Talk:Militant atheism/July2011Razor
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Militant atheism is a term applied to atheism which is militantly hostile towards religion.[1][2][3][4][5][6] British philosopher Julian Baggini describes an atheistic active hostility to religion as militant and says hostility "requires more than just strong disagreement with religion — it requires something verging on hatred and is characterized by a desire to wipe out all forms of religious belief."[1] Militant atheists, Baggini continues, "tend to make one or both of two claims that moderate atheists do not. The first is that religion is demonstrably false or nonsense, and the second is that it is usually or always harmful."[1] As such, Kerry S. Walters states that militant atheism differs from moderate atheism because it sees belief in God as pernicious.[3] In the same vein, militant atheism, according to Karl Rahner, regards itself as a doctrine to be propagated for the happiness of mankind and combats every religion as a harmful aberration;[2] militant atheism differs from the philosophy of theoretical atheism, which he states, may be tolerant and deeply concerned.[2]
Militant atheism was an integral part of the materialism of Marxism-Leninism,[7][8] and significant in the French Revolution,[9] atheist states such as the Soviet Union,[10][11] and Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.[12] According to Baggini, the "too-zealous" militant atheism found in the Soviet Union was characterized by thinking the best way to counter religion was "by oppression and making atheism the official state credo."[13]
However, the term militant atheist has been used going back to at least 1894,[14] and it has been applied to political thinkers.[15] Recently the term militant atheist has been used, often pejoratively, to describe leaders of the New Atheism movement,[16][17] who share a belief that religion "should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises."[18][19][20] The appellation has also been criticized by some activists, such as Dave Niose, who feel that the term is used indiscriminately for "an atheist who had the nerve to openly question religious authority or vocally express his or her views about the existence of God."[21]