New Atheism

New Atheism
Name	New Atheism
Formed	21st century
Region	Worldwide
Main topics	Critique of religion, secularism, science advocacy

New Atheism is a 21st-century movement characterized by outspoken criticism of religious belief, advocacy for secularism, and public promotion of scientific skepticism. It emerged amid debates involving prominent public intellectuals, bestselling authors, and media personalities who argued that religious faith should be openly challenged in public discourse. The movement intersected with debates about secular law, public policy, and the role of religion in pluralistic societies.

Origins and definition

Scholars trace origins to a cluster of authors and events in the early 2000s, linking the movement to cultural moments such as the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the publication of influential books, and the rise of internet forums and podcasts. Historians and sociologists connect it to prior secularist currents associated with figures from the Enlightenment, the freethought tradition, and 19th‑ and 20th‑century critics of religion, while noting differences from earlier atheist organizations like the American Atheists, National Secular Society, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Humanists International. Debates over definition cite intersections with activists from organizations such as the Center for Inquiry, the Secular Coalition for America, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, and campaigns linked to personalities who appeared on platforms like The Daily Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Meet the Press, and podcast networks including WNYC Studios and NPR.

Key figures and works

Prominent public figures associated with the movement include authors whose books became international bestsellers and were translated and promoted across media networks. Central writers often cited are Richard Dawkins (author of bestsellers and founder of organizations), Sam Harris (neuroscientist and podcast host), Daniel Dennett (philosopher and author), Christopher Hitchens (journalist and essayist), and A.C. Grayling (philosopher and public intellectual). Other notable contributors include Victor J. Stenger, Lawrence M. Krauss, Steven Pinker, Michael Shermer, Susan Jacoby, E. O. Wilson, and Jerry Coyne. Key works linked to the movement’s public identity include Dawkins’s bestselling books, Harris’s critiques of faith, Dennett’s philosophical analyses, Hitchens’s polemical essays, and Grayling’s humanist writings, alongside influential books by Richard Carrier, Bart Ehrman, Reza Aslan, Karen Armstrong, John Shelby Spong, and Alain de Botton who engaged religious themes from varied perspectives.

Journalistic and documentary contributions by figures like Christopher Buckley, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, and filmmakers associated with HBO and BBC also increased visibility. Academic critics and supporters range from philosophers at institutions such as Harvard University, Oxford University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Cambridge University to historians at Columbia University and Yale University.

Core arguments and themes

Advocates advanced several convergent themes: that supernatural claims lack empirical support and should be scrutinized using methods associated with science and reason; that religious doctrines can cause social harm when immune to critique; and that secular, humanistic ethics offer viable alternatives. These themes intersect with discussions of cognition, drawing on work by scholars such as Daniel Kahneman, Steven Pinker, Joshua Greene, and Paul Bloom about moral psychology, and with evolutionary perspectives from Richard Dawkins and E. O. Wilson. Proponents often invoked scientific institutions and publications including Nature (journal), Science (journal), The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post to argue for evidence-based policy. Debates addressed legal frameworks like cases before the United States Supreme Court, public debates in venues such as Oxford Union and Cambridge Union Society, and high‑profile televised debates involving university faculties and think tanks like the Brookings Institution and the Hoover Institution.

Criticisms and controversies

Critics from diverse backgrounds challenged the movement on philosophical, sociological, and political grounds. Philosophers and theologians at institutions like Notre Dame (University of Notre Dame), The Catholic University of America, Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, and figures such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Rorty, John Paul II (in institutional context), and Rowan Williams argued that the movement oversimplified theology, misunderstood historical complexity, and sometimes engaged in rhetorical excess. Feminist critics including Judith Butler, Simone de Beauvoir (historical reference), Naomi Wolf, and scholars from SOAS University of London and Goldsmiths, University of London contended that it sometimes marginalized issues of gender, postcolonial critique, and lived religion.

Controversies included debates over Islam and secularism involving scholars like Bernard Lewis, Edward Said, Samuel P. Huntington, and commentators at institutions such as Chatham House and Council on Foreign Relations. Internal disputes among movement figures produced public disputes on ethics, free speech, and identity politics, often played out on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and late‑night television. Legal and political pushback involved cases in national courts and legislative debates in countries from the United Kingdom to the United States and India.

Influence and cultural impact

The movement affected publishing, university curricula, and popular media, spurring conferences, lecture tours, and secular coalitions. It influenced policy debates about faith‑based initiatives, religious exemptions, and science education in parliaments and legislatures across the European Union, United States Congress, Indian Parliament, and assemblies in countries such as Canada, Australia, and South Africa. Cultural impact is visible in documentaries aired by broadcasters like the BBC, PBS, and Channel 4, in satirical engagements on programs like Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and in the founding or growth of organizations including the Atheist Alliance International, British Humanist Association, and numerous campus groups at institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. The movement also intersected with science advocacy organizations such as The Nature Conservancy (public outreach), AAAS, and museums including the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History in public exhibits and debates.

Category:Atheism