Once again the Atheist digest series draws to a close. I’ll offer some final thoughts on this year’s event and about the possibilities for its future after I address the subject contained in the title. Hopefully I’ll get some useful feedback on that front. Here’s a link to the rest of the 2011 series. The first -diary- er, post of this year’s series offers links to the two previous years.
Previous Diaries8-5: I Didn't Choose to be an Atheist
8-10: On Anders Breivik
8-16: Athesim and Socialism
On to the main topic:
Most of the ideas I explore in this series can be, and often have been controversial. I do my best to cover them as sensitively and tactfully as possible while still attempting to open up useful conversations and helping people understand each other a little more. My idea is not to pontificate (pardon the irony of the term) to a bunch of Atheists. Ideally, I want to draw in multiple perspectives and start some productive dialogue. One of the main obstacles my fellow atheists and I encounter in the course of these discussions is the cultural propensity many have toward treating religious beliefs as sacrosanct, and criticism of those beliefs as personal attacks. I realize how strong this instinct is, and I intend to lay out a case against anyway.
