Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal (Studies in Critical Social Sciences) [Paperback]

Amarnath Amarasingam (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2012 | ISBN-10: 160846203X | ISBN-13: 978-1608462032

The term "new atheism" has been given to the recent barrage of bestselling books by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and others. Their books have had a significant media presence and have only grown in popularity over the years. This volume will serve to contextualize and critically examine the claims, arguments and goals of this new atheism.

"This collection will prove to be most valuable to readers who wish to understand the implications and phenomenal success of the new atheism from a multidisciplinary perspective. The editor is to be congratulted for assembling such an impressive list of contributions" - John F. Haught, Georgetown University

"The new atheism, a species of secular fundamentalism, has excited a great deal of comment and controversy in recent years. Religion and the New Atheism raises the discourse to a new level" - Randall Balmer, Episcopal Priest and author of The Making of Evangelicalism

"Amarasingam's collection of original essays dealing with various aspects of the recent work of new atheists is a most engaging read. The chapters included offer a wide array of perspectives, touching on numerous aspects and angles of New Atheism and its relationship to contemporary religion. While I most definitely did not agree with all of the contributions in the volume, and while I am generally more supportive of the new atheists than I am of their detractors, I found this volume over-all to be a compelling, engrossing, and provocative contribution" - Phil Zuckerman, Associate Professor of Sociology, Pitzer College, author of Society Without God

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This collection will prove to be most valuable to readers who wish to understand the implications and phenomenal success of the new atheism from a multidisciplinary perspective. The editor is to be congratulted for assembling such an impressive list of contributions" - John F. Haught, Georgetown University

"The new atheism, a species of secular fundamentalism, has excited a great deal of comment and controversy in recent years. Religion and the New Atheism raises the discourse to a new level" - Randall Balmer, Episcopal Priest and author of The Making of Evangelicalism

About the Author

Amarnath Amarasingam is a doctoral candidate in the Laurier-Waterloo PhD in Religious Studies in Ontario, Canada. He has published articles in The Journal of Contemporary Religion, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, as well as Mental Health, Religion and Culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Haymarket Books (September 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160846203X
• ISBN-13: 978-1608462032
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amarnath Amarasingam is a doctoral candidate and Lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. His research interests are in social movements, diaspora studies, ethno-nationalism, radicalization, media studies, and the sociology of religion. He has published articles in Studies in Religion, the Journal of Contemporary Religion, Canadian Ethnic Studies, and Muslim Minority Affairs, among other academic publications. He has presented papers at numerous national and international conferences, and has contributed to The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, The Toronto Star, The Province (Vancouver), and The Washington Post's On Faith blog. He is currently writing his dissertation entitled, Pain, Pride, and Politics: Social Movement Activism and the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in Canada. He can be reached at [e-mail]

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Research on the "New Atheism" February 26, 2011

By Thomas Goldmann

Format:Hardcover

The (so-called) "New Atheism" is a phenomenon of our most recent history. Authors like Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion", 2006), Sam Harris ("The End of Faith", 2004), Daniel Dennett ("Breaking the Spell", 2006), and Christopher Hitchens ("God Is Not Great", 2007) - as well as others - are regularly labelled as the "New Atheists". The authors are criticizing the world's religions: for being wrong in their basic assumptions as well as for being a threat to an open society or even to the survival of mankind. The books mentioned have been international bestsellers, and have provoked more than 100 books, mostly by Christian apologetic authors, aiming at refuting the claims of the (so-called) "New Atheists".

However, hardly any academic research (as opposed to a refutation) has been conducted. The book "Religion and the New Atheism", edited by the Amarnath Amarasingam (Dept. of Religious Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University), is a rare exception: Its 13 articles by scholars from different disciplines illuminate the manyfold aspects of the "New Atheism" and, therefore, fill this research gap.

A very commendable book!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars In The Beginning... A Much Needed Exploration Into The New Atheists' Crusade January 13, 2012

By H.M. Kaiser

Format:Hardcover

There is much to be learned when examining a movement whose aim is to wipe out religion. Thankfully, Amarnath Amarasingam's edited work, Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal aids in understanding this growing and influential anti-religious movement, promoting greater focus towards an area of much needed study.

Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett and Christopher Hitchens have been referred to as the four horsemen of the apocalypse--fundamental secularists and anti-religionists. Since 2004, their works have sparked fierce public debate, collectively selling millions of copies condemning the destructive and immoral nature that, they believe, religion and people of faith are granted. As a result, academic literature examining the New Atheists has been increasing in an attempt to better understand the unforeseen rise in popularity and influence these four individuals have attained. This is where Amarnath Amarasingam's edited work shines; a multidisciplinary study illustrating the importance and continued influence of the New Atheism in and outside the academic study of religion.

Thirteen articles, divided into four sections, focus on theological, scientific, sociological, philosophical and ethical perspectives. Positioning this recent surge of anti-religious literature within the "context of larger scholarly discourses and debates" (2), Amarasingam states clearly that Religion and the New Atheism is neither "a defense of theology," nor a "traditional response to the new atheism," nor an "interplay between religion and science" (3). It is, however, a book that situates the existing conversation between religion and New Atheism within a broader arena of discourse, adding more diversely selected participants, demonstrating the necessity and relevance of analyzing the New Atheism from a multidisciplinary approach.

By examining the New Atheism from this perspective, Religion and the New Atheism does what it hoped to achieve--it raises more important questions and ignites more needed study and debate. An evaluation of this movement's rising influence pushes the authors to examine it critically, drawing from their own respective fields of study, adding new insights and challenging arguments. This process allows for a range of observations, additional questions and possible explanations on what the New Atheism is and its role in academic and non-academic circles.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A timely, stimulating collection addressing a contemporary phenomenon from a variety of disciplinary perspectives December 10, 2011

By Christopher R. Cotter

Format:Hardcover

For better or for worse, the topic of religion is steadily making its way with ever greater frequency into headlines and popular conversation. This recent, global conversation provides an unprecedented platform for the critics of religion to express their opinions, and has led to the identification of a uniquely twenty-first century form of atheism. Increasingly popular, outspoken and condemnatory, the `New Atheism' has received comparatively little balanced, scholarly attention. Amarnath Amarasingam's timely volume thus aims to redress this imbalance, through engaging with New Atheist literature, and contextualising and critically examining this phenomenon `in order that the scholarly community and educated general reader can become more informed' (`Introduction', p.2).

With this modest aim, the volume proceeds on an informative and stimulating tour through four well-defined sections, considering New Atheism in relation to `Religion', `Science', `Sociology` and `Philosophy [and] Ethics'. Throughout the book, the debate between theists and non-theists is shown to be `improperly' located at the extremities of both groups, the appropriateness of science as a means to assess religious belief is called into question, and the 'New Atheists' are shown to be by no means emblematic of contemporary atheism as a whole. Whilst it is refreshing to a collection of essays from such varied perspectives presented within one easily readable volume, it is unfortunate that many authors engage in criticism and evaluation, rather than description and discussion. On the other hand, it is one of this collections great strengths that it presents articles which seriously discuss the `rewards' offered by New Atheism and demonstrate that it has many positive things to say.

This collection contains a wealth of useful and relevant information, presented from a wide variety of perspectives, and consistently well-written. If individuals from all perspectives on the New Atheism read this volume, perhaps we would no longer be left with Nietzsche's prophesied situation, where `one neighbour never underst[ands] another: his soul [i]s always amazed at his neighbour's madness and wickedness'.