Atheism is old. It was one of the charges brought against the philosopher Socrates in ancient Athens. Atheism is the denial of the existence of God or, at least, the popular gods of one’s culture.
The denial of the existence of the God of Christianity is nothing new — Bertrand Russell’s collected essays and lectures, published as Why I am not a Christian, were written or delivered between 1927 and 1954. Earlier brash arguments against the God of the Bible were offered by Voltaire and Nietzsche.
What’s new?
So what is new about contemporary atheism? The term ‘New Atheism’ was coined by Wired magazine in 2006 as a way of identifying a new, militant, popular brand of atheism. Groups like the National Secular Society seem tired and old-fashioned. So, like Labour in the 1990s, atheism has had a rebranding since the turn of the millennium: New Atheism holds to the traditional atheist family values, but the packaging is much fresher, youthful and vibrant. There is no new content being offered. What is new about this atheism is its popular, aggressive militancy. After the atheist poster bus campaign can we now look forward to a new atheist version of the Alpha course?
