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Attack Of The Theocrats!: How The Religious Right Harms Us All — And What We Can Do About It (2012)

by Sean Faircloth(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0984493247 (ISBN13: 9780984493241)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pitchstone Publishing

review 1: I agree with Faircloth's assertion that theocrats have way too much clout in the American political system. From the gay marriage "debate" (which the "major" argument is that the "sanctity" of heterosexual marriage needs to be protected from us evil queers, even though over half of those hallowed marriages end in divorce) to abortion (why are we still arguing about this in America?!?), fundamentalists try to cast their views as the "moral" ones (and, therefore, those with different views are "immoral" by default). Faircloth starts out well enough, demonstrating just how fundamentalists affect us all. But then he kind of gets bogged down, and the book just doesn't flow well. Also, it really felt like he was trying to browbeat "secular America" into caring about certain issu... morees, when, in reality, many "secular Americans" already DO care about those issues. Also, I realize that Faircloth works for the Richard Dawkins Foundation, and I do think that Richard Dawkins is an intelligent man (though with a tendency towards extreme arrogance), but after a while, it just felt like Faircloth was plugging Dawkins and his foundation. At times, the book felt like an infomercial.I listened to the audiobook version, and I have two comments about that specifically. First, I really think that Sean Faircloth should have gone with a professional narrator. He isn't bad, but he sounds like a politician, and there's only so much I could listen to before needing to take a break. Second, the audiobook version varies slightly from the book (usually with added information). While reading along while listening to the audiobook version, this was rather jarring.
review 2: This is one of the best books of its kind. It talks about how special loopholes for religious institutions who provide non-religious services can be harmful to Americans, and how current attempts to legislate morality often increase human suffering. Concrete examples are given where children died due to loopholes in child safety laws and the Reagan era gag rule. If like me, you are a secular American who feels that you don't have all the answers, this might be the book for you. less

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