Faith lifter

‘Heist’ is a verb derived from ‘hoist’, or ‘lift’, as in jewel-thieving. ‘Faith’ is a noun taken from the Latin word for ‘confidence’. But ‘faitheist’ is not a confidence man or a trickster.

The neologism refers to an atheist who handles religion with kid-gloves ! The faitheist tries to ‘accommodate’ religion instead of dismissing or disparaging it. When Albert Camus, Nobelist and philosopher of absurdism, encountered a gathering of Dominican friars in 1948, for instance, he wrote, “I shall never start with the supposition that Christian faith is illusory, not that I possess an absolute truth or message, merely that I cannot accept (Christian faith).” Now, Camus was not being a faitheist, merely mild and modest.

In contrast, someone such as Chris Stedman would declare himself to be a nonbeliever who has, nevertheless , become a “believer in retrospect” because of ‘toxic atheism’ practised by the likes of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.

In Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious, Stedman says, as he “encourage (s) my fellow atheists to respect and reach out to people who are religious, I am taken aback by how often I meet resistance and criticism”.

But ghetto mentality and trenchwarfare are hardly going to resolve one of the most durable schisms of our times, he argues ; the only way forward is inter-faith dialogue. He would like the atheists to share their stories and learn from those of the religious, “Together, we will accomplish so much more than if we work alone or in opposition.” Amen, Inshallah, Shalom and Om to that!