The Satirical Sacred: New Atheism, Parody Religion, and the Argument from Fictionalization

Abstract

In many ways similar to the precarious nature of defining ‘religion,’ the meaning of ‘Atheism’ is equally as difficult to define with any sort of certainty, an issue especially evinced by the ever-expanding—and thus rather sundry—discourse within the academic study of Atheism. Adding to this the notion that within such an already equivocal category there exist different ‘types’ of Atheism, we begin to see many worrisome correlations between it and the theoretical discourse within religious studies. However, one means of alleviating the ambiguity we might find here is to approach the concept at focus through the lens of discursive analysis. As such, this chapter will follow a particular discursive thread in order to both contribute to the discussions within this volume on the ‘meaning’ of New Atheism, as well as offer an insight into how certain linguistic influences have come to structure the means with which aspects of that New Atheism have been shaped. Beginning with Russell’s (Letter to Mr Major. In: Feinberg B, Kasrils D (eds) Dear Bertrand Russell: a selection of his correspondence with the General Public, 1950–1968. Allen & Unwin, London, 1969 [1958]) use of a ‘celestial china teapot’ as a belief just as likely provable as the existence of the ‘Christian God,’ this analysis will trace the philosophical development underscoring this ‘argument from fictionalization’ through similar uses of fiction by notable Atheists such as Sagan (Billions and billions: thoughts on life and death at the brink of the millennium. Random House, New York. Epilogue by Ann Druyan, 1997), Baggini (Atheism: a very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003) and Dawkins (The God delusion, Bantam, London, 2006), as well as how it has shaped the doctrine of certain contemporary Atheist ‘new religions,’ such as The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Temple of the Invisible Pink Unicorn, and the Church of Bacon.