3 for Thursday: 3 Videos on Atheism and Religion

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As the numerous videos on atheism and religion on YouTube suggests, the head-butting between the religious and the atheist is not going away anytime soon. The leaders of the New Atheism are often very adamant that religion is a product of human evolution, the result of ignorance that arrived in our species’ adolescence. Many even insist that religion is more like a cancer in society and that the world would be better off without it and its trappings.

This is the approach most of the religious are familiar with, but there are other kinds of atheists and approaches to religion. Below are three videos that capture three atheist perspectives on religion and what is said in videos two and three may surprise you.

1. Christopher Hitchens on Religion Poisoning Everything
When it comes to videos on atheism and religion on YouTube, the late Christopher Hitchens is everywhere. The first video is Hitchens defending the subtitle of his book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. All movements, including those that are religious, have their “hammer” figure—the person whose approach is to pound away at his or her opponent. Christopher Hitchens is that figure for atheism and his take is one that many are familiar with by now.

2. Alain de Botton on Religion for Atheists
Alain de Botton is gathering significant attention for his new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. In this video below, he argues that there is much to learn from religion for atheists, and that atheists should be able to appropriate the rites and practices of the religious in order to have a fuller and more meaningful life.

3. Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence
Author of the new book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, Jonathan Haidt discusses the benefits of collective human activity and communal interest that are often found within religion.

Know of any other videos on atheism and religion you’d like to suggest? Leave a comment below.