KMT 2015 nr 2 Download PDF

Marta Arbatowska

What is New in the New Atheism?

Cite: Marta Arbatowska, Co nowego w nowym ateizmie?, "Kultura - Media - Teologia", 2015( 21) nr 2, s. 102-116.

DOI: 10.21697/kmt.21.6

New atheism is a contemporary world view which became especially popular after terrorist attack on World's Trade Center which took place on the 11 September 2001. The contestation of the intellectual elites – including Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett – is definitely radical as it concerns every manifestation of religion. New Atheists present their thesis in mass media so they (thesis) are attractive and comprehensible for the audience. The main aim of the article is to answer the question whether the New Atheism is really new and unique in comparison to the forms of disbelief which appeared in the past. The analysis of the works written by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse leads to two important statements: New Atheism, as for its essential content, is not as exceptional as it seems to be. On the other hand, its popularity and wide range suggest that it must contain some new, distinctive features.

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Mgr Marta Arbatowska

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