Integral theory leads us logically to atheism

October 29th, 2006 (posted by ray harris) I think that integral theory leads us logically to atheism. A nondual ultimate reality is both nothing and everything. A creator God automatically leads us to dualism. So I often wonder why some Integralists seem to go soft on ‘theism’. Dawkins argues that there is an unexamined cultural norm to treat religious delusion with kid gloves. And yet I would argue this has very serious consequences. The reason the US has moved from a position where the founding fathers were either atheists or deists to where politicians cannot win office unless they declare they believe in God is precisely because religion has been accorded a ‘criticism-free’ status along with its ‘tax-free’ status. This has given it almost free reign to propagate nonsense. And when ‘nonsense’ based only on faith is allowed to trump reason then what we get is a devolution. We are supposed to move from the mythic to the rational and then to the integral. Integral should not be tolerating to move backwards from rational to mythical. This entry was posted on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Ray's Integral Blog, Integral Spirituality. 7 Responses to “The God delusion”

Andy Smith Says: October 29th, 2006 at 5:48 pm There are actually three parties in play here: science; mainstream western religions; and what can loosely be called New Agers. Each has their hardcore adherents, who are implacably opposed to the hardcore adherents of the other two. But each also has its more moderate adherents, who try to reach out to the moderates in the other two.

Hard core sympathizers with science, like Dawkins and Dennett, do not, as you point out, have much to say about Buddhism, which despite its ancient roots could be considered part of New Age in its broadest sense (as incorporated by integral theory). They spend most of their time attacking Western religion, because it’s quite easy to do so, and because, yes, it is extraordinarily influential in America. But I think Gould’s claim that science and religion operate in separate spheres makes a lot of sense with regard to integral theory. As Wilber points out, science is not an appropriate tool to use to seek certain forms of knowledge, a point that Dawkins et al. seem totally oblivious to. Really, the old adage, you don’t play the game, you don’t make the rules applies here. Since these scientific atheists are unwilling to make the effort to try meditation, they can have nothing to say about the reality of higher states of consciousness.