The Decline Of New Atheism

Since the rise of the four horsemen, New Atheism has become a trend that has spread all throughout the world, however, recently, a new form of atheism has risen above the original horsemen's one. It has a fresh, shiny, and new appeal that seems to attract people to its ideas and beliefs. This newer New Atheism has become what some refer to as New Atheism 2.0. The decline of the old New Atheism is addressed in Alister McGrath's article, "The future is not looking so 'Bright' for Atheism." In his article McGrath evaluates "Brights", a name coined by two Californian educationists, Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell, that was used to designate people with naturalistic worldviews. "Geisert and Futrell launched their rebranding campaign at

This atheism is mostly characterized by its belief that we can all work together to continue to improve our world. This New Atheism 2.0 that is promoted by the Human Project and Botton does not intentionally lash out against religion, but instead encourages people to enjoy its traditions without believing in a god. In his presentation, Botton presents this in a positive, inviting way, "Until now, these people have faced a rather unpleasant choice. It's almost as though either you accept the doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in come kind of spiritual wasteland...if you don't believe in a religion, there's nothing wrong with picking and mixing, with taking out the bests side of religion." In New Atheism 2.0's eyes, there is nothing wrong with enjoying and pleasuring oneself with many different things he or she encounters in his or her life. There is almost no accountability factor. Another major idea that New Atheism 2.0 promotes is unity. In their promotional videos, the Human Project shares their concept of people working together to create a better, more perfect world, and this goal can be achieved if everyone contributes throughout each generation. "We are all contributors to the ongoing Human Project. What we do with our lives determines where it goes next....See

It promotes a positive message that not only provides encouragement, but also promotes naturalistic ideas such as evolution. "13.7 billion years ago we were crammed into a single point...3 billion years ago we were bacteria. We were alive...50 million years ago we were great apes. We had arms, legs, and bigger brains...5 million years ago we were humans. We had a voice box." Another attractive piece of New Atheism 2.0 is its recency. People like to keep up with what is new and fresh, and New Atheism 2.0 is the new, fresh atheism. Along with being the newest type of atheism, New Atheism 2.0 gives people a purpose, meaning, and goal for their lives because it provides reasons for human