To Polly and nfpendleton, my heart goes out to each of you. I was raised mainly by my father, who casually subscribes to Tenrikyo, which meshes pretty well with my own utilitarian ethics. My mother, on the other hand, is rather extremely religious, and our relationship has suffered for it in the past. I think I have the good fortune to be more important to her than her religion, though; I hope that you are able to make some worthwhile peace with your families, as well.

Mikespeir, Ebonmuse has a Must-Read post called Firebrands which I think addresses the concern you raise about incorrigible prejudice. Coupled with this post, I think the takeaway points are "Live well" and "Fuck the haters."

Regarding Philip Pullman's books: I agree, I could have been more clear about that. If I gave the wrong impression, I apologize. The series isn't a condemnation of atheism - far from it! It's actually a ringing allegory for secular humanism. I highly recommend it; the movie didn't do it justice.

You have mis-read his post.

You managed to read the whole thing twice? I enjoyed the first book. Didn't mind the 2nd. But with maybe 4 chapters left in the third, where you'd think a trilogy would have you firmly in it's grip, I put it down months ago and haven't finished it yet. Maybe sometime. My problem is I have 4 or 5 books on the go at anytime and just pick up the one that's interesting me the most at any given moment. Probably not the best approach, but hey.

Regards
Dave

Maybe that's what you intended (to just use the quote on its own, independently of the rest of the book), but your post makes it sound like the whole trilogy is anti-atheist, which it certainly is not - just google Golden Compass atheism: I think that religious groups were making a bigger fuss about these books than about Harry Potter.

True but then you get accused of being 'militant' or 'pushing your beliefs on people', it's a no-win situation!

I've not had any problems like that IRL, although I frequently run across such accusations on the internets. Oddly enough, most of the accusations are from fellow atheists who overuse the "shoving beliefs down people's throats" phrase. They don't want Xians "shoving Xianity down my throat", so they return the favor. But what they really mean is that they don't want Xians telling them about Xianity, and they're willing to return the favor, and furthermore, they often look down on atheists who aren't so bothered by evangelism. I don't use the phrase in such cavalier fashion; I think "shoving..." requires either some sort of coercion or harassment. The vast majority of evangelism falls far short of that.

Speaking of which - Adam / Ebon - I've tried to find you on Facebook and can't.

Heh! I tried to find Adam on facebook too. I can only assume he doesn't like to be super-poked! :)

I feel the same way. On places like Facebook where I need to list my "religious views" I type "metaphysical naturalism" a la Richard Carrier for it only captures the entirety of rejection of the supernatural.

Speaking of which - Adam / Ebon - I've tried to find you on Facebook and can't. Is there a reason you aren't on there? I think it may be a good way to spread your message. PZ, Dawkins, Harris, and others are on there.

I am now simply 'not superstitious'.

Bingo! That's actually the response I've used for years when asked my religion. It demotes the big faiths to the same intellectual level as not walking under ladders and crossing your fingers. Exactly where they belong.