ABC Religion is running a blog to cover the The Rise of Atheism, the Atheist Conference held in Melbourne between 12 March and 14 March, and discuss its issues and themes – and, through it, explore aspects of contemporary and historical atheism. Questions of Faith is hosted by ABC broadcasters Margaret Coffey and Gary Bryson who are joined by guest bloggers in bringing an authoritative, engaging and analytical account of the proceedings, the people and the ideas discussed. The blog will run for two to three weeks after the event as discussion continues.
The 43 posts so far have included guest articles by Chris Mulherin, Peter Kirkwood, Doug Adeney and Ben Myers. There’s one audio file from Dr Tamas Pataki, one of the presenters at the conference.
PZ Myers, one of the conference attendees, wasn’t impressed with the ABC coverage, writing on his Pharyngula blog:
“The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has dispatched a crack team of ace believers to cover the convention and scowl primly at us all. You can get the fun-house mirror version of the conference from those weirdos…and much amusement…. Don’t expect much favorable coverage from this lot (and by the way, it’s also hypocritical to complain about the lack of religious apologists on the stage when the ABC blog doesn’t include even a token atheist). They’ve got an agenda that is going to be disappointed, and I predict they will continue to complain in their oblivious fashion. They’re out there in the audience, watching, hoping, and maybe even praying that someone will say something nice about their superstitions; their definition of a good convention is one that reassures them that we don’t think their bliss-ninny belief system is an unsalvageable stew of raw sewage spiced with smug ignorance.”
David Busch, Executive Producer of ABC Radio’s Religion programs, writes:
We don’t represent religion. We represent the ABC’s interest in religion. Here’s what ABC Religion is about, from the ABC’s Editorial Policies: “ABC religious content includes coverage of worship and devotion, explanation, analysis, debate and reports. This content may include major religious traditions, indigenous religions and new spiritual movements, as well as secular perspectives on religious issues. The ABC does not promote any particular belief system or form of religious expression.”
As we stated at the outset, “We intend Questions of Faith to provide an authoritative and analytical account of the Global Atheist Convention.” Of the two ABC Religion staff attending the convention, one has declared himself a “secular humanist, with a particular interest in philosophy, the history of ideas, and religious belief in all its forms”. We have a couple of guest bloggers, chosen for their capacity to engage in constructive and intelligent terms the questions addressed by both atheism and religion. We have sought atheist contributions (Doug Adeney provided one here) and expect more.
We do come from a position of acknowledging the importance of religious thought, practice and institutions in human societies, and a curiosity about religion’s place in contemporary society. It’s been made clear in this blog that we want to explore the range of encounters that are possible, not just between religion and atheism as abstracts, but between religious believers and atheists as people. Sure, one encounter may be a prejudiced and ignorant diatribe against the other (examples available on both sides), but we believe there is much more scope and complexity than that.