In the Agora: A Brief History of Disbelief

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April 26, 2007

A Brief History of Disbelief

A three-part program aired in Britain three years ago is about to make a splash on the other side of the pond in America. The program, A Brief History of Disbelief, is narrated by Jonathan Miller and will document a historical and philosophical review of atheism. Although it is not an overt advocacy piece, the documentary is clearly made from the perspective of a non-believer observing the religious as some sort of strange, dying species about to become extinct. The BBC summarizes it this way:

A Brief History of Disbelief combines an exploration of the origins of Miller's own lack of belief with historical perspective and interviews with leading authorities, including biologist Richard Dawkins, philosopher Daniel Dennett, recently deceased playwright Arthur Miller, and physicist Steven Weinberg.

"In making this series I have inevitably discovered that the history of faith and doubt is a great deal more complicated than it might seem," Jonathan Miller declares. Among the program's surprising revelations is that philosophy, not science as often assumed, played a larger role in the gradual erosion of belief. And contrary to what many Christian fundamentalists today consider America's founding principles, the first presidents were actually skeptical of religion. A Brief History of Disbelief traces the history of the first "unbelievers" in ancient Greece through the role of disbelief in America's founding to its flourishing today.

Part I visits the site of the Twin Towers and "searches for evidence of the first 'unbelievers' in ancient Greece and examines some of the modern theories around why people have always tended to believe in mythology and magic." Part II explores what it calls a brief resurgence of disbelief in the 15th and 16th centuries. And Part III ends with "issues of death and the religious fanaticism of the 21st century."

I first saw the program not long ago. Of course, it isn't the first documentary of this sort, but it is one of the most well done, intelligent and thought-provoking of its kind, all of which might put some Christians on edge. The series premiers on PBS May 4th.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at April 26, 2007 02:17 PM

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For more atheism-related content, here is a series of videos taken at the Beyond Belief conference at Scripps last year. Very interesting stuff for believers and nonbelievers alike. Videos are available streaming online for free. Among the speakers is Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Paul Davies, Charles Harper of the Templeton Foundation, Laurence Krauss, VS Ramachandran, Michael Shermer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Craig Venter, Steven Weinberg, James Woodward, and others:

http://beyondbelief2006.org/

Posted by: Chuck at April 26, 2007 06:05 PM | permalink

I never had belief in the first place, so I never had to deal with doubt.

Posted by: Gregory Travis at April 26, 2007 06:32 PM | permalink

Thanks for the heads. This looks interesting.

We caught the "Secrets of the Dead: Battle for the Bible," on PBS the other nite, and were thoroughly engrossed. Keep an eye out for it if it shows up in your area...

Posted by: JohnS at April 27, 2007 10:41 AM | permalink

I cannot get this program on my local PBS station in my area. Granted, I live in Central Florida, which is probably the issue. Can a DVD be purchased somewhere? I would really like to get this. Can anyone make suggestions?
Thanks.

Posted by: Susie at May 10, 2007 05:47 PM | permalink

April 26, 2007

A Brief History of Disbelief

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