What
is New about the New Atheism
Vincent
Molina
‘The New Atheists will not let us off the hook
simply because we are not doctrinaire believers; they condemn not just belief
in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it’s evil.
Now that the battle has been joined there is no excuse for shirking’[1]. ‘New
Atheism’ identifies secular thinkers who argue that religious faith is potentially
dangerous and destructive because it encourages anti scientific thinking. Through
understanding the capabilities of global multimedia as a tool spreading atheism
and the arguments employed by the New Atheism, it will become clear that overall
what is new about new atheism is its heavy promotion of rationality and
scientific reasoning and the means of mobilization and counter mobilization both
offline and online due to its relationship with the virtual realm of the
internet.
In reality, outspoken atheism is nothing new. But
the publicity surrounding ‘New Atheism’ clouds the scholarship that came before
them. For example Sam Harris in The End
of Faith says
‘Either God can do
nothing to stop catastrophes like this, or he doesn’t care to, or he doesn’t
exist. God is impotent, evil or imaginary.[2]’
Epicurus is generally credited as the first person
to have originally formulated the problem of evil[3]. Similarly Christopher Hitchens in God is not Great writes ‘George Orwell
wrote in 1946 … a totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy[4], citing
Orwell as he explains why a theistic heaven is much like the totalitarian
regime of Big Brother.
Hitchens discusses the work of past intellectuals such
Thomas Paine, Spinoza, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein among others, showing
that these men were to be found all over the spectrum from agnostics to
pantheists, reinforcing the fact there already exists works of a secular nature
from past authors and thinkers.
A 2009 study on the unification of secularists found
that by the 1980s, secularists of all walks of life had significantly decreased
their focus on fighting for church-state separation and have gradually stressed
the need for logical debate and argument as a means of propagating atheism[5]. An
example of this would be Madelyn Murray O’Hair. If militant secularism and
public activism against the evils of religion are part of the New Atheism, then
she was an early candidate with her aggressive push to alter legislation.
She won a several court cases such as Murray v.
Curlett, which, combined with Abington v. Schempp ended organised prayers in
public school.[6]
Before her murder in 1995[7],
Madelyn Murray O’ Hair had founded the organisation American Atheists which ran
a publication by the same name, while another organisation, the Council on
Secular Humanism also ran its own publication called the ‘Free Inquiry’.
Between January 2006 and March 2008, around when New Atheism was at its peak in
book sales and media attention[8], both
publications ran various articles ranging from approval to disdain.
Both the Free Inquiry[9] and
American Atheists[10] are
atheistic organisations that have since moved from simple print publications to
the platform of the Internet. Thus it is important to understand how global
electronic media challenges public and private issues by giving personal and
sensitive topics such as religion a public platform. Cimino & Smith (2011)
observes that atheist activism is actually a mixture of participants and groups
that could identify as secularists, atheists agnostics, and humanists. There
are smaller identity groupings within a larger general (and increasingly
global) “secularist” collective.[11] ‘
“Atheism is not itself an
ideology; there is no such thing as an atheist mindset”. [12]
While the notion of an
atheist mindset is debatable, the quote does make the point that secularism is
a highly individualised movement with multiple minor factions involving people
with diverse and sometimes incompatible political and philosophical stances.
Indeed even Richard Dawkins has compared organising atheists
to ‘herding cats because they tend to think independently and will not conform
to authority.’[13]
To continue the quote, ‘But a good first step would be to build up a critical
mass of those willing to “come out”.’ The old website of the Richard Dawkins
Foundation had a convert’s corner[14] where
people could leave messages and anecdotes about their new found atheism. Cinimo
and Smith (2007) explain that the stigma that once surrounded the idea of
coming out is weakening
‘Since the emergence of
new atheism, as there has been a growth of organisations and activism among
secularists attempting to make a place for themselves in American Society’[15]
While the books
of the ‘Four Horsemen’ seem to reflect the initial bulk of New Atheism, thanks
to the global capabilities of online media, there are now numerous websites,
blogs, online forums and various other individuals who can be identified participants
of New Atheism. Cimino and Smith (2012) in their investigation of cyber secularist
culture, performed a search on Google with the terms “atheism,” “atheist,” “new
atheism,” and “secular humanism” among others.[16] This
led to a plethora of various websites such as richarddawkins.net, the blog of
P.Z. Myers, an evolutionary biologist and as such considered Dawkins ‘partner
in crime’[17]
as well as many popular Youtube channel video atheists such as Thunderf00t and
The Amazing Atheist.
Cimino & Smith
(2011) recognise the importance of blogs and Youtube videos in mobilizing and
counter mobilizing within secular activism and culture online. They quote the
owners of Atheist Revolutions ‘vjack’ and ‘Austin Cline (who writes about
atheism on about.com) with Cline quoting vjack,
“The
sad fact is, atheists were not getting positive press before the “New Atheists”
… being less assertive and submissive is no way to promote change” [18]
Once again because atheism is
merely a default stance, the individuals who put up videos of an atheistic
nature cannot be said to be directly collaborating under the banner of New
Atheism, rather they are indirectly related videos of individuals who, thanks
to the cultural explosion set alight by New Atheism, post videos discussing
debating issues that are reflect their social standings and background. Youtube
with its slogan of “Broadcast Yourself” has created a network within which
atheists can broadcast their views and opinions. Thunderf00t’s popular video
series “Why People Laugh at Creationists’[19] for example
showcases numerous clips of creationists and religious conservatives who
support intelligent design accompanied by voiceover criticism by Thunderf00t
himself. The Atheist Experience[20] is a
live cable access TV show in Austin Texas which regularly uploads segments from
its live show to Youtube for viewers to see along with its own website and show
archive.
Echoing the work of the late
Madelyn Murray O’Hair legal endeavours, Youtubers such as the former have taken
advantage of the fair use clause in U.S.copyright law which allows users to
legally use segments of others videos in their own. In this way Youtubers of a
secular nature can take material from pro creationist channels such as VenomFangX[21] and
HowTheWorldWorks[22]
to debate, debunk and critique.
When charges were filed against
secularist channels such as the former, an alliance of secularist users,
including Thunderf00t, was formed, setting up a channel called DMCAabuse
(Digital Millenium Copyright Act). They drafted a statement that seems to
reflect the values of New Atheism.
“We all share an interest in science
and we have respect for the advancements and benefits that science has brought
us. The Internet is one example of this. …. In order for people to fully benefit
from the Internet, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and a lack of
censorship are essential.”[23]
The landscape of contemporary
electronic media allows the creation of virtual personas on websites such as
Youtube with little or no consequence should an individual choose to create an
aggressive standpoint to certain issues.[24] Part of the appeal of the Internet for
secularists as a medium rather than regular mainstream press is that it
encourages mobilisation on a personal level for secular activism[25]. But
what of the offline world?
Books and debates aside, the New
Atheism advocates a shared vision of rationality and science that has given
secularists of all shades a sense of community. The Global Atheist Convention[26] has
been held in Melbourne twice with attendees numbering in the several thousands and
sponsored by the Atheist Foundation of Australia and Atheist Alliance
International. On the website you can see a four panel image of Richard
Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens, a testament
to the influence that New Atheism along with the internet has had. The two
different conventions were named ‘The Rise of Atheism’ and ‘A Celebration of
Reason’, reflections of the values of New Atheism. Events such as these provide
an offline forum where everyday atheists and even secularist Youtube atheists such
as anti-creationist AronRa[27] and
Mr Deity[28]
can attend and be a part of a community.
The term ‘New Atheism’ was coined
in an article in 2006[29] which
identified Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins, with Christopher
Hitchens being included after the fact. As (Perkins, 2008) stated earlier there
is a lack of a collective identity and an institutional lightness[30] in
the entire secularist movement. Thus it is not surprising that even the Four
Horsemen of the New Atheist movement would have different approaches to the
same overall goal of criticising religion as well as disagreements in certain
areas and may not even identify themselves as strictly ‘New Atheists’.
For example Richard Dawkins in
his book The God Delusion tries his
hand philosophy, utilising past secularist arguments such as Bertrand Russell’s
teapot analogy[31]
which he uses to demonstrate that believers carry the burden of proof.
He is an Oxford-based evolutionary biologist, as well as a science
advocate and writer and has since founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for
Reason and Science[32]
which has its own website with the subheading ‘Innovating for a Secular World’.
‘The mission of the Richard
Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education,
critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the
quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and human
suffering.’
Indeed with the aid of global multimedia and the strength of public
conventions and debates such a mission may slowly be realized. Having a biology
based background in academia explains the various other books which Dawkins has
under his name such as ‘The Selfish Gene’, the ‘Blind Watchmaker’ and ‘The
Greatest Show on Earth’ (which is his main rebuttal to creationism to date).
Two of his most notable campaigns is the ‘Come Out’ campaign[33] which
assumingly states that
‘Atheists have always been at the
forefront of rational thinking and beacons of enlightenment, and now you can
share your idealism by being part of the OUT Campaign.’
It encourages atheists to “come out of the closet” similar to the how
the gay community encourages its folk. Another is his suggestion that atheists
take on the term ‘Brights’. It has a separate website[34]
where it proclaims that Brights are those whose worldview is free of
supernatural or mystical elements and whose ethics and actions are based on
such a worldview.
Fellow Horsemen Daniel Dennett is also a supporter of designating non-believers
with Brights having written a lengthy article on the very same website
espousing the view that
‘The time has come for us
brights to come out of the closet. …. We disagree about many things, and hold a
variety of views about morality, politics and the meaning of life, but we share
a disbelief about life after death. …. Don't confuse the noun with the
adjective: "I'm a bright" is not a boast but a proud avowal of an
inquisitive world view.[35]’
Dennett is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist who works on
philosophy of mind in areas relevant to evolutionary biology. In his book Breaking The Spell: Religion As A Natural
Phenomenon, one of his central arguments is that the existence of religion
can be explained with memes (non genetic information) whose usage becomes more
or less frequent dee to its adaptation to local conditions. Dennett draws
comparisons between the evolution of religion to the evolution and adaptation
of Latin into French/Spanish[36]. Like Dawkins, Dennett
has founded a group that promotes secularist activism. Through the global
capacity and anonymity of the internet, the Clergy Project began in 2011 with
the purpose of providing a safe haven online for active and former professional
clergy/religious leaders who do not hold supernatural beliefs, but may have no
other choice than to remain in their positions or potentially lose their
careers and suffer from serious loss of social status.
Sam Harris is an American neuroscientist and author, and is the Chairman of
Project Reason. Letter to a Christian Nation cemented his position among
the New Atheists and has since then published The End of Faith which further argues that in the face of
contemporary apocalyptic weaponry, we can no longer tolerate the irrationality
of religion and The Moral Landscape which
Harris uses to promote the science of morality arguing that such questions
should not be left to religion but can and should be investigated through
science. While Dawkins and Dennett have embraced the term ‘Brights’, Harris was
noted as saying at an American Atheists conference,
‘I never thought of myself as an atheist before being
inducted to speak as one. I didn’t even use the term in The End of Faith, which
remains my most substantial criticism of religion.[37]’
Harris avoids using the term, arguing that the label is unnecessary and
not a worldview or philosophy
“We
are consenting to be viewed as a marginal interest group that meets in hotel
ballrooms. I’m not saying that meetings like this aren’t important. I wouldn’t
be here if I didn’t think it was important.”[38]
Harris is also unique
among the New Atheists because he is a supporter of Eastern Mysticism and has
been quoted as saying some Asian cultures have also
developed some wondrous insights into consciousness by direct experimentation
with meditation. He also argues that this spirituality or mysticism does not need to be attached to a single
dogma and can be experienced and experimented with in a scientific manner.[39]
The
late Christopher Hitchens was an English-American author and journalist who came to be known as the
fourth horsemen after publishing his book God
Is Not Great. Just as Sam Harris has an issue with the label of New
Atheism, Hitchens explained that
"I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist;
I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I
hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is
positively harmful.”[40]
He is also unique among the Four
Horsemen for having no scientific background yet in God Is Not Great after reflecting on the work of past academics and
thinkers; Hitchens in his conclusion stresses that “Above all, we are in need
of a renewed Enlightenment, which will base itself on the proposition that the
proper study of mankind is man, and woman.”[41]
What is ‘New’ then about the New
Atheism is the global multimedia context which has allowed various people from all
over the atheistic spectrum to mobilize and counter mobilize both online
through forums such as Youtube and offline through live debates and
conventions. However it must be remembered that atheism as a position has been
around for quite a while and the Four Horsemen have paid homage and utilized
arguments from past scholars and thinkers yet, calling into question whether
‘New Atheism’ is simply another unnecessary media constructed label and just another interchangeable term such as
anti-theist, secularist, humanist etc. Nevertheless those affiliated with ‘New
Atheism’ are merely exercising their right to free speech and call for a new
Enlightenment where religion is subject to criticism by new and contemporary methods
of scientific reason and rationality.
References
Theobald, S. (2009) Faith, Interfaith, and YouTube: Dialogue,
or
Derision?
Literature & Aesthetics 19
(2)
Cimio, R., & C. Smith (2007,
Winter). Secular Humanism ad atheism
beyond progressive secularism. Sociology of Religion 407-424
Cimino, R. & C., Smith (2011) The New Atheism And The Formation Of The
Imagined Community: Journal of Media and Religion, Taylor & Francis
Group , LLC.
Cimino, R. & C., Smith (2012)
Atheisms
Unbound: The Role of the New Media in the Formation of a Secularist Identity: Secularism & Nonreligion. Published at: www.secularismandnonreligion.org.
Cline, A. (2010b). Weekly Poll: Are so-called ‘New Atheists’
Too Assertive or Not Assertive Enough?, About.com, Agnosticism/Atheism, http://atheism.about.com/b/2010/07/22/weeklypoll-are-so-called-new-atheists-too-assertive-or-not-assertive-enough.htm
(Retrieved 2 April
2011).
DMCAabuse. (2008). Creationist DMCA abuse. Found on
DMCAabuse’s YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/DMCAabuse#p/u/11/aWZ9XcdbO0w
(Retrieved 22 October 2011).
Harris, S (2004).The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of
Reason.W.W.
Norton & Company
Harris, S. (2007). "The Problem with Atheism." September 28, 2007.Retrieved from : http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-problem-with-atheism/#sthash.jhkZyxhj.dpuf
Hitchens, C. (2007) God Is Not Great: How
Religion Poisons Everything. Warner Books, Inc., New York.
Harris, S. 2004. The End of
Faith: Religion, terror and the future of
reason. W.W. Norton
& Co., New York.
Mayer, A. (2007). “Nothing
sacred-Journalist and provocateur
Chrtopher Hitchens picks a fight with God”. Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation.
Nabors, B. (2009)The Changing Forms Of Organized Belief : The Case Of The Pacific City Atheists. Unpublished paper presented
at the meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, San Francisco,
C.A.
Tooley,
Michael, "The Problem of Evil", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer
2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/evil/>.
(William
Lane Craig vs. Sam Harris) Is the
Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, United States – April
2011
Retrieved From: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/is-the-foundation-of-morality-natural-or-supernatural-the-craig-harris#ixzz2iovMW9Ql
Wolf, G. (2006). The Church of the Non-Believers: A band of intellectual brothers is
mounting a crusade against belief in God. Are they winning converts, or merely
preaching to the choir? Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/atheism.html?pg=2&topic=atheism&topic_set=
[2]
Harris, S.(2004)
[3]
Tooley, M. (2013) http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/evil/
[4]
Hitchens, C. (2007) pg. 80
[5]
Nabors (2007)
[8]
Cimino, R. & C.Smith (2011) pg.27
[11]
Cimino & Smith (2011) pg.
[12]
Perkins (2008) pg.36
[13]
Dawkins R.
(2006) pg. 5
[15] Cimino &
Smith (2007)
[16] Cimino &
Smith (2012)
[18] Cline, Austin. (2010b) http://atheism.about.com/b/2010/07/22/weeklypoll-
are-so-called-new-atheists-too-assertive-or-not-assertive-enough.htm
[23] DMCA abuse (2008)
[24] Theobald, S.
(2009) pg.341
[25] Cimino &
Smith (2011) pg.34
[29]
Wolf, G. (2006) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/atheism.html
[30]
Cimino & Smith (2011) pg.36
[31]
Dawkins, R. (2006) p.g. 51
[36]
Dennett, D (200) p.g.78
[37] http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-problem-with-atheism/#sthash.jhkZyxhj.dpuf
[38] http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-problem-with-atheism/#sthash.jhkZyxhj.dpuf
[39] Harris, S.
(2006) p.g.215-217
[41]
Hitchens, C. God Is Not Great p.g.
