{{cquote|Treating others as unwilling subjects of psychoanalysis is toxic to discourse, and it’s something I see many atheists take part in too frequently. The most recent example comes from Jerry Coyne, though it’s hardly limited to him. In a new piece, Coyne asks, “Why are faitheists so nasty?” and writes:
{{cquote|Treating others as unwilling subjects of psychoanalysis is toxic to discourse, and it’s something I see many atheists take part in too frequently. The most recent example comes from Jerry Coyne, though it’s hardly limited to him. In a new piece, Coyne asks, “Why are faitheists so nasty?” and writes:
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:They’re not angry at New Atheists; they’re angry at themselves—for being unable to believe in a God that they know doesn’t exist. And they’re angry at that God for not existing. They just take it out on us.
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:They’re not angry at [[New Atheism|New Atheists]]; they’re angry at themselves—for being unable to believe in a God that they know doesn’t exist. And they’re angry at that God for not existing. They just take it out on us.
To start, you can’t chalk anything in psychology up to something so simple as “they’re just angry at themselves and taking it out on us.” Furthermore, Coyne’s thesis is not only completely at odds with my own personal experience—“faitheists” on the whole seem to prioritize a cooperative approach and rarely seem to respond in kind to the personal attacks some “New Atheists” heap on them—but it also goes against the only scientific evidence on the topic that I’ve seen.<ref>[http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/07/15/atheists-everyone-leave-psychoanalysis-disagreements/ Why atheists (and everyone) should leave psychoanalysis out of their disagreements - See more at: http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/07/15/atheists-everyone-leave-psychoanalysis-disagreements] by Chris Stedman</ref>}}
To start, you can’t chalk anything in psychology up to something so simple as “they’re just angry at themselves and taking it out on us.” Furthermore, Coyne’s thesis is not only completely at odds with my own personal experience—“faitheists” on the whole seem to prioritize a cooperative approach and rarely seem to respond in kind to the personal attacks some “New Atheists” heap on them—but it also goes against the only scientific evidence on the topic that I’ve seen.<ref>[http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/07/15/atheists-everyone-leave-psychoanalysis-disagreements/ Why atheists (and everyone) should leave psychoanalysis out of their disagreements - See more at: http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/07/15/atheists-everyone-leave-psychoanalysis-disagreements] by Chris Stedman</ref>}}