Full Description
This is the first full-length exploration of New Atheism within its wider social, cultural, intellectual, political contexts. Alan G. Nixon examines other nonreligious currents including the `rise of the Nones' and the vibrancy of online atheist communities already well under way before the bestsellers Dawkins' The God Delusion (2006) and Hitchens' God is Not Great (2007) came along, alongside the social and political contexts such as 9/11 and concerns over science and religion teaching in schools.
The book provides and draws on extensive global ethnographic data from digital fieldwork sites, as well as empirical work from Australia, which has been neglected in research to date, and provides linguistic and cultural data of relevance to scholars particularly in the US, UK and Canada where the movement largely began.
New Atheism contributes to theoretical debates regarding (post)secularism, atheism and the field of nonreligion and secularity more broadly. It is essential reading for anyone wanting to know where New Atheism came from, why, and its ongoing impacts on nonreligious thought and culture.
Contents
1. Introducing Postsecular Atheism
2. The Cultural Context of Postsecular Atheism
3. "New Atheism": General Characteristics
4. Dimensional Characteristics of the New Atheism
5. Diversity in Irreligion
6. "Coming Out" Atheist
7. Dealing with the Religious
8. Rules to Live By
9. Is it All in the Head?
10. Diverse Competitive Stances
Bibliography
Index
