On Secular and Radical Buddhism
In a number of influential books and articles, Stephen Batchelor has proposed, developed, and defended something he has called (among others) βsecular Buddhismβ and βBuddhism 2.0β. The idea of such a secular or scientific or naturalistic or otherwise not traditionally religious kind of Buddhism isnβt new β it has been especially popular among 20th and 21st Western converts to Buddhism, but there have been Asian precursors as well. Nevertheless, the idea is also somewhat controversial. Adherents of βsecular Buddhismβ like Batchelor typically consider it a return to the roots of Buddhism and to the original teachings of the Buddha, but...