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rug

(82,333 posts)
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 04:44 PM Jan 2012

Do atheists need ‘a cathedral Of their own’?

Posted at 02:51 PM ET, 01/30/2012
By Delia Lloyd

LONDON — This just in, from the Department of “Can you imagine this happening in the United States?” Two prominent atheists – popular philosopher Alain de Botton and popular science author Richard Dawkins – are sparring over the wisdom of erecting a “temple for atheists” in London.

No, but seriously folks.

In his latest book, Religion For Atheists, De Botton argues that even atheists have a soft-spot for the sort of grandiose architecture commonly associated with churches, mosques and temples. He has thus raised some 500,000 British pounds (approximately $786,000) to construct what he refers to as a “secular space for contemplation” in the heart of the city’s financial district. Although many in the West have little time for organized religion, they still have feel nostalgic for its “consoling, subtle or just charming rituals,” as he put it in an interview with a columnist at The Daily Telegraph.

In part, de Botton is motivated by a desire to counter what he sees as the “destructive beliefs” about atheism put forward by scholars like Richard Dawkins and the late journalist Christopher Hitchens, whom he sees as criticizing religion without offering anything more inspirational in its place. De Botton wants, instead, to borrow the idea of awe-inspiring buildings that give people a better sense of perspective on life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/do-atheists-need-a-cathedral-of-their-own/2012/01/30/gIQAMRXvcQ_blog.html

16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Do atheists need ‘a cathedral Of their own’? (Original Post) rug Jan 2012 OP
I don't think we need a cathedral, buy a YMAA would be nice. Ian David Jan 2012 #1
Why would atheists need sharp_stick Jan 2012 #2
We already have one. klook Jan 2012 #3
Amen bruddah! ben_thayer Jan 2012 #5
+100 sinkingfeeling Jan 2012 #6
Beating a dead horse? This has already been posted. cleanhippie Jan 2012 #4
I already go to one...its called my bathroom. golddigger Jan 2012 #7
The porcelain goddess. rug Jan 2012 #16
I guess some feel that need obviously dmallind Jan 2012 #8
To be fair, it is ONE atheist that wants this, and he is promoting a book. cleanhippie Jan 2012 #13
Kay. Wasn't all that interested enough to dig for details but that makes sense. Thx. nt dmallind Jan 2012 #15
Sure! There should be an official Atheist Church they can unattend. immoderate Jan 2012 #9
I don't see the point LeftishBrit Jan 2012 #10
Already have one here in New York City edhopper Jan 2012 #11
Haven't we already deaslt with this self-publicising idiot? mr blur Jan 2012 #12
I think the article gets the age of mankind wrong. Jim__ Jan 2012 #14

Ian David

(69,059 posts)
1. I don't think we need a cathedral, buy a YMAA would be nice.
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 04:48 PM
Jan 2012

Someplace with a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a summer camp.

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
2. Why would atheists need
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 04:48 PM
Jan 2012

inspirational alternatives to religion? I'm an atheist and I don't feel the need to tell anyone that doesn't ask. I don't "hate" God, I just don't believe the sky wizard exists.

cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
4. Beating a dead horse? This has already been posted.
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 04:53 PM
Jan 2012

A couple of times.

With contrastings OP's too.


Or did you have a point you wanted to make this time?

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
8. I guess some feel that need obviously
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 05:09 PM
Jan 2012

I'm not going to do the usual Christian NTS special pleading. It's atheists who want this. I don't see the need myself, but if they can afford it and want it why on earth not? Personally I have no problem enjoying religious architecture as it is - the religious part of it does not detract from my enjoyment noticeably - and certainly not enough to spend $786k scrubbing it from what will still at that price be a rather poor relation to the originals. Even if I had the billions to build a St Peters without the Madonnas and saints why would I bother when I can see the one that has them for less than a grand? A great statue or painting does not become less great with a religious subject or more great with a secular one.

cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
13. To be fair, it is ONE atheist that wants this, and he is promoting a book.
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 06:28 PM
Jan 2012

Methinks this is nothing more than a publicity stunt designed to get the attention of theists who will say "aha! I told you atheism was also a religion", which is pretty much why this story has been posted several times now.

 

immoderate

(20,885 posts)
9. Sure! There should be an official Atheist Church they can unattend.
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 05:17 PM
Jan 2012

But that's just for appearances.

--imm

LeftishBrit

(41,192 posts)
10. I don't see the point
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 05:29 PM
Jan 2012

Atheism is not a specific belief system; it's just a lack of belief in a God.

Of course, some atheists (and some theists) might gain a lot from being in a library, or a museum, or an art gallery, or a gym, or a garden, or a park, or the countryside.

And while 'retreats', for withdrawing from the world and contemplating life quietly, are often associated with a religious organization, not all are; and some that are, will accept nonreligious individuals and groups:

http://www.theretreatcompany.com/

(Not my scene, but I have friends, both religious and atheist, who value such time-out from the world.)

But a 'cathedral for atheists' sounds pretty strange.

edhopper

(33,208 posts)
11. Already have one here in New York City
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 05:44 PM
Jan 2012

It's called the American Museum of Natural History. I understand there are others like it around the world.

 

mr blur

(7,753 posts)
12. Haven't we already deaslt with this self-publicising idiot?
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 06:13 PM
Jan 2012

And no, we don't need a cathedral. Why would we?

Jim__

(14,045 posts)
14. I think the article gets the age of mankind wrong.
Tue Jan 31, 2012, 07:37 AM
Jan 2012

The article claims that man has been around for 300 million years. My guess is that they mean 300,000 - it's more in the ballpark of what I normally see. They might have caught the error if they used a consistent metric :

As such, the 150-foot-tall black tower would be designed to commemorate more than 300 million years of mankind’s existence. Each centimeter of the tower’s interior is meant to symbolize a million years, with a narrow band of gold portraying the relatively brief amount of time humans have walked the earth. The exterior of the building would be inscribed with a binary code denoting the human genome sequence, and the walls would feature fossils and geologically interesting rocks.


By my computation, there are 30.48 centimeters in a foot, 4,572 centimeters in a 150 foot tower. At 1 million years per centimeter, the tower would represent 4.5 billion years, with slightly less than 10 feet in the narrow band of gold.

The previous article cited on this seemed more realistic when it said the narrow band would be about 1 millimeter thick ( de ZEEN magazine ):

De Botton has begun working on the first Temple for Atheists. Designed by Tom Greenall Architects, this will be a huge black tower nestled among the office buildings in the City of London. Measuring 46 meters in all, the tower represents the age of the earth, with each centimetre equating to 1 million years and with, at the tower’s base, a tiny band of gold a mere millimetre thick standing for mankind’s time on earth. The Temple is dedicated to the idea of perspective, which is something we’re prone to lose in the midst of our busy modern lives.
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