Origin of the term "New Atheists?"

I'm cross-posting myself from R/T, where one of the Resident Philosophers huffed that Dawkins, Hitchens, et. al. "call themselves the New Atheists."

I responded because I haven't seen any of the Usual Suspects refer to themselves by that term. Only the media, whiny believers and various Internet windbags seem to use it.

Has anyone found "New Atheists" used before the Gary Wolf article in WIRED? I'm just curious.

Anyway, if you need it in the future...here, benefit from my in-depth research of at least 5 minutes...

The following people have been credited/blamed with inventing the term "New Atheists:"

1. Gary Wolf, WIRED magazine, "The Church of the Non-Believers," November 2006 - http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/atheism.html?p...

That's the first mention of the specific term I could find. But there may be others, I didn't spend a lot of time looking.

As noted in this article on Atheism-about: Wolf seems to have only meant it to describe the increasing self-assertiveness of some atheists today and the unapologetic nature of their atheism — and to that extent, the term might be considered justified.

Many critics of atheism, though, invest the label with everything they don't like about atheists. The goal, then, appears to be to shut down the self-assertiveness and unapologetic atheism in favor of a quiet, meek, and submissive atheism...

Yep, exactly. Or to use another term for it, "Victorian Atheism." In the cited article, Phil Nichols whines up a storm about those tacky New Atheists:

http://atheism.about.com/b/2007/03/20/phil-nichols-usin...

2. The NATION used the term in its cover story of June 25, 2007, "The New Atheists."

3. Andrew Brown in the Guardian. But Brown was apparently a late-comer. This article is from December 29, 2008, and drew comments from Richard Dawkins personally:

"The New Atheism, a definition and a quiz" - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/200...

A couple of Brown's commenters hit the nail right on the head:

imogenblack: Who has coined this phrase 'new atheism'? As far as I can tell it is a phrase mainly used by non-atheists and the media - do any atheists actually call themselves 'new atheists'?

Brown's response: As far as I know, the phrase originated with American publicists a few years back.

Even creationist Ken Ham was using the phrase as far back as January 2007.

I've even heard outspoken atheists I respect use it, referring to Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, etc.

All I think it means to people is the definition for your number 1: Atheists that talk about atheism. Though I don't like the term "Victorian Atheism." I mean, look at Ingersoll, and the other freethinkers from the mid 1800's. Holding massive public rallies, talking about how stupid Bible stories were.

Radical right-wing Christianity has held sway in America for decades. It should surprise no one that freethinkers are tired of being derided as "making a fuss" or "insulting faith." In the 80's and 90's, people rebelled against religion by joining new age groups. Now, they're rejecting all faith and irrationality. I think Christianity is moronic. I think it's based almost entirely on other faiths, from the Babylonians to the Romans, and is a schizophrenic hodge-podge of conflicting ideas and traditions. Why should I be quiet about that? Why shouldn't I say that? Because it makes Christians cry? Fuck off. If that makes me a "new atheist" then so be it. As far as I can see, I'm just an atheist who speaks.

In my opinion, the term is just a way to divide us. Just as the whole ridiculous "agnosticism vs atheism" bullshit divides us. We are non-believers, and we should unite as such.

And for that reason I avoid it.

the phrase was being used in 1717:


- Astronomical Principles of Religion Natural and Reveal'd . . . by William Wiston, MA, sometimes professor of Mathematicks in the University of Cambridge
http://books.google.com/books?id=dtk0AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22New%20Atheists%22&pg=PP7#v=onepage&q=%22New%20Atheists%22&f=false

More seriously - the mentions I found jumped from the 1717 reference to a few in the 1960s, which like the 18th century usage are not quite the same as the modern usage, and then straight to the 2006 references.

(1986)



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=263&topic_id=39003

While we're New (again) their objections are decidedly OLD: we're bitter, combative, obsessed with religion, have an agenda that threatens religious freedom, yadda, yadda.

:hi:

Lots of information in your posts that I never knew.

I agree about not using that term. The only word that (maybe) sets my teeth on edge more than "New Atheists" is "brights."

Ditto the term "Evangelical Atheists," "Proselytizing Atheists" and "Fundamentalist Atheist."

I do use the last term, but only to apply to myself and only in jest. To certain R/T posters, it's like waving a Red Banner With Stalin's Picture red flag at a bullshitter.

...make up shit of your own. I'll propose New Accomodationists.

As in, "I miss the Old Accomodationists. Gould, Sagan, and Asimov knew how to counsel tolerance without being self-important quisling concern trolls."

No one's coolness ever improved from mommy explaining to them that other kids were just "jealous"....and that is my instant reaction to the term--"brights". I'll even take the term "New Atheist" over it on general principles, in a kind of "taking their crap and turning it back" fashion. I'm fundamentally an atheist, I think the only new bit is that some of us evangelize, now--I like "evangelical" over "fundamentalist" for my descriptor.

who are sick of being pushed around in the name of making the religious more comfortable with the superiority of their fairy stories and the usual atheists who hide behind "I'm just not religious," to avoid all the incredible flak that invariably is issued by the defensively godly, and god, are they all defensive!

Belief in nonsense requires perfect consensus. Once any doubt is interjected, no matter how mild a doubt, the whole body of believers feel the foundations of their lives threatened and react badly.

Thus they must label atheists who are no longer to sit down, shut up, and hide as "new atheists," which is rather the same as "uppity blacks."

I call bullshit whenever I hear it.

or even discussed.

You wouldn't understand.
You could only understand if you grew up there.
What is your problem.
You're a dick.



In case this is necessary:

:sarcasm:

that came up with the term "new Democrat" (read republican)