The Folau Affair And Our Inclusive Society

Why Is The Bar Set So High?

Here is an atheist who's fear of religion is candidly admitted, and he distinguishes it clearly from the justified fear of aberrant religion.


It is my firm conviction that this fear or bias against God, is the reason why many won't countenance any evidence for the existence of God.


Thomas Nagel ( July 4, 1937) is an American philosopher and University Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at New York University. His main areas of philosophical interest are philosophy of mind, political philosophy and ethics.


“In speaking of the fear of religion, I don’t mean to refer to the entirely reasonable hostility toward certain established religions and religious institutions, in virtue of their objectionable moral doctrines, social policies, and political influence. Nor am I referring to the association of many religious beliefs with superstition and the acceptance of evident empirical falsehoods. I am talking about something much deeper–namely, the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself:

I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”(”The Last Word” by Thomas Nagel, Oxford University Press: 1997)”