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This theory, “the religion-shaped hole,” is so incredibly off, yet remains remarkably popular. Deeply held ideologies are not zero sum—QAnon! Taliban!—and the most secular countries are not filling their religion/shaped holes with secular extremism or apocalypticism.
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Well but this is the thing: As an atheist, I believe religions are incorrect, but I also notice that a lot of people seem to take the hole that is left by non-religiosity and fill it with a variety of non-religious magic and superstitions. twitter.com/ef54f67c252b45
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There is worship of “naturalness” in equal measure among secular and religious folks, for example. Political extremism does not move as a secular replacement for religion: Jan 6 was not a secular crowd! I get the appeal of the theory but it’s empirically inaccurate.
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As often as not, religious beliefs are symbiotic with other secular ideologies. This is not a bad thing—see the civil rights movement led by a famous reverend—it’s just a fact, and I’d like to see the hole theory abandoned. /x
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