As Neitzsche correctly proclaimed the death of Christianity in the 19th Century are we experiencing the death of atheism in the 21st Century? With the likes of David B Hart and Radical Orthodoxy saying that atheism has failed our politics, social theory and environmental policies in a 20th Century that has seen form of death and destruction of all forms of life like no other. What lies ahead? Is Brand right in saying we need a spiritual revolution before a political one?
Is a new spiritual revolution the cure for the chronic apathy of us and young people? Did Fight Club get it right when Tyler Durden said "we have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives."?
Nietzsche's talk of Christianity dying was that of the cultural and ruling power’s foundational belief system, what society and the government confess and has influence their values. Obviously Christianities as a religion(s) hasn’t died, but it’s life in the public, and the majority private domain, has.
I don’t think that our ethical/moral standards are somehow more raised or enlightened in this era for us to judge the previous dark events of the 20th century as ‘catastrophic’. There were many who were aware of the suffering under the fascist and communist governing of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. who were painfully aware of the catastrophic events that were taking place. We are not ‘more sensitive’, maybe more objective.
However it is more ignorant of me to entirely blame atheism for these events or governmental failings, when greater amounts of suffering have been inflicted in the name of religion. But what it does show is that a society based on atheism is just as guilty for not preventing violence, as one based on religion is.
So anyway I’ll get myself back on the topic - do we need a spiritual revolution?...
The political and societal maladies of our western world arguably stem from our cultural atheism, which as Vladimir put earlier, has led us to become our own Gods where we get rich/famous/beautiful/whatever or die trying. It has (again arguably) led us down a completely narcissistic road with a deep care about our own perception and pleasure and little else. Leading to everything from our Economic and Environmental crisis through greed to chronic loneliness and apathy.
It’s this last point which haunts me. The apathy that I experience in my generation is unbearably heavy - to converse, let alone inspire, anyone else about anything else (other than funny cat videos on youtube) is so to become a social kamikaze. I still feel like the legacy of the affluent coma of the 90s is being lived on, despite the rumours of wars and the economic downturn. This anti-intellectualism, instant-gratification, culture of ‘why bother it’s not my issue (even if it is)’ is so bad and permeates so much of society from education to entertainment that I think a political revolution will be almost impossible. Why? Because without an anti-narcissistic perspective (lets call this a ‘spiritual revolution’) no-one will be willing to suffer or work for any revolution which really cares about your - let alone the suffering of the other! Not when society and powers offer the amount of pleasurable sedatives that it does. Spiritually is not a Great Distraction - the narcissistic, capitalistic, hedonism of our atheistic western culture is our Great Distraction!
The question then is how do we have a spiritual revolution outside of institutional a/theism?...
