The New Atheism: New hope for the future

June 25, 9:30 AMPortland Humanist ExaminerMicha J. Stone

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           American Atheist's Symbol

A new hope for the future is here. A new force for good is moving through our country, a force that has thrown off the shackles of religious superstition and ignorance: the New Atheism. The New Atheism is strident and bold. Religion continues to be the most dangerous force we face as a country and as a species. The New Atheism is willing to stand up to and speak out against the religious tyranny which permeates our nation and our world.

The New Atheism rejects the anti-intellectualism prevalent in the last thirty years of American history. The New Atheism affirms science, reason and social progress. The New Atheism is above all a movement to empower the growing yet often despised free thinking minority. The New Atheism is collective self help, a recognition of the psychic damage and destruction religion in general and Christianity in particular has wrought.

Leaders in the New Atheism movement include such cultural and intellectual icons as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Bill Maher. Yet perhaps more important to the movement than any one person is the Internet. The Internet has allowed like minded free thinkers to speak out and communicate with one another. One cannot overestimate the power of the Internet to enlighten and to inform the solitary individual. The realization that one is not alone, that there are many like minded free thinkers, is a potent remedy for the isolation and despair brought about by the informal enforcement of religious conformity so many face.

What is Atheism? Atheism is simply a lack of belief in deities. Atheism is the opposite of theism. Atheism simply means no god(s). Atheism is not a religion. Often the religious will accuse atheism of being a religion in an attempt to smear atheists with the same ugly brush that taints the religious.

In general, atheists are rational. They seek rational explanations. They accept the scientific method and believe observation and experiment is the best way to determine truth. They reject revelation, miracles and the supernatural. The Atheist rejects the Holy Book, the word of God and similar non-sense. The New Atheism is the recognition that the Emperor is without clothes. Further, the New Atheism is a recognition that it is one's duty to alert one's fellow human that the Emperor is indeed naked, that there is no God.

Nietzsche wrote that "Faith means not wanting to know the truth". The atheist rejects the call to faith: the beginning of the religious con. Faith in a god is simply not justified by available evidence. No doubt many take comfort in their faith. Yet to find comfort in a delusion is a poor way to live one's life. Faith is sometimes an existential crutch, sometimes an excuse from thought for the feeble minded. Ultimately faith is simply closing one's eyes in hopes of avoiding the truth.

What distinguishes the New Atheism from the atheism of the past is the strident, vocal nature of the New Atheism. In the past atheists were polite to a fault. Either out of respect for or fear of their faithful neighbors atheists rarely spoke of their conviction. Many atheists felt and still feel that speaking out against religion and advocating atheism is somehow impolite and boorish. Indeed, there are many atheists who recoil in horror at the aggressive rhetoric of the New Atheism.

Nevertheless, atheists remain a distrusted and despised minority in many corners of society. Yet there is no question that atheism is on the move. However, many atheists, agnostics, and secularists still lack confidence in their worldview. The psycho-social inertia of religious belief is difficult for many to overcome. Indeed, many will never be able to escape the chains of their religious bondage. Many simply lack the intellectual and existential strength required to break the malevolent grip of religious belief.

Yet there is hope. The New Atheism represents a vanguard of proud atheists convinced that theism is a profound fallacy and incompatible with a scientific worldview. Atheism is no longer a dirty little secret. The New Atheism is bringing the truth to a web page near you.