Reading Time: 2 minutes In ages past, an ‘atheist’ was the one unsure of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman pantheons. He doubted the fairies and the forest elves too. No matter the time period, the atheist’s theological suspicions were aroused. And time after time, time proved the atheist right. Suppose an ancient Egyptian doubted the existence of his […]
The New Atheism
Posted inResearch
How deep does ‘anti-woke’ opinion go among atheists?
Reading Time: 12 minutes Several globally-prominent atheists have established themselves as opponents of what they call “wokeness.” But an attempt to compare them to atheists generally, and even the prominent atheists’ most ardent fans, shows that the sentiment is not widespread.
Posted inLeaving Religion
‘A new kind of atheism’ already exists in America (if you look closely)
Reading Time: 6 minutes In an essay for MSNBC’s website, columnist Zeeshan Aleem calls for a “new style of atheism” that could address both the growing threat of Christian nationalism and the decline in community that’s been hastened by people leaving organized religion. The first point, about Christian nationalism, has been repeatedly discussed on this site. It’s a very real, […]
Posted inThe Secular
Why I lost faith in New Atheism
Reading Time: 5 minutes After 9/11, New Atheism seemed urgent and vital. Now it’s spent and faded. How a promising secular movement lost its way.
Posted inGeneral
The New Atheism Is Dead, Long Live Atheism
Reading Time: 5 minutes I don’t think the New Atheist critique of religion was wrong or unnecessary or mean-spirited, but I deplore the baggage that came along for the ride.
Posted inGeneral
Repost: Another Day, Another Dragon
Reading Time: 4 minutes [This post originally appeared in February 2012. My opinion of Richard Dawkins has changed somewhat since I wrote it, although what I said about his book is still true.] Some days, I hate writing about atheism. I want to tell you why. Two weeks ago, I was watching a PBS show called Inside Nature’s Giants, […]
Posted inGeneral
Has the Atheist Movement Lost Its Way?
Reading Time: 3 minutes The crude and bigoted behavior of high-profile atheists is real, but it’s not the whole story.
Posted inGeneral
Some Thoughts on Anti-Theism
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s not good to believe in falsehoods, no matter how benign or comforting they are.
Posted inGeneral
Repost: The Perils of Scriptural Morality
Reading Time: 3 minutes [I’m taking a break from the blog to bond with and care for my new son. Please enjoy this classic post! I’ll check in periodically to answer comments.] I was cheered by a story I saw last week about about heroic activist groups working to end the barbaric custom of female “circumcision”, aka female genital […]
Posted inGeneral
Repost: Why Atheism Is a Force for Good
Reading Time: 3 minutes [I’m taking a break from the blog to bond with and care for my new son. Please enjoy this classic post! I’ll check in periodically to answer comments.] If you’ve followed my writing these past few years, you know that I’ve often taken up arms against prominent atheists who’ve made clueless, sexist comments or worse. […]