Atheism and Literature in Europe

Literature and atheism create a binomial not extensively studied because the two concepts may, at first glance, seem unrelated. Nevertheless, the expression of God's absence is a common theme in literature and, specifically, in poetry. Absurdity, nonsense, hate for religion and voidness are collateral concepts which revolve around atheism. Atheism, especially in times of unbelief or indifference, has been a potent literary force and has found a very strong and long-lasting opening in poetry. Atheist poetry recognizes that divinities are human constructions and, as such, highly irrelevant and even futile. This book gathers the reflections and dialogues resulting from a workshop devoted to this issue that was organized by the Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture during which scholars, artists, philosophers, anthropologists and media experts discussed the fascinating intersection between two deep realities, atheism on the one hand and literature, on the other, at an interdisciplinary meeting.