New Atheism: Difference between revisions

The secular humanist [[Paul Kurtz]] (1925-2012), founder of the [[Center for Inquiry]], is often regarded as a forerunner to the New Atheism movement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Robert |date=2012-10-22 |title=Paul Kurtz, "giant" of humanism, dead at 86 |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-kurtz-idUSBRE89L19D20121022 |access-date=2022-12-25 |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228115310/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-kurtz-idUSBRE89L19D20121022 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists" /> The 2004 publication of ''[[The End of Faith|The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason]]'' by [[Sam Harris]], a bestseller in the United States, was joined over the next couple years by a series of popular best-sellers by atheist authors.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/09/hitchens200709|title=God Bless Me, It's a Best-Seller!|last=Hitchens|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Hitchens|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=15 August 2007|access-date=14 April 2016|quote=...in the last two years there have been five atheist best-sellers, one each from Professors Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett and two from the neuroscientist Sam Harris.|archive-date=2 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002001157/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/09/hitchens200709|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38thDwAAQBAJ |title=The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution |publisher=Random House |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-525-51195-3 |location=New York |pages=1 |access-date=20 January 2023 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421232245/https://books.google.com/books?id=38thDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Harris was motivated by the events of [[11 September 2001]], for which he blamed Islam, while also directly criticizing [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Harris |date=11 August 2004 |title=The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |isbn=978-0-7432-6809-7|title-link=The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason }}</ref> Two years later, Harris followed up with ''[[Letter to a Christian Nation]]'', which was a severe criticism of Christianity.<ref>{{cite news |last=Steinfels |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Steinfels |title=Books on Atheism Are Raising Hackles in Unlikely Places |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 March 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/books/03beliefs.html |access-date=17 July 2016 |archive-date=26 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626135149/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/books/03beliefs.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 2006, following his television documentary series ''[[The Root of All Evil?]]'', [[Richard Dawkins]] published ''[[The God Delusion]]'', which was on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list for 51 weeks.<ref>{{cite web |title=''The God Delusion'' One-Year Countdown |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,1599,The-God-Delusion-One-Year-Countdown,RichardDawkinsnet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828171533/http://richarddawkins.net/article,1599,The-God-Delusion-One-Year-Countdown,RichardDawkinsnet|archive-date=28 August 2008|work=RichardDawkins.net |access-date=5 October 2007}}</ref>

 

 

In November 2015, ''[[The New Republic]]'' published an article entitled "Is the New Atheism dead?"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/123349/new-atheism-dead|title=Is the New Atheism dead?|first=Elizabeth|last=Bruenig|magazine=The New Republic|date=6 November 2015|access-date=27 August 2022|archive-date=12 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712054228/https://newrepublic.com/article/123349/new-atheism-dead|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, the atheist and evolutionary biologist [[David Sloan Wilson]] wrote: "The world appears to be tiring of the New Atheism movement."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sloan Wilson |first=David |date=2016-02-01 |title=The New Atheism as a Stealth Religion: Five Years Later |url=https://thisviewoflife.com/the-new-atheism-as-a-stealth-religion-five-years-later/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=This View Of Life |language=en-US |archive-date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816064310/https://evolution-institute.org/article/the-new-atheism-as-a-stealth-religion-five-years-later/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, [[PZ Myers]], who formerly considered himself a new atheist, publicly renounced the New Atheism movement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=PZ |date=31 July 2017 |title=The New Atheism is dead. Long live atheism. |url=https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/07/31/the-new-atheism-is-dead-long-live-atheism/ |website=Pharyngula |access-date=12 July 2018 |archive-date=11 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911020202/https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/07/31/the-new-atheism-is-dead-long-live-atheism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The book ''The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution'' was released in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 March 2019 |title=The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-51195-3 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=21 August 2019 |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821214044/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-51195-3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":6" />