More Atheism

I am listening to an audio book of The End of Faith by Sam Harris. His prose lacks the wit and eloquence of Christopher Hitchens and he seems a bit more hysterical. He has an apocalyptic sense that civilization is doomed because of religion. As a result, I get the impression that he is not content to just argue against religion but would like to actively repress it. He would like to have a world government that bans religion and allows abortion and stem cell research and legalizes recreational drug use. His screed is a reaction to events since 9/11. I think someone writing at the height of the cold war would not identify religion as the probable cause of the annihilation of humanity but rather the competition between Communism and the West. Although Iran getting the bomb is worrisome, I doubt that it means that the end is around the corner. Just look at their crumbling economy and the riots that recently occurred due to gas rationing. I tend to agree with his view of Islam which I think has severely retarded the progress of the Arab and Muslim worlds as well as fueling violence and terrorism. However, the thought that mankind will completely abandon religion is just not a realistic solution. Eventually the recent increase in fundamentalism will wane. Terrorists acquiring a weapon of mass destruction would probably hasten the decline in fundamentalism because it would provoke such a huge response from the West.

I'm also reading Daniel Dennet's Breaking the Spell which presents interesting speculation on the evolutionary origins of religion. It's a much more even handed inquiry into religion that either Harris or Hitchens. Dennet is willing to explore the benefits of religion and tries to understand how it developed. He is clearly not a believer but at least he approaches the subject without the animus or paranoia of the other atheist writers. Personally though I can do without his "bright" label.