The Gazette’s editorial board penned an Our View column, called “Atheists trade bibles for porn; dis Mother Teresa,” that  questioned the so-called “new atheism.”

Surprisingly, a Colorado Springs pastor, Rev. Roger Butts of High Plains Unitarian Universalist

Rev. Roger Butts

You can read Butts’ essay in its entirety below. The bold is my doing to emphasize certain names and certain points in Butts’ argument:

“It is ironic that your diatribe against atheists and the causes they organize around appeared during the same week that Glenn Beck of Fox News equated social justice-teaching Christian churches with WWII’s National Socialism and Fred Phelps went to DC to throw hate in the name of Jesus Christ at gays and lesbians who were being married. 

Your piece equates atheism with a small student group in Texas and one foundation. You made no mention of the Ethical Cultural Society. You made no mention of the Humanist Institute. You made no mention of Buddhist atheists, Unitarian Universalist atheists, the American Humanist Association.  I don’t think the editorial board would ever say that organized Christianity is represented as a whole by Beck and Phelps.

I agree wholeheartedly that emotional maturity and integrity and ethical depth demand that all treat each other with civility, respect, appreciation for difference.  I would never give money to an outfit that tried to stop a stamp depicting Mother Theresa. There are, frankly, bigger fish to fry.

You seem to suggest that atheists—or religious humanists, or religious naturalists—are somehow not involved in acts of service and compassion and justice and that they act out of spite and anger and fear. Well, you paint a picture with a broad stroke. The agnostics and atheists I know contribute plenty of money to important organizations involved in making the world more just and act in community organizing and groups like the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Red Cross or other international aid organizations.  And you seem to paint a picture of angry, spiteful atheists acting out of malice. There are those, certainly. And when they act out of ignorance or intolerance, it is as pathetic and pitiful as when anyone else does.  Atheists are not so monolithic as you claim.

However, there are others that point to constructive, positive views of the world, in which one needn’t believe in a deity or deities in order to pursue the common good, to love the planet and fellow human beings and all the critters and life forms around us, and to cultivate compassion, awe, reverence, and generosity and solidarity. The constructive agenda of humanists I believe will lead to great strides in our thinking:

* Attention should be focused on this world to provide whatever explanation and meaning are possible to this life.

* Since human beings are products of nature and natural processes, there is a great emphasis on claiming humanity’s role within the interdependent web. That means embracing science—biological evolution, global warming—and trying to be a part of solutions that will enhance human and planetary life, together. Some of the religious traditions you point to with such pride have been quick to resist new understandings and scientific breakthroughs in a variety of fields—from gay and lesbian rights to care for the planet.

 * Education, democracy, religious freedom, and racial, social, and economic justice have long been dominant concerns of the humanist community.

 Karen Armstrong, in “The Spiral Staircase,” writes: in the course of my studies, I have discovered that the religious quest is not about discovering “the truth” or “the meaning of life,” but about living as intensely as possible here and now. The idea is not to latch onto some superhuman personality or “get to heaven” but to discover how to be fully human.

 The humanist believes the goal is to be fully human, moving heart and mind away from self-centeredness to a sense of one’s self as a part of a larger world and to move to a deep commitment to the human and natural world. It is about moving away from a life of fear, greed, hedonism, hubris and materialism to a life of love and caring, gratitude, fairness, equality, joy and hope.

Your piece…attempts to cynically handpick a few emotionally charged examples of atheists acting out of spite and pettiness. You could have picked an equal number of really inspiring pieces about atheists attempting to craft a world more just and fair and wondrous, for all people and all critters. 

I agree with you that a constructive agenda for the humanist, the agnostic, the atheist, the liberal theist, and all people of good will should be the focus of all of our efforts. I attempt in my own ministry to never, ever mock another religious tradition.  You, on the other hand, have attempted to pit the good, virtuous Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Christians against the bad, lazy, emotionally immature atheists.  In my experience most folks know that anytime a cynical attempt to portray any group as one thing, one mind, one collective is off-base and shallow. Your dualistic thinking is unfortunate and lacks intellectual rigor and integrity.

I don’t think Christianity should be judged by men like Ted Haggard, Fred Phelps, Glen Beck and I don’t think atheists should be judged by a group of college kids in San Antonio trying to get a little publicity.

It might in the short run sell you some papers, but it leaves a very bad taste in one’s mouth to see the Gazette editorial board paint with a broad stroke a diverse and complicated group as atheists in America. And I urge all religious leaders, of whatever stripe or name, to reject any attempt to pit atheists against the faithful. It simply will not do in a pluralistic democracy and it was not the way of the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad.  Religious leaders can heal divisions and participate in efforts to appreciate and value diversity of thought and multiculturalism.”

Rev. Roger Butts

High Plains Church, Unitarian Universalist, Colorado Springs

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