The New Atheism is a movement that emerged in the early 2000s promoting a form of atheism that is openly critical of religion. The term “New Atheism” was coined by Gary Wolf in a 2006 Wired magazine article to describe the positions promoted by Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens in their books and public appearances. These “Four Horsemen” of New Atheism argued that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.
According to the New Atheists, religion is not just wrong but dangerous. They point to religious conflicts, persecution of women and minorities, opposition to scientific progress, and indoctrination of children as evidence that faith does more harm than good. The New Atheists call for religion to lose its privileged status and for the public to see faith as a problematic ideology that should be exposed through rational discourse. This position stands in contrast to “old” atheism, which tended to argue that religion should be simply left alone and ignored.
Some of the key arguments and positions characteristic of New Atheism include:
- Religion is irrational – New Atheists argue that religious belief lacks any rational foundation. They contend there is no good evidence to support the existence of gods, miracles, divine revelation, or supernatural entities, and therefore it is unreasonable to hold religious beliefs.
- Religion breeds evil – New Atheists frequently point to atrocities committed in the name of religion throughout history as evidence that faith often motivates or justifies harmful acts. They argue that moderate religious beliefs enable and provide cover for religious extremism.
- Science refutes and surpasses religion – New Atheists argue that modern science has explained away the need for supernatural or divine explanations for natural phenomena. They see science and reason as the only legitimate sources of truth claims about the world.
- Religion indoctrinates children – New Atheists are highly critical of religious education of children, which they equate to psychological abuse and indoctrination. They argue that religion takes advantage of children’s natural gullibility.
- Religion opposes progress – New Atheists cite issues like stem cell research and teaching of evolution to argue that religion suppresses scientific progress and inhibits social reform.
- Policies should be secular – New Atheists advocate for secular governance and oppose religious influence in politics or public policy. They see separation of church and state as an important accomplishment to preserve.
Many New Atheists explain their staunch anti-religious stance as the result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and other acts of Islamic extremism in the early 2000s. These events reinforced their view that irrational religious beliefs are not harmless but enable violence and oppression. The New Atheist perspective is sometimes described as “antitheism” rather than mere atheism, reflecting their deep opposition to religious power and influence.
Critics of the New Atheists argue that they paint religion with too broad a brush, failing to recognize the diversity of religious thought and experience. They argue that rational and progressive approaches to faith are possible. Some critics have accused New Atheists of Islamophobia and argue their critiques focus disproportionately on Islam compared to other faiths. Others argue New Atheism ultimately adopts an overly simplistic scientism that fails to recognize science’s limits in addressing metaphysical questions about meaning and values.
Prominent Christian responses to the New Atheists emphasize that faith and reason are compatible. Christians argue that belief in God is rational given the evidence of design in nature, the apparent fine-tuning of the universe, the existence of objective moral values, and the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. Christians also point out that religious commitment can motivate charity, encourage moral behavior, provide meaning and purpose, and inspire social reform—countering the New Atheist view that religion is purely harmful. While acknowledging past harms sometimes perpetrated in the name of religion, Christians advocate an intellectually robust, rational, non-fundamentalist, progressive faith that they argue overcomes New Atheist objections.
Overall, the New Atheism has brought increased public attention to arguments against religion and faith. While the movement has been criticized for adopting an excessively polemical tone, it has succeeded in putting religious believers on the defensive, forcing them to confront challenges from modern science and secular ethics. The New Atheists have played a major role in making criticism of religion more mainstream and visible, shifting the public discourse about the role of faith in modern society.
The Bible does not directly address the New Atheism by name, as it emerged long after the biblical texts were written. However, the Bible contains perspectives on faith, reason, science, and ethics that are relevant to evaluating the claims of the New Atheists.
In the Old Testament, the book of Job grapples with the problem of evil and questions why the righteous suffer – issues relevant to arguments that religion breeds harm. Ecclesiastes reflects philosophically on meaning and purpose in life “under the sun” apart from God. Psalms extols the glory and wisdom of God’s creation, providing a theistic perspective on the natural world. Proverbs affirms the compatibility of wisdom and true religion.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul argues in Romans 1 that God’s existence is evident from the creation, countering New Atheist claims that faith is irrational. In Acts 17, Paul constructively engages the secular philosophies of the Athenians, modeling thoughtful Christian apologetics. Jesus’ teachings such as the Sermon on the Mount provide an ethical perspective focused on loving others that departs from simplistic condemnations of religion as only and always harmful. Additionally, the accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in the Gospels contradict the New Atheist view that faith lacks meaningful content.
While the New Atheists present some challenges to the Christian faith, the Bible provides perspectives on human meaning, ethics, the natural world, and evidence for God’s existence that offer compelling responses. Christians need not feel they must choose between blind faith and radical skepticism. A thoughtful, rational, and scientifically informed Christian faith is possible that takes the questions of the New Atheists seriously while remaining confident in the truth of the biblical gospel.
The New Atheism has brought the role of religion and faith in modern society into sharper focus. The Bible speaks to many of the issues at the heart of the debate. Ultimately, neither blind faith nor radical skepticism is justified, but rather an intellectually robust Christian faith that humbly yet confidently affirms the truth about God, human meaning, morality, and redemption revealed in the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.