Atheism 1.0: a disconnected and scattered minority who do not believe in God and think that religion is silly.
Alain de Botton has a new version of atheism in mind.
In his lecture at TED, Botton proposes Atheism 2.0— where atheists continue to discard the doctrines of religions, but without rejecting religion wholesale. Instead, they assimilate aspects of religions that can unify atheists into a stronger community with their own art, collaborative projects, and centering rituals. "The secular world is full of holes," Botton argues, and atheists can benefit greatly from mimicking what religions get right.
Some atheists already operate within a framework similar to de Botton’s, participating in open circles like the Unitarian Universalist Church and non-sectarian Buddhist groups. Regardless, Atheism 2.0 is a bold and controversial proposal in an age of New Atheism and deep Evangelism—movements that tend to view the world in terms of insiders and outsiders, i.e. "You are either with us or against us."
With a greater respect for religion, Botton believes that atheists will be humble enough to take a few cues from their theistic peers: "If you want to change the world, you have to group together, you have to be collaborative. And that's what religions do. They are multinational [...] they are branded, they have a clear identity, so they don't get lost in a busy world. That's something we can learn from."
Related Links:
FAQ with Alain de Botton on ‘religion for atheists’ (TED.com)
Alain de Button is right about one thing (Pharyngula)
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