn't listen, and at one time they were almost shouting and backing me up against a wall - literally! Later on I thought, "If a so-called "fundamentalist" Christian had acted like that, they would have had his/her head on a platter!"

When I first found this book, I wondered if Chris Hedges had the same type of experience I did. Probably not - but his message rang true.

In my opinion, the title of this book is misleading. Hedges doesn't...

United States on Mar 17, 2008