I would say that bona fide secular thought is neither progressive nor self-destructive. It can see through both of those myths (and then some). After all, unfounded progressive optimism as well as doomsday prophecies merely replaced all those religions of old. In essence, they are the same.

I mean, when in past the concept of value was propped up by theistic concept of God and faith, nowadays there are attempts, similar to "rational" theistic apologists, to prop it up by reason (and faith in that reasoning!). But the underlying theological approach is the same. (I guess, that’s what you, too, say in this piece.)

In other words, genuine secular thought does not care whether God is alive or dead, but, considering all interpretations, alleged attributes, as well as experiential knowledge and the vast accumulated collective empirical evidence, asks what the word "God" actually means.

I think that that is the only way to "objective" (as in unbiased) knowledge, which, in turn, is the only viable alternative for sustainable human existence.