Title

The "New Atheism"

Department/School

Theology

Date

2020

Document Type

Book Chapter

DOI

DOI: 10.4324/9781315537627-42

Abstract

The New Atheists as a whole seek to promote radical secularism. They do so often from a viewpoint of scientism, especially evolutionary biology, genetics, and cognitive sciences. Although New Atheism is only one among a number of nonreligious movements and groups, it is distinguished by its militant “anti-theism,” which rejects religious faith entirely. The New Atheists insist that an enormous number of social ills and injustices stem directly from religious faith in God, including child abuse, racism, terrorism, and authoritarianism. Concerning the Bible, the New Atheists seem to grasp only its surface-level meaning, and they refuse to see the larger context of the short quotations they use. The New Atheists, however, seek to maintain much of the Christian ethic while disposing of the Christian God. In this regard, they are seen as rather naive from a Nietzschean point of view.

Published in

The Christian Theological Tradition, 4th ed.

Citation/Other Information

King, Anne H. “The ‘New Atheism.’” In The Christian Theological Tradition, 555–563. 4th ed. Routledge, 2020.

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