The New Atheism and the Formation of the Imagined Secularist Community

Abstract

This article looks at how the new atheist phenomenon has been interpreted and appropriated by those involved in atheist and secular humanist organizations. We see a connection between new atheism as a broad social phenomenon and the publicly emerging needs and desires of secularists; they are both cause and effect of the transformation of experience with the expansion of electronic communication technologies. While even some secularists claim the new atheists are doing more harm than good, we argue that such critiques ultimately miss the function of the books. Taken collectively they provide a highly diverse population of secularists with a common and general set of issues and ideas in which to imagine a sense of community. form the "canon" of the new atheism, but media in the form of magazines, Web sites, blogs, online forums, and other books have also played an important role in driving this social phenomenon. This is especially the case with new media; they have created new forms of interaction and communication among secularists who may feel isolated in their communities. In highlighting the role of media, we look at both the content and the medium. An analysis of articles on atheism in two secularist magazines, coupled with an Internet survey of self-identified atheists on the new atheism and their use of the media, allows us to see how secularists themselves are interpreting and evaluating the new atheism. Medium theory situates these interpretations and evaluations in a broader media context; conceiving of such as ongoing effects resulting from the process of mediation that secularists themselves go through in defining and understanding themselves as secularists. Examining the relation Correspondence should be addressed to Richard Cimino,

The Non-Religious Patriarchy: Why Losing Religion HAS NOT Meant Losing White Male Dominance

“…Exploration of and research on the atheist experience has expanded to match. 1 This expansion has also included a burgeoning online social network and community that has connected atheists and secularists across the country and around the world; people who had previously been isolated by their minority view now use the Internet to create communities with people who have similar values. 2 Research has explored the atheist experience as well as the degree to which atheists are the victims of prejudice and bias.…”

“…1 This expansion has also included a burgeoning online social network and community that has connected atheists and secularists across the country and around the world; people who had previously been isolated by their minority view now use the Internet to create communities with people who have similar values. 2 Research has explored the atheist experience as well as the degree to which atheists are the victims of prejudice and bias. 3 Some research has found that atheists are the most reviled minority group in America today, less trusted than homosexuals or Muslims.…”

“…35 This is especially problematic because so much of the atheist community is experienced not in person but through online communities and atheist texts. 36 The atheist community is particularly reliant on the Internet as the home of its community. Because atheists make up a small percentage of the population at large, and an even smaller part of the population in rural areas and the South, the Internet has given them a means of connecting to those who are not geographically convenient.…”

The Diverging Beliefs and Practices of the Religiously Affiliated and Unaffiliated in the United States

“…Second, the growth of the unaffiliated has provided an opportunity to create collective organizations and movements around secular points of view. The 2000s saw the creation of a secular movement centered around "new atheist" personalities such as Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens (Cimino and Smith 2011). This movement grew from an online presence that was not possible in earlier periods but also because of the growth of a potential audience open to its ideas.…”

The Politics of New Atheism

“…Most of the prominent new atheists are from the United States or Britain, countries with strong pro-religious biases in which the discussion of atheism is severely constrained (Cimino 2007;Smith 2011). Most of the prominent new atheists are from the United States or Britain, countries with strong pro-religious biases in which the discussion of atheism is severely constrained (Cimino 2007;Smith 2011).…”