new atheism

Question 1

what is an atheist

Answer 1

The word ‘atheistic’ appears in ancient greek and means ‘godless’ or ‘disrespecting the local gods’ An atheist is a person who rejects the belief of God

Question 2

early examples of athiests

Answer 2

Socrates- Ancient Greece- was accused of corrupting Athenian youth by encouraging them not to believe in the city’s Gods. He regarded Homers Gods as being corrupt, vain, and self-serving. He described them as human beings writ large, complete with vices and virtues

Question 3

What is an apologist

Answer 3

a person who defends certain religious beliefs, in this case, Christianity

Question 4

Example of a christian apologist

Answer 4

Justyn Martyr, the christian apologist in the 2nd century, pointed out that Christians such as himself ‘were even called “atheists” - which we are in relation to what you consider Gods, but are most certainly not in relation to the most true God’

Question 5

When was the term ‘atheist’ coined

Answer 5

The great European movements of the renaissance and the Reformation coined the term ‘atheist’. The term was used exclusively as an insult, according to author Karen Armstrong as nobody wanted to be regarded as one as it implied a lack of moral restraint.

Question 6

How did the Age of Enlightenment effect belief in God

Answer 6

The enlightenment was an intellectual movement throughout Europe in the 18th century which promoted individual and scientific thinking. The scientific method introduced the idea of people using reason and evidence to find the truth rather than blindly relying on God and the explanations provided through religion. The Enlightenment was a huge factor for the reduction in Christianity throughout Europe and led to one of the most well known revolutions in history

Question 7

How did the French Revolution effect belief in God

Answer 7

The French Revolution of 1789 mobilised individuals who saw the church as an institution that profited off of and propped up the monarchy and upper-class of France in the face of poverty and famine. Many people lost faith as a result of this.

Question 8

When was the lost person in Britain jailed for being an atheist

Answer 8

1842- George Holyoake was given a 6 month imprisonment for being an atheist

Question 9

How did globalisation/increased global connections effect belief in God

Answer 9

Increased global connections made people aware of different religions, as a result, many noticed contradictions between the religions. They all appeared to say different and incompatible things about nature, reality, divine activity and the fate of the human race. It was argued that religious belief was solely based on where you were born and brought up and has little to do with the truth.

Question 10

John Robinson

Answer 10

Anglican bishop in Britain who popularised the view that God is just a very powerful symbol with no real objective or empirical existence. His book ‘Honest to God (1963)’ described God as ‘the ground of our being’ instead of the traditional view that god was an objective personal force. Robinson placed God deep in the human person rather than the classic theistic view of God being outside and above the world. He claimed we need to look inside ourselves to find God

Question 11

What is agnosticism

Answer 11

A suspension of the decision to accept of reject belief in God

Question 12

What is negative (weak) atheism

Answer 12

Where the atheist does not make the positive claim that God does not exist- it is the theist who makes the assertion and therefor it is the theist who bears the burden of the proof.

Question 13

What is positive (strong) atheism

Answer 13

In this case both the atheist and theist have to give reasons to defend their belief.

Question 14

What is protest atheism

Answer 14

a revolt against god on moral grounds

Question 15

What is new atheism (antitheism)

Answer 15

the belief that religion is a threat to the survival of the human race

Question 16

What is strong agnosticism

Answer 16

The assertion that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists

Question 17

What is weak agnosticism

Answer 17

The belief that the existence of God is currently unknown, but is not necessarily unknowable

Question 18

How did the rise of New Atheism begin

Answer 18

In the aftermath of 9/11 there began a powerful attack on religion, as religion was seen as the main cause of the catastrophe. It triggered a movement that saw not just religious extremists but religion in general as dangerous and deluded.

Question 19

who are ‘The Four Horsemen’

Answer 19

Sam Harris
Richard Dawkins
Daniel Dennett
Christopher Hitchens

Question 20

What are Sam Harris’ views on religion

Answer 20

Sam Harris published his book ‘The end of faith’ in 2004.
He claims that we need to destroy religious tolerance as a concept since it only harms this world. In his view, religious faith makes people believe impossible things, and extreme believers are prone to violent behaviours. Religion is getting even more dangerous and most of the wars nowadays start because of religious differences. Harris believes religion provokes violence and that historical events teach us that religion has bloody routes (christian crusades, witch trials etc). Harris says, if God existed, horrors would not. And yet, we live in a world full o horrors, out of which many started in the name of religion.

Question 21

What are Richard Dawkins’ views on religion

Answer 21

Dawkins published his book ‘The God Delusion’ in 2006. He attempts to show the irrationality of believing in God by attacking the idea of such a being on all fronts. The God Hypothesis is the argument that theists use God to explain what science cannot- i.e. before the Galileo’s discovery of the sun being the centre of the solar system, Christians believed the earth was at the center because that is how God created it. Dawkins also believes that religion is a by product of the human mind and that it was created as a survival tool of the mind- a way to help us deal with hard questions (what will happen when we die). He also believes it is a survival tool by giving a meaning to the world and our own lives.
Dawkins points out examples pf the danger of religion including terrorists, homophobes and pro-lifers, He also calls out parents on indoctrinating children with their own beliefs and equates some forms of religion to child abuse.

Question 22

Criticism of religion- Non-Thinking

Answer 22

Dawkins argues religion involves faith, and faith by nature is opposed to evidence (you don’t need evidence to have faith). He considers all faith to be blind trust in the absence of evidence. Faith is intellectually irresponsible. “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence”
He claims that religious people know, without evidence, that the faith of their birth is the one true faith. Faith is infantile and so Dawkins brings up that Muslim and Christian children are brought up to believe unquestioningly. Belief in God is forced upon children by adults and so should be rejected. He equates belief in God to the belief in Santa clause and the tooth fairy- something we all grow out of. New Atheists believe that even mild and moderate religion create a dangerous environment in which extremism naturally flourishes. It is religion itself, not extremism, that is to blame.

Question 23

Criticisms of religion- Infantile World-View

Answer 23

New atheists claim that the view of the universe that religious people have is puny, pathetic and measly in comparison to how the universe actually is. In contrast to the impoverished view of the world that religion offers, the scientific view offers a bold and brilliant vision seeing the universe and grand, beautiful and awe-inspiring. Dawkins sees the religious universe as ‘a poky little medieval universe, and extremely limited’. new Atheists claim that deep space, billions of years of evolution, microscopic organisms, provide more beauty and wonder than ‘myths’ and ‘pseudoscience’. New atheism rejects the idea of the supernatural and believes that religious views of the world slim down and narrow from reality- an impoverished view of what the world actually has to offer.

Question 24

Criticisms of religion- Impedes Scientific Progress

Answer 24

New Atheism affirms a materialistic world-outlook. Since matter is law governed, it can only be subject to scientific investigation. hence scientific theories are only based on evidence, while religion, they claim, runs away from evidence. Atheism is rational and scientific while religion is irrational and superstitious. Just as non-thinking and blind faith lead to violence, blind faith and religious fundamentalism subvert scientific progress.
Religious people view the teachings of their holy books and testaments as axiomatic, therefore if the evidence, rather than the book, seem to contradict it, then the evidence is what needs dismissing. Religion impedes scientific progress because it teaches us to not change our minds or question what we know. Dawkins sees religion as being hell-bent on destroying scientific education of thousands of young minds.

Question 25

What are the religious responses to new atheism

Answer 25

-Rejection of the incompatibility of science and religion
-Increase in fundamental religious activity
-Increase in religious apologists in the media

Question 26

Religious response to new atheism- Rejection of incompatibility of science and religion

Answer 26

Atheists claim that science explains or has the potential to explain everything, including that which has traditionally ben explained by religion. John Polkinghorn sees no competition between science ad religion, he sees them as different levels of explanation that we can weave together to create a full understanding. This is similar to a familiar saying ‘Science explains how, religion explains why’
Jay Gould- NOMA (non-overlapping magesteria) which means that science and religion are not in conflict because they do not overlap
Alister McGrath- POMA (partially overlapping magesteria) developed from Gould’s ideas where science ad religion partially overlap in some areas

Question 27

Religious response to new atheism- Increase in fundamental religious activity

Answer 27

As people have their faith questioned and feel attacked they can retreat further into their religion to more fundamental views. The rise in new atheism has led to an increase in religious fundamentalism as a tool to defend faith from antitheism. As fewer people are identifying with faith, these fundamental religious groups become more active to oppose the changes in society. These fundamental do not necessarily mean extremist or violent but are more closely linked to group of believers that are strict in their faith and abide by the laws of religion. For example, creationists and ascetics.

Question 28

Religious response to new atheism-
Increase in religious apologists in the media

Answer 28

The use of social media has also led to a greater audience for new atheists. As the coverage of atheists has increased in the media, there has also been an increase in religious apologists. These are people who seek to defend the faith, reaffirm and represent the reasonableness of Christianity. It has allowed for a more fuller authentic view of Christianity rather than the views posed by the new atheists. One of the criticisms of Dawkins is that he only focuses on the negative arts of religion and disregards the benefits it has.

Question 29

what is NOMA

Answer 29

NOMA or non-overlapping magesteria, means that science and religion are not in conflict because they do overlap. Coined by Jay Gould

Question 30

What is POMA

Answer 30

POMA or partially overlapping magesteria, means that science and religion do overlap in some areas and can be used to gain a full understanding. Coined by Alister McGrath- developed from the ideas of Jay Gould.