White Nationalist Richard Spencer Says Hes an Atheist

[rug]

January 22, 2017
by Hemant Mehta
This is a guest post written by David G. McAfee. He is author, most recently, of Atheist Answers: Rational Responses to Religious Questions.


Richard Spencer, the “alt-right” leader who was assaulted outside of President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Friday (leading to online debates over the question, “Is It O.K. to Punch a Nazi?“), says he’s an atheist.

Spencer doesn’t believe God chose the white race over all others, nor does he believe that slavery is okay because it’s justified by the Bible. Instead, Spencer is part of a new group of White Nationalists who don’t adhere to traditional norms. He says he coined the term for those people — the “alt-right” — in 2008.

Spencer has previously described himself (8:12) as a “cultural Christian,” but he told me in a private interview (over Twitter) that he is in fact an atheist. He also said the separation of church and state is “an utter illusion.”

Here’s an excerpt from the discussion:

MCAFEE: Are you religious? Do you support the Separation of Church and State?
SPENCER: I’m an atheist. The “separation of church and state” is an utter illusion. The state and religion state (sic]) deeply connected.
MCAFEE: So, despite your lack of religion, you do think religion and government should be connected. Is that right? Do you think a secular government would fail?
SPENCER: A truly secular government could never exist. Sovereignty is a magical thing. For a political order to function — for it to accomplish its tasks, including war-making — the population must *believe* in it.

As a secular activist, this tells me more than the religious preference of a particular White Nationalist. It tells me that no matter how much some atheists want to believe otherwise, we’re not inherently rational or reasonable. Spencer’s beliefs (or lack thereof) debunk that myth in one fell swoop.

The fact is that atheists share one thing and only one thing: a lack of belief in any god(s). The rest of it — the Humanist aspect of it, at least — isn’t guaranteed at all.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/01/22/white-nationalist-richard-spencer-says-hes-an-atheist/

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. Who cares if he's an athiest.

What matters is that he's an asshole.

[guillaumeb]

2. The fact that he is an atheist is irrelevant.

He is a fascist.

And yes, we all know that intolerance is not limited to theists.

[Jim__]

3. I'm not so sure about his claim:

… For a political order to function — for it to accomplish its tasks, including war-making — the population must *believe* in it.

I don’t think the people of the Soviet Union really believed in their government after Stalin took power. Yet Stalin retained power from 1924 ’til 1952, and the Soviets remained in control ’til 1991. Competent organization coupled with people’s fear may be sufficient for a government to accomplish its tasks. The Soviets lost their power in 1991 when Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader and probably the least feared leader they’d had.

[rug]

4. I think you're right.

Ideology rarely survives catastrophe.