Vicaarana: Is Atheism a "Religion"?

Nothing starts a controversy like claiming atheism is a religion-- at least in my world. But in my opinion it is one just like any of the major 8 and the minor hundreds. And the debate always comes up between friends (we are East Coast living, libral arts graduates after all!) and I always insist that atheism surly is a religion because it really depends on how you define "religion" (See the intro post to this blog about the word "religion" and the word "dharma"). Its the same argument Brent S. Plate makes in his criticism of Bill Maher's Religulous (glad to know someone out there felt similarly about this movie): you can't have an old school definition for a new school understanding. Meaning just this: religion is more than "belief" and "God". Those are not the only things that constitute a religion. Those terms may be included in a definition of a specific religion but it inacurrate to say that is what defines religion. And the search for the proper definition of what is and isn't a religion can go on and on for as many hours as it takes to teach 1000000 Theory of Religion seminars (and how many hours during those classes I have to pinch myself to remain awake! haha). But meaning is everything and as long as the definition is black and white, there are atheists and believers and never shall the two meet.

However, its more complex than that, especially in America. There are the culturally religious, the agnostically spiritual, the organized atheists, the Unitarian Universalists of a varying degrees, the right wings of all sorts, the left wings of all sorts, the New Agers, the Old Time Religions (as many Pagans sometimes call themselves) , and the list goes on. Religion is more than belief and non-belief (but those American Protestant origins tend to give us all a little bias in this black and white)-- there are rituals, expression, community, communitas, and multifaceted brakets of religion go on and on.

Before I go on and on any further about the importance of "religious studies" in society (justifying myself in a bad economy, right? haha)--let me return to the topic at hand using what I have just mentioned: Is Atheism a religion? Yes. Yes it is. And to go futher, it sometimes even goes as far to be exactly what it claims to despise: ideological and sometimes radical.They call them the New Atheism , and they are just as much a "religion" as the rest in the American Dharma spectrum. Bill Maher's documentary is a great example of this. In the movie Religulous, Maher only focuses on the negatives of "religion" (Western only, might I add) and he emplors the viewer to "convert" to his side (for the sake of science!). Its the same sort of mind set that sparked the Tibetan exile by the Chinese ("saving" the Tibetan Buddhists from the "terrible theocrasy" in which they lived; freeing them from the bonds of religion. They saw themselves as liberators the same way that the American government saw themselves as the liberators in Iraq). There is right and there is wrong, black and white, believers and atheists, and the dichotomies continue. But the point is, its not like that at all. And that is how atheism is a religion.

Well, you could say, God must be in a religion! Wrong. What about Theravada Buddhism? Well it must have a faith community, books, centers, ect. And Atheists have all this and then some. They have their poets and prophets, their leaders, and beliefs. They have their own hardliners and even their own (anti-)religious violence (Polpot, anyone?). About the only thing they don't have yet is their own tax break. But their belief in the separation of church and state means they're morally opposed to that of course! ;).

You can disagree with me all you want but there is as much a case for the religiousity of atheism (which as far as I'm concerned is just that- no god, not no religion) as there is for the Jedi-ism and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. May you be touched by his noodly appendage!

Read More:
Purpose Driven Atheism by Frank Schaeffer
The New Atheism and Something More- Peter Steinfels
Don't Stop Unbelieving- Scott McLemee
What Would Jesus See: Fireproof or Religulous? - Richard Corliss
The Variaties of Non-Religious Experience- This one is a little old, but still useful

(ed: In keeping with my new idea of Sanskrit names for some segments, I've named this segment vicaaraNa (विचारण), which means "discussion", "reflection", "inquiry", "examination", and, as often with religious discussion, also means "agitation" )

Today in American Dharma: The Other American Terrorism

When most people in this country think of terrorism, they automatically assume that the word is only inclusive of Islam and al Quida, however, no religion is devoid of violent extremism (if you don't believe me read Mark Juergensmeyer's Terror in the Mind of God originally written pre-9/11 and revised to include it). Lately the terrorism that has been prevenlent in the news as of late was the return of pro-life extremist Christian terrorism. Yes, return. Although most of us who were not old enough before 9/11 to know or understand what terrorism was, in the 1980s and '90s strings of pro-life killings and arsons occurred at abortion clinics throughout the country. Most of them were initiated by the Christian group Army of God and the pastor (all of which you can read about in Juergensmeyer's book).

As I was saying, although the pro-life terrorism was quelled during the years of the Bush administration, they are back and in full force beginning about two weeks ago with the shooting of Dr. George Tiller, a late term abortion doctor. Since the occurance two interesting ideas have been brought to the table concerning the incedent: the language of terrorism in America and the dichotomy of the abortion debate.

The first subject is what I was speaking of before, when you think of the word terrorism what word comes to mind: Muslim. Whether you like it or not. It was a direct by-product of 9/11 and, I'm from the tristate area, I understand, those wounds hurt deep. And the language concerning the matter around the nation didn't help (but that's another story for another time). But as I mentioned before, there is extremism present in almost ever religious tradition (almost always culminating in violence to boot!) and Christianity is no exception to the rule as proven by the actions of the Army of God in the 80s and 90s and the recent gunning down of Dr. Tiller. However, it almost seems as if the American public (or at least the media) is not ready to accept the existence of Christian terrorists. The example brought to my attention was the media treatment of two different cases occuring at once: the George Tiller assassination and the killing of an Army Recruiter in Arkansas by an American convert to Islam. In this interesting article by Dan Mathewson called Muslims Murder, Christians Don't, the media's attention to detail concerning the Islamic connection of the latter killer versus the avoidance of Scott Roeder's (Tiller's killer) commitment to extremist Christianity is appalling but surprisingly typical. These two related incedents bring to the forefront so many issues: the end of Christian America (yes! says Newsweek; Not even close says Dr. Stephen Prothero), the hypocrasy of pro-life killing, and especially the Islami-phobia of the general American public (see the previous entry on Obama's address to the Muslim world).

Finally just one more issue worth discussing remains with this issue: the dichotomy of the abortion debate. Pro-life v. Pro-Choice. Religious v. Secular America. Good v. Evil. Notre Dame v. Obama. Roe v. Wade. But its not so black and white as we want it to be. The ever increasing shades of gray grew ever present the minute Dr. George Tiller got gunned down while attending Luthern Sunday Services in his Church where he served as an usher. Its not so simple at all says Ed Knudson in his 6/18/09 article, On Religion, Abortion, and Politics: Dr. George Tiller and Christian Ethics. Now I'm not too familiar with Lutheran Theology to make too much of a detailed comment on this article, but I found it interesting enough to bring up particularly about the point of gray areas in this debate.

The assassination of Dr. George Tiller was indeed a tragedy but it did bring many issues to the forefront. How far the dialogue on Christian terrorism will go, no one can say, but it is an issue that cannot be ignored, that is for certain.

Dharma Travels: Encountering Brahma in Sin City

A few weeks ago I went to Las Vegas with three of my friends as a post-graduation celebration. Although Las Vegas most likely would not have been my first travel destination choice (exactly one year prior another friend and I backpacked in Northern India), I decided to go anyway to have some fun with my friends, to go West (I had never been west of PA), and to enjoy the general kitchi-ness that is Las Vegas. I got a little more interested in the trip due to a lovely book that we read in my Spiritual Wandering class called Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit and an interested class project by this guy Daniel (who later gave me the wanderer's guide to Vegas via facebook message which I am thankful for). I was ready to see Sin City in all its glory: all of the reconstructed miniature, clean and safe replicas of the world's great cities. I thought I knew what to expect, especially after being there a few days before I did my own wander of the strip, however, what I didn't expect to find was some good old fashioned Eastern Religion smack in the middle of Las Vegas.

The day I wandered alone, I walked the three miles from our resort to Mandalay Bay at the beginning of the Strip and all the way down the strip to the other end at Sahara. (I think I walked a total of 10 miles, because I wandered the entire Miracle Mile Shops looking for a potential meal which I didn't find 'til I reached Paris, but that's a) another story b) fun to say). Somewhere in the course of my journey I came upon probably the last thing I thought I would find in Las Vegas: a shrine to Brahma. I say this because a) here was a Hindu shrine in the middle of the Las Vegas strip in front of Caesars of all places and b) Brahma is not really popularly worshiped now a days. However, there is was in white marble looking back at me. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw it because I wasn't expecting such a thing. While I was looking at it, a small Thai woman came (the plaque I found later said this was a Thai shrine) and began placing flowers and oranges around the different spots of the shrine. In silence I watched her do this as tourists who had never seen a Hindu or Buddhist anything looked at the statue and moved on, as men directly behind me handed out pamphlets for prostitutes, and as the strip echoed a searing blazing noise of motors and horns in the hot Nevada sun. But amidst all of this a small Thai women made offerings of flowers, fruit, and incense to a shrine of an unpopular god in an unlikely city far removed from its culture of origin.




What does this really say about the nature of religion in America? Perhaps it is its adaptability. At least that is what struck me about this shrine most of all. Perhaps the most striking thing about this shrine to me was the ability for a clearly "spiritual" thing to be placed in what seems to be the antithesis of a spiritual place. But perhaps that was the point. I am not sure. I was quick to write it off as a gimmick when I first saw it (like the ginormous Buddha in the Tao restaurant and nightclub in the Venetian), because that is what Vegas was full of--I had seen it all day. Cheep gimmicks to ease you into spending money. However, the minute I saw this woman making offerings to this shrine I realized that this was still a place where people lived and worked and not just played and partied. This seemed to be a bit more than what people usually think of when they think of religion in Las Vegas: little wedding chapels with ministers dressed like Elvis. However, perhaps there is more to the story of American Dharma in Las Vegas after all (and I'm talking about the strip of course, I'm fully aware there is a living Las Vegas community outside of the strip in the other parts of town). I have to admit I just couldn't help but be intrigued by an operating shrine to Brahma in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. Life is full of surprises in that way I guess.


Ok-- he had a securty alarm, maybe he is a little bit kitchi haha.

Today in American Dharma: Obama Addresses the Muslim World from Cairo

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward.It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's
a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today. - President Barack Obama, 6/4/09

Today, June 4th 2009, President Barack Obama made an address to the Muslim world from the University of Cairo in Egypt, in this speech he covered such topics as terrorism, nuclear programs, the Israel-Palestine disputes, and in general Islam and the West. This speech was a very interesting one because I noticed some things (besides the fact that an speech like this would have never come out of the last administration) : the call for religious tolerance, the mention of only the Abrahamic faiths, and the well thought out use (imho) of the Koran. What the impact of President Obama's speech will be, I couldn't say. However, I felt it was very well done to attempt to promote religious tolerance between the American people and the Muslim world. How it will be received in a country in which sore feelings are still felt against Muslims because of al Quida and the incidents of 9/11. All of these Obama addresses but mostly from the perspective of the people he's addressing: the Muslim world. But what do Americans all over the country feel about this outstretched hand of diplomacy and religious tolerance? Will they be willing to put aside their differences and preconceived notions of Islam and unite as a country to work with the Muslim world? Will they even care to listen to this speech? I'm waiting to hear more reactions to this speech to find out.


Transcript: A New Beginning: Obama's Address to the Muslim World

All Transmitters to Full! All Receivers to Boost!

And we're live with American Dharma!

What is American Dharma you may ask? Well, like it or not, religion is an integral part of America from our founding to our very existance today. From the Anglicanism and Deism of our founding fathers to the Pluralism, Evangelicalism and even the Atheism mixture in our present society. I chose to use the word "Dharma" instead of Religion (and not just because I study things on the East side!) because a) the very word "religion" leaves a nasty taste in many people's mouths b) Religion is not exclusive in and of itself (or "sui generis" as the theorist Mircea Eliade once claimed) and c) because Dharma is meant as an ultimate overlying truth. Though I cannot comment on the kind of Truth with a capital T the Hindu Rishis really meant, I can say this: the "truth" is that love it or not, religion (and the absence thereof) and all of its implications is a fact of American life and religious ideas, rituals, and symbolism, interplay with our everyday lives.

Jack Kerouac once dreamed and wrote of an "American Dharma", which is now recorded in a collection of his journals on his Buddhist meditations and writings called Some of The Dharma. He dreams of uniquely American sages and figures, creating uniquely American Buddhist texts and sutras. Although Kerouac's dream of an American Buddhist wonderland did not quite come to fruitition the way that he hoped, one thing is true in my mind, and it is this: there is a uniquely interesting way in which "American Dharma" is different than religious expression in any other country in the world. Perhaps it is our puritanical beginnings, our mixed salad society (I'm ever wary of the term "melting pot"), or the great expanse of land where each region holds different customs and traditions. Perhaps its all of this.

All I can know for sure is that the American Dharma is ever expanding, ever changing, ever developing, and ever encompassing the different aspects of our everyday lives and love it or loath it, it is there and it effects each and every person who calls themselves an American.

So please, sit back and enjoy watching the American Dharma unfold. All transmitters to full. All receivers to boost. Forget London-- this is America calling. American Dharma is live and running!