In Defence of Atheism is in the NSS shop

And still they keep coming – one book after another like a tidal wave – each attacking religion and irrationality from some new angle. In Defence of Atheism is by the French philosopher Michel Onfray and takes a slightly different path from The God Delusion and god is Not Great in that it makes the case for atheism as the only way to live an ethical life.

This is Onfray’s first book to be translated into English and it has caused a sensation among the religious establishments of Europe. It has been on the best-seller lists in France, Spain and Italy. It proposes a “new” philosophy, something he calls “ethical hedonism” which distils to: “To enjoy and make others enjoy without doing ill to yourself or others, this is the foundation of all morality.”

(This sounds, of course, like a variation on the old Golden Rule “Treat others as you’d like to be treated”. Robert Ingeroll’s famous variation went: “Happiness is the only good. The place to be happy is here. The Time to be happy is now. The way to be happy is to make others so.”)

Onfray suggests we try to expunge religious approaches entirely from our thinking and start again from the beginning. He accepts that this is easier said than done, so deeply embedded have these sentiments become over the centuries. He has no time for ‘religious atheists’, those who try to recreate religion without God (I think he is referring to humanists with their ‘weddings’ and ‘baptisms’ – entirely religious concepts).

He makes the case strongly for an “atheistic atheism” that does not constantly fall back on traditional religious morality for its answers – particularly in relation to sex.

The deconstruction of religion will be familiar territory for seasoned secularists and freethinkers, but they need to be rehearsed for a new generation. They need to be constantly repeated until they have been heard by those who would otherwise only hear the ubiquitous mantra of how wonderful religion is (starting at primary school).

With this book, Michel Onfray has added another weapon to the growing literary artillery that atheists can deploy against the big guns of religion. And the military analogy is not accidental. Reason is at war with irrationality, and we have big battles ahead.

In Defence of Atheism is available on-line from the NSS shop or by post from NSS Books, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL £18.99 plus £1 p&p.