Jacques Berlinerblau

This book was quite enjoyable. Going over the rise of Fundamentalism and other movements in the United States was pretty interesting to me since I have never heard about it before.

Anyway, the basic idea of secularism is acceptance of other religions. Apparently, it is being demonized by the religious right, which is something I had not heard of. I suppose I can understand people being really insular and out of touch with information in general, but I guess I always thought that people tended to think for themselves. Evidently, I was wrong.

Mr. Berlinerblau talks about the problems that secularism has along with how it can be fixed. These are not easy fixes but it is not like it is something I can do anything about. The main thing is that Secularism is almost a second thought, it is not an identity that is hammered into someone from childhood like a religion. Take me for instance. I was raised as a Roman Catholic Christian. Somehow along the way to where I am now, I began to doubt. I began to think for myself I suppose you could say. The biggest issue with even phrasing it like that is that it annoys people. It suggests that I am calling other people stupid which does not help my case.

The other problem is that Secularism is lumped together with Atheism, which is probably the biggest insult someone can throw in the political sphere. No one wants to be called an Atheist when running for some office. That too makes no sense to me. It's not like I go and join a cabal of dissidents so I can frolic and engage in unsavory activities. I just don't believe in God.

Anyway, all that aside, the book was pretty good. It was well-researched and enjoyable with lots of names I recognized.… (mehr)