Wednesday, February 28, 2007

NY Times on Dogmatists of the Secular Left

The New York Times observes the "dogmatists of the secular left," which closely corresponds to the dogmatists of Darwinian Fundamentalism:

Here is where the dogmatists of the secular left come in. Looking to fend off Bible-toting conservatives, the philosopher Richard Rorty argued more than a decade ago that in a modern democracy, faith should be a strictly private matter and has no place in public discussion. Traditional religion, he wrote, is a “conversation stopper,” a source of values before which nonbelievers can be only mum. The same rigid divide informs a recent manifesto “in defense of science and secularism” signed by such academic luminaries as Daniel C. Dennett, Steven Pinker, Peter Singer and Edward O. Wilson. They urge the country’s political leaders “not to permit legislation or executive action to be influenced by religious beliefs.”

So categorical a rejection of faith in the public square is impossible to reconcile with our political traditions, of course. It sweeps away not just today’s social conservatives but also abolitionism, women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement. Dr. King without the almighty? Unthinkable.


Why is the Times so oblivious to the correspondence between the secular extremists and the Darwin lobby? Why is the media left so quick to condemn those who are really moderates in this debate.