عنوان

The evolution of atheism :

(Number (ISBN

0190225173

(Number (ISBN

9780190225179

Title Proper

The evolution of atheism :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

the politics of a modern movement /

First Statement of Responsibility

Stephen LeDrew.

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

New York :

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Oxford University Press,

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

[2016]

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

x, 262 pages ;

Dimensions

24 cm

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-256) and index.

Text of Note

Atheism as ideology -- The evolution of atheism -- The new atheism -- A light in a dark jungle -- Atheism as a social movement -- The secular movement -- The moral minority -- Purists, freethinkers, and bridge builders : tensions at the grassroots -- The atheist right -- A radiating bush.

0

Text of Note

The concept of evolution is widely considered to be a foundational building block in atheist thought. Leaders of the New Atheist movement have taken Darwin's work and used it to diminish the authority of religious institutions and belief systems. But they have also embraced it as a metaphor for the gradual replacement of religious faith with secular reason. They have posed as harbingers of human progress, claiming the moral high ground, and rejecting with intolerance any message that challenges the hegemony of science and reason. Religion, according to the New Atheists, should be relegated to the Dark Ages of superstition and senseless violence. Yet Darwin did not see evolution as a linear progression to an improved state of being. The more antagonistic members of the New Atheist movement who embrace this idea are not only employing bad history, but also the kind of rigid, black-and-white thinking they excoriate in their religious opponents. Indeed, Stephen LeDrew argues, militant atheists have more in common with religious fundamentalists than they would care to admit, advancing what LeDrew calls secular fundamentalism. In reaction to fundamentalist Christianity and Islamism, this strain of atheism has become an offshoot of the religion it tries so hard to malign. The Evolution of Atheism outlines the political tension at the heart of the atheist movement. The New Atheism, LeDrew shows, is part of a tradition of atheist thought and activism that promotes individualism and scientific authority, which puts it at odds with atheist groups that are motivated by humanistic ethics and social justice. LeDrew draws on public relations campaigns, publications, podcasts, and in-depth interviews to explore the belief systems, internal logics, and self-contradiction of the people who consider themselves to be atheists. He argues that evolving understandings of what atheism means, and how it should be put into action, are threatening to irrevocably fragment the movement.

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

Oxford Univ Pr, 2001 Evans rd, Cary, NC, USA, 27513

Atheism.

11.08 non-religiousness.

Atheism.

Atheismus

Number

211.5"18/20"

Number

215"18/19"

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

Class number

System Code

LeDrew, Stephen

Date of Transaction

20200822090429.0

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

rda

Electronic name

[Book]

Y