I had the immense pleasure of seeing the critically acclaimed comedian David Baddiel at The Festival of Dangerous Ideas in August this year. He was witty and sharp, aptly handling clever questions thrown by the audience at the end of his discussion with Simon Longstaff. The series of exchanges were so funny that the panel had to be terminated fifteen minutes overtime while the audience was busy laughing.
David Baddiel at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Source: Jessica Han
As a Gen Z Australian, my only point of reference for Baddiel was his feature on the British game show Taskmaster, where he competed (and finished last) amongst four other comedians. In the show, he appears as a “buffoon” as he describes himself in the Taskmaster Podcast. So it was to my surprise that he is not only a comedian, but also a screenwriter, actor, TV host and occasional songwriter. A song that he co-wrote and sang still charts regularly in the UK during every FIFA World Cup since 1996. Additionally, he is a playwright and author of children and adult books, one of which is the subject of my analysis.
Baddiel delivers intriguing commentary on atheism and death in his book The God Desire (2023). As a Jew who is also an atheist, Baddiel explores an idiosyncratic perspective that is atheist and yet simultaneously religion-positive. Baddiel calls himself a “reluctant atheist”, someone who wishes that god could be real.
The first chapter recounts a story of his six-year-old self desperately praying for his loved ones to not die, and he reflects that sentiment throughout the book. Ultimately, Baddiel knows that God is not real, and yet he empathises with the desperation for the existence of a god, in a way that is antithetical to other atheist arguments. Therefore, his book is not about pulling apart religion in the conventional atheist rigour but exploring his performance of religion and atheism in the context of looming death. As someone who grew up religious and is now an atheist, this stance personally resonated with me. It is one of the many reasons why I picked this book up and want to talk about it.
Source: Jessica Han
Atheism as a nuisance
Atheism is described by Baddiel as seen by the public as “unkind” and “a spoilsport”. I agree with Baddiel’s observation that atheism isn’t particularly popular – from my experience, people tend to identify as agnostic rather than atheist. Baddiel must have also noticed this divide between the non-believers because he cheekily writes in a footnote, “Don’t get me started on agnostics”. Baddiel claims that the bad reputation of atheism is a consequence of identity politics, since atheists’ beliefs deny the reality of others. However, my understanding is that the shunning of atheism is not a modern creation; after all, the majority of ancient humans participated in religion.
Baddiel observes that atheism has a “macho” attitude that belittles religious belief as a need for reassurance and comfort. In his talk, he mentioned the connection between conspiracy theories and religion. I have also noticed that conspiracies like QAnon and Flat Earthers are highly correlated with religious groups, not to mention the many outrageous things I have personally heard from my religious childhood.
Although religion and conspiracy theories are wildly different, they are both analysed by the (mostly atheist) internet as anti-intellectual movements that rely on illogical foundations. But does truth really lie in science?
Truth vs Meaning
Finding truth is a quintessential human activity that is the main incentive for scientific inquiry. Objective truths can be found: “The earth goes around the sun,” is one mentioned by Baddiel. However, he cleverly notes that when everyone who lives their own separate reality divulges that reality (thank you, social media), it will “increase the sum total of truth in the world.” Analysing these truths show that religion is not really about truth at all, it is rather about finding meaning.
Baddiel quotes John Gray’s Seven Types of Atheism in regard to contemporary atheists: “Only by immersing themselves in such nonsense can they make sense of their lives. Without it, they face panic and despair.” Although this statement has been aimed at atheists, I find it eerily fitting for religious believers also. God has always been used to explain confusing and unpredictable natural phenomenon, as explained by Baddiel. Clearly, the search for meaning surpasses the lines of religion and atheism. As Baddiel says, “…it is impossible to understand humanity without religion.”
Baddiel expresses that for him, Jewishness is a sense of ritual rather than a belief in the supernatural. He observes in Judaism “the endless OCD-like repetition of praise, the desperate hope that if you say something enough times, a fragment might get through the ether” which I recognise from my religious experiences; I remember the many times when people gathered in hordes to invoke a deity in hope of conjuring a miracle.
However, contradicting Christianity’s supernatural beliefs, Baddiel observes that despite their belief in the afterlife, Christians tend to have an aversion to death. Like the search for meaning, the paradoxical rituals and beliefs we follow encompass the human condition; Baddiel points out the time when people lined up for kilometres just to visit the deceased body of Queen Elizabeth II in a casket. He notices “more and more of these gods” surrounding him, representing humanity’s God Desire – how it desperately grabs at the universe, inviting humans to find and create truths in search of meaning.
Criticisms and discourse
As I researched Baddiel and the way that this book was received, I was astounded by the number of religious (mostly Christian) reviews that shelved this book as another failed attempt to disprove the existence of God. While reading the reviews, it felt almost ironic to read repeatedly the same progression of discourse that at first started with Baddiel’s ideas, then tangentially ended up in the depths of specific bible verses.
If you have ever talked to a religious person, or a conspiracy theorist, or even an atheist, you know that whatever you say will barely nudge their worldview. It is never really about truth, although people will vehemently deny this – and the stronger the denial, the clearer it is that people are not looking for truth.
I do have to agree with the many criticisms of the book: it has a strongly western cultural stance, borderline ignoring the many religions that do not promise an afterlife in the way that Christianity does. Baddiel also fixates on death as the one and only reason why people are drawn to religion, which is obviously untrue. People can be drawn to a god out of joy, anger, sadness, anxiety… the list goes on and on.
The book is ultimately an extension of Baddiel’s comedic performances – witty, honest, but not very well researched. In multiple instances throughout the book, Baddiel claims that the existence of dark matter has no evidence. He did clear this up during his talk at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, but it shows that the book was intended as a casual commentary rather than a rigorous academic investigation.
Baddiel attempted to end the book on a positive note, suggesting love and laughter (live laugh love?…) as his solutions of choice if you are an atheist looking into the dark tunnel of inevitable death. In my opinion, he said it better in the middle of the book: “if there is one thing that being a fundamentalist atheist should lead you to, it’s an intense commitment to Carpe Diem.”
We trudge through life desperately connecting dots to echolocate who and where we are in this abyss, whether we are religious or not. Ultimately, the way we generate our motivations has little to do with knowing there is a god. Although Baddiel is my source material, he might not agree with the conclusions I have made in the same way I shook my head at the reviews of his book, or the way that you might be lifting an eyebrow at the screen right now. But it doesn’t matter – like everyone else, I am not looking for truth in its raw form, I am only looking to make sense of my ephemeral existence in this universe. Seize the day!