Examine the development and principal ideas of new atheism as a non-religious worldview, and evaluate its challenge to religious belief

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to examine new atheism as a non-religious worldview: its development, its principal ideas, and how it challenges religious belief. This is a Studies of Religion II topic (not in Studies of Religion I). Treat both new atheism and the religious traditions it challenges fairly and respectfully; the aim is understanding and balanced evaluation, not advocacy for either side.

The answer

What new atheism is

New atheism is a movement of the early 21st century that argues actively and publicly against religion. It differs from older, quieter forms of atheism by its assertiveness: it does not merely reject belief in God but argues that religion is mistaken and, in the view of its proponents, harmful. It became prominent through a series of widely read books and public debates.

Its development

New atheism emerged in the years following the turn of the millennium, in a context of heightened public attention to religion and conflict. A cluster of influential authors, sometimes grouped together, gave the movement its public profile through bestselling books, lectures and media debates, reaching a wide audience and shaping public conversation about religion and unbelief.

Principal ideas of new atheism

• Science as the path to truth. New atheism holds that the scientific method, and reason more broadly, is the reliable way to understand reality, and that claims about God lack evidential support.
• Religion as a false explanation. It argues that religion offers explanations of the world (origins, morality, purpose) that science and reason explain better without reference to the supernatural.
• A critique of the effects of religion. New atheists argue that religion has harmful social effects and that morality and meaning do not require belief in God.
• Confidence and advocacy. Unlike earlier atheism, it actively promotes unbelief and criticises the privileging of religion in public life.

Its challenge to religious belief

New atheism challenges religion on three fronts: it disputes the evidence for God, arguing belief is unsupported; it contests religion's account of morality, holding that ethics can be grounded in human reason and wellbeing; and it questions religion's social value, pointing to conflict and harm. These challenges have pressed believers to articulate the rational and evidential basis of faith and the grounding of morality.

Evaluating the challenge

A balanced evaluation recognises the force and the limits of new atheism. Its insistence on evidence and reason is a genuine challenge that has sharpened religious self-understanding. At the same time, religious thinkers respond that questions of ultimate meaning, purpose and value may lie beyond the scope of empirical science, that many believers integrate faith and reason, and that religious traditions have also been powerful sources of compassion, justice and community. Examining new atheism fairly means presenting both its arguments and the considered religious responses.