RE: Neil Degrasse Tyson
August 14, 2015 at 9:47 am
(This post was last modified: August 14, 2015 at 9:48 am by Faith No More.)
I'm perfectly fine with Neil's position. He's clearly an atheist by the terms we go by around here, but I think his not identifying as atheist is more of a political move. Like it or not, in America, the word atheist does come with baggage, and like Alex said, by identifying as agnostic, he can reach people more easily my not having to jump over certain hurdles that he would have to as and out and out atheist.
He's heavily inspired by Carl Sagan(who also refused to identify as atheist), so he sees his role as an ambassador of science. That role is easier to fill by identifying as an agnostic.
He's heavily inspired by Carl Sagan(who also refused to identify as atheist), so he sees his role as an ambassador of science. That role is easier to fill by identifying as an agnostic.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
