Definition:
New atheist can be defined in both positive and negative ways. The positive definition of new atheist is one who is part of a modern, 21st century movement in atheism which is openly critical of theists and religion and who is less willing to be accommodating to religious beliefs, traditions, or institutions. The negative definition of new atheist is one who is a militant, fundamentalist atheist dedicated to the eradication of religion.
Either way, the concept of new atheist tends to overlap more established labels like strong atheist, explicit atheist, critical atheist, positive atheist, and antitheist
The term "New Atheist" appears to have been coined by Gary Wolf for an article in Wired magazine.
Also Known As: strong atheist, explicit atheist, critical atheist, positive atheist, antitheist
Common Misspellings: new athiest
Examples:
Where do you stand on God? It's a question you may prefer not to be asked. But I'm afraid I have no choice. ...This is the challenge posed by the New Atheists. We are called upon, we lax agnostics, we noncommittal nonbelievers, we vague deists who would be embarrassed to defend antique absurdities like the Virgin Birth or the notion that Mary rose into heaven without dying, or any other blatant myth; we are called out, we fence-sitters, and told to help exorcise this debilitating curse: the curse of faith.
- Gary Wolf, "The Church of the Non-Believers," in Wired, November, 2006.
"What the New Atheists share is a belief that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises."
- Simon Hooper, "The rise of the New Atheists," CNN
Of course, there are those who clearly see the religious aspect of so much of the violence and hatred in the world, and thus are moved to take a stand against religion, per se. This is an attitude that animates the works of the "new atheists," who assert a moral urgency in the critique of religion. ...The impressive popular success of the "new atheists" is a telling sign that there is receptivity to a critical evaluation of religious claims.
- John Teehan, In the Name of God The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Ethics and Violence
