The evolution of atheism : the politics of a modern movement /
Stephen LeDrew.
- New York : Oxford University Press, (c)2016.
- 1 online resource (x, 262 pages)
Includes bibliographies and index.
The evolution of atheism -- The New Atheism -- A light in a dark jungle -- The secular movement -- The moral minority -- Purists, freethinkers, and bridge builders: Tensions at the grassroots -- The atheist right -- Conclusion: A radiating bush.
This is a study of contemporary organised atheism as a fundamentally political phenomenon that is internally divided on ideological grounds, positioning atheism as one ideology and identity marker within the broad network of organisations collectively constituting the secular movement. This movement, which has existed since the nineteenth century, came to life in the early twenty-first century with the emergence of the New Atheism, an aggressive assault on religion led by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.