Positions promoted by some atheists
The term New Atheism describes the positions of some atheist academics, writers, scientists, and philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries.[1] [2] New Atheism advocates the view that superstition , religion , and irrationalism should not simply be tolerated. Instead, they advocate the antitheist view that the various forms of theism should be criticised , countered , examined, and challenged by rational argument, especially when they exert strong influence on the broader society, such as in government, education, and politics.[3] [4] Critics have characterised New Atheism as "secular fundamentalism" or "fundamentalist atheism " .[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Major figures of New Atheism include Richard Dawkins , Sam Harris , Christopher Hitchens , and Daniel Dennett , collectively referred to as the "Four Horsemen " of the movement, as well as Ayaan Hirsi Ali ,[10] until her conversion to Christianity in 2023.[11]
^ Lee, Lois; Bullivant, Stephen (17 November 2016). A Dictionary of Atheism . Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-252013-5 . Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2017 .
^ Wolf, Gary (1 November 2006). "The Church of the Non-Believers" . Wired . ISSN 1059-1028 . Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2023 .
^ Taylor, James E. "New Atheists" . The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016 . The New Atheists are authors of early twenty-first century books promoting atheism. These authors include Sam Harris , Richard Dawkins , Daniel Dennett , and Christopher Hitchens . The 'New Atheist' label for these critics of religion and religious belief emerged out of journalistic commentary on the contents and impacts of their books.
^ Hooper, Simon (9 November 2006). "The rise of the New Atheists" . CNN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010 .
^ Hedges, Chris (2008). When Atheism Becomes Religion: America's New Fundamentalists . Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4165-7078-3 .
^ McAnulla, Stuart (2011). "Secular fundamentalists? Characterising the new atheist approach to secularism, religion and politics" . British Politics . 9 (2). Palgrave Macmillan: 124–145. doi :10.1057/bp.2013.27 .
^ LeDrew, Stephen (2018). "Scientism and Utopia: New Atheism as a Fundamentalist Reaction to Relativism" . Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society . Springer. pp. 143–155. doi :10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_9 . ISBN 978-3-319-96558-1 .
^ Stahl, William (2010). "One-Dimensional Rage: The Social Epistemology Of The New Atheism And Fundamentalism" . Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal . Brill. pp. 95–108. ISBN 978-90-04-19053-5 .
^ Nall, Jeff (2008). "Fundamentalist Atheism and its Intellectual Failures" . Humanity & Society . 32 (3). Sage: 263–280.
^ Khalil, Mohammad Hassan, ed. (2017), "The New Atheism" , Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 95–96, doi :10.1017/9781108377263.009 , ISBN 978-1-108-38512-1 , archived from the original on 3 October 2023, retrieved 24 December 2022
^ Jones, Sarah (29 November 2023). "The Infidel Turned Christian" . Intelligencer . Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2023 .