10. The New Atheism And The Empowerment Of American Freethinkers

Cimino, Richard; Smith, Christopher

doi:10.1163/ej.9789004185579.i-253.55

Cited by 33 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The New Atheism's rhetorical emphasis on atheist identity has been instrumental in prompting a renewed interest among scholars in the social dynamics of organized atheism and atheist identity. Cimino and Smith (2010), for example, have investigated the influence of the New Atheism and new media on atheist identity and how it has contributed to increased acceptance of atheists: "'Coming out' . .…”

Section: Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Triangle Atheists: Stigma, Identity, and Community Among Atheists in North Carolina’s Triangle Region

Mann

2015

Secularism and Nonreligion

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Section: Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Triangle Atheists: Stigma, Identity, and Community Among Atheists in North Carolina’s Triangle Region

Mann

2015

Secularism and Nonreligion

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“…Second, the epistemic authorities, that is, Richard Dawkins and his Foundation for Reason and Science, to which the dogmatic atheists subscribe seem to offer guidance on how to understand human history and how to live. Finally, atheists may reinforce their certainty by membership and activity within atheist organizations that ‘empower’ individual atheists to become more visible and outspoken (Cimino & Smith, ; LeDrew, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Many faces of dogmatism: Prejudice as a way of protecting certainty against value violators among dogmatic believers and atheists

Kossowska

Czernatowicz-Kukuczka

Sekerdej

2016

British J of Psychology

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In this article, we suggest that dogmatic beliefs, manifested as strong beliefs that there is no God (i.e., dogmatic atheism) as well as strong beliefs in God (i.e., religious orthodoxy), can serve as a cognitive response to uncertainty. Moreover, we claim that people who dogmatically do not believe in religion and those who dogmatically believe in religion are equally prone to intolerance and prejudice towards groups that violate their important values. That is because prejudice towards these groups may be an efficient strategy to protect the certainty that strong beliefs provide. We tested these assumptions in two studies. In Study 1 and Study 2, we demonstrated that dogmatic beliefs mediate the relationship between intolerance to uncertainty and both, religious orthodoxy and dogmatic atheism. In addition, in Study 2 we showed that both the religiously orthodox and dogmatic atheists become prejudiced towards groups that violate their values and that these effects are especially strong under experimentally induced uncertainty. In this study, we focused on atheists and homosexuals as groups that pose a threat to Christian's religious worldviews, and Catholics and pro-life supporters as groups that pose a threat to the values of atheists. The results are discussed in relation to past research on dogmatism and religion, as well as with reference to what this means for the study of prejudice.

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“…By the time atheism resurfaced during the cultural revolution it had been 'integrated within a rationalistic moral philosophy and life stance dubbed "humanism"'. By atheists I (and the participants) mean those rejecting the g/God favoured by theism (Cliteur 2009),a conscious and explicit position defined by a complete denial or belief in gods; by secular humanism I mean the positive stance that affirms ethical values, humanistic virtues and democratic principles (Cimino and Smith 2010). By freethinker, I mean those who remain sceptical of all religious positions and opinions until they have considered the evidence and made their own minds up, on the basis of reason (Pasquale 2010: 46).…”

Section: Context and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New (Atheist) Woman: A Legacy of the 1960s Cultural Revolution?

Eccles

2017

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It is undoubtedly true that a number of British women turned their back on religion, from the beginning of the period of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and onwards. To what might we attribute these defections and the taking up of a new nonreligious identity? Was it the change in sexual mores and the rise of second wave feminism, the increase in women entering higher education opening up new worldviews to them or increasing affluence? This article examines a variety of factors through the eyes of self-identified women atheists/humanists most of whom have lived through that period. It notes that, while these factors may well be significant to different degrees for different women, the turn to atheism, specifically, results largely from women having been damaged by religion and the deep emotional impact thus left behind. The turn to atheism is not a uniform experience as the women are enmeshed in differing types of 'emotional regime' which affects how they respond.

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10. The New Atheism And The Empowerment Of American Freethinkers

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

Triangle Atheists: Stigma, Identity, and Community Among Atheists in North Carolina’s Triangle Region

Triangle Atheists: Stigma, Identity, and Community Among Atheists in North Carolina’s Triangle Region

Many faces of dogmatism: Prejudice as a way of protecting certainty against value violators among dogmatic believers and atheists

The New (Atheist) Woman: A Legacy of the 1960s Cultural Revolution?

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