On opposite ends of the world, two strange things: one, Billy Graham seems to sacrifice significant credibility with his Christian flock by recognising Mormons as “not a cult”, and second, a South African Labour Court rules that you can’t be fired after missing work for a month – because you’ve been continually harassed by your ancestors. Who are, of course, dead.
Just because it’s logically fallacious to dismiss someone’s argument simply because of some aspect of their character or circumstance does not mean that character and circumstance don’t inform arguments. In light of recent discussion on “liberal bullying”, we should beware the tendency to think someone wrong simply because they are privileged (or right because they are not) – but at the same time, remain aware of the politics surrounding these arguments, which sometimes give rise to quite plausible assumptions about epistemic virtue.
Atheism is perhaps not all that interesting in itself. More interesting are the thoughts, confusions, biases, cultural forces etc. that lead to religious belief, and the negative consequences that can follow from those factors.
It is these causes of belief – and the ways in which they manifest in society – that will be the primary focus of Towards a Free Society, because identifying and eliminating these causes is surely part of the strategy for freeing us from dogma, superstition, and also – perhaps especially – prejudice.
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