New Atheism

New Atheism or Neo-Atheism, sometimes referred to as scientific atheism, is a 21st-century movement attributed to some atheist academics, writers, scientists, and philosophers opposed to superstition, religion, and irrationalism. New Atheists advocate the antitheist view that the various forms of theism should be examined, countered by rational and scientific arguments, and criticised, especially when they exert strong influence on the broader society, such as in government, education, and politics.

Major figures of New Atheism include Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris, sometimes collectively referred to as the "Four Horsemen" of the movement. Proponents of the New Atheist movement have experienced criticism from academics and other atheists.

Origins and terminology

The term New Atheism is usually traced to Gary Wolf's 2006 Wired article "The Church of the Non-Believers", in which he introduced the label in a critical context and portrayed writers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett as unusually strident and combative critics of religion. Scholars have often treated it as a label that emerged from media discussion rather than as the name of a clearly defined school of thought. James E. Taylor writes that the label arose from journalistic commentary on books by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens, while Christopher R. Cotter describes the early discussion of New Atheism as "scholarly, but largely journalistic". Thomas Zenk likewise argues that New Atheism is an umbrella term rooted in public discourse and cautions against using it uncritically as an analytical category; he also notes that the label does not necessarily correspond to the self-identification of those to whom it is applied. Steven Kettell argues that the label's popularisation was not merely descriptive, but also encouraged the view that a small group of atheist writers were both unusually militant and philosophically unoriginal.

Prominent figures

The "Four Horsemen"

Key figures associated with New Atheism include evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris, philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett, and journalist Christopher Hitchens.