The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod
Has anyone else here read this book? I'm in the middle of it. I've really enjoy some of Ken MacLeod's work, in particular how he portrays politics. This one, while still pretty fun, good characterization, good science speculation, and good plot structure, it is pretty heavy handed in the position he puts all religion in his near future society. Of course he can be pretty heavy handed and a bit off on his speculation about grand social changes.
Like I say fun, but I don't see the world reacting to what we are going through in these first decades of the 21st century but marginalizing religion.
Kinda funny though to read a story where the tables are turned so to speak. In the story after what we are already calling Oil Wars but which the people in the West come to call "Faith Wars" a wave of secularism a Second Enlightenment sweeps out any government or politician with any taint of religiosity. And in Scotland (and I think he implies much of Europe and the US, which is in civil war) the Constitutions have established not just separation of church and state but what he calls "Non-cognizance". The government isn't even allowed to officially recognize a person's religion or position within a church.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Sessions
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