Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
New Hampshire Paper: Scrap the Inaugural Prayer
The Concord Monitor comes out against Rick Warren at Barack Obama's inauguration. . .but not only does the Monitor oppose Warren because of his anti-gay views, the paper (once named by Time Magazine as one of America's best newspapers) comes to the conclusion that inaugural prayers ought to be done away with entirely:
Do we need an inaugural prayer? Somehow, in a country that has become more and more diverse, a country that includes not only Protestants, but also Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and nonbelievers, the tradition seems an anachronism that future presidents would do well to scrap.
Formal prayers by Christian ministers have been associated with presidential inaugurations from the get-go, but they're surely no requirement. And while you might assume such prayers would be of the tepid, generic, non-denominational variety, a quick look back at recent overtly religious invocations will surely give many Americans, regardless of their personal religious affiliations, pause.
The piece goes on to offer up examples of inaugural prayers that have been strictly sectarian Christian in their content--not in any way ecumenical or pluralistic--and concludes that "specific religious belief is not one of those things" that needs celebrating on Inauguration Day.
Well, I'll admit, I'm a little floored. It's not a newspaper endorsement of atheism or anything, but it is surely a far more secular view than we are used to seeing from mainstream outlets. I wonder if Michael Newdow's seen this yet!
What might help give some context to the Monitor's position is some data on the good people of New Hampshire. According to a 2004 Gallup survey, for example, New Hampshire ranked 8th in the percentage of its population claiming to be "non-religious," with 13 percent. It was one of only two states in the top ten not in the West.
Meanwhile, New Hampshirites were given the chance to expound on their attitudes concerning politics and irreligion in a Survey USA poll in December of 2007, just as their state was being invaded by every presidential candidate under the sun (except, I guess, Rudy Giuliani). In that poll, 61 percent chose, in one hypothetical match-up, the atheist candidate who shared their political views, versus only 21 percent who would opt for the candidate of their same religion, but did not agree with them on the issues. Religion was simply not a major factor for these voters.
So perhaps the Monitor is reflecting the zeitgeist of its readership, which is great news. Mass shifts toward atheism are not exactly on the radar, but it is good to know that in some pockets of the country, religion is losing its choke hold on politics.
[Cross-post at Bloc Raisonneur]
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Neize Zeitgeist!
I haven't read that rag for years. Well, haven't lived in NH for years, come to think of it.
Most encouraging news.
New Englanders have long been a "stiff-necked people," and them in New Ham'sha are the worst of the bunch. Dog love 'em.
Perhaps these sentiments are more common nationally, lying just below a surface of learned habits that primarily dictate, "Don't hurt anyone's feelings! How would you like it if someone criticized your deepest delusions?"
I'd like to think so and in a way I expect to see more of it. The current crop of youngsters are growing up and I've met some very interesting potential town councilmen/mayors/school board members/state senators/et cetera among them.
Oh, welcome to UTI, part of the small sliver of the vast intertubes that I have time to deal with.
Younguns
Thanks for the welcome.
Indeed, many of the more religious/spiritual young people I come across tend to be of the "many paths to God" school of thought - religion is so lacking in definition for them personally, that to have it be imposed into something like policy is nutty. I hope that's a trend, if not toward atheism, at least toward sanity.
Possible Paradigm Perambulation?
Do you think that our sciences and technologies have so deeply infiltrated day to day experience that young people have reached some critical mass of awareness that they are able to put myths and traditions into a larger context?
I've been suspecting this for some time. It's nice to see a bit of positive evidence for such a hypothesis.
For what it's worth, I have two children. One seems to embrace the standard issue form of Christianity and the other seems to be quite self sufficient. Yet they both amaze me at their mental agility and the ease with which they deal with things they don't know or care about. And they do it with a remarkable degree of equanimity.
Extrapolating from this tiny data set, I am encouraged. I am old enough to know better than to entertain unrealistic hopes, but still . . .
Ever hear that old rhyme that I learned back in grade school? Part of it goes
We have, after all, made it this far.
To more clearly state my case
And two fine grandsons.
grin
:D
:D