000			03549cam a2200409 i 4500
001			ocn907206393
003			OCoLC
005			20180722222444.0
008			150313s2016 nyu b 001 0 eng
010			_a 2015010010
040			_aDLC _beng _erda _cDLC _dYDX _dBTCTA _dBDX _dOCLCF _dYDXCP _dGHS _dCDX _dDTM _dYUS _dCUD _dZPP _dABG _dSHH _dVP@ _dNDS _dNFG
015			_aGBB5F6661 _2bnb
019			_a922720567 _a923637450 _a930689460
020			_a9780190225179
020			_a0190225173
024	8		_a40025331173
035			_a(OCoLC)907206393 _z(OCoLC)922720567 _z(OCoLC)923637450 _z(OCoLC)930689460
042			_apcc
092			_a211.8 _bL475
049			_aNFGA
100	1		_aLeDrew, Stephen, _eauthor. _9301293
245	1	4	_aThe evolution of atheism : _bthe politics of a modern movement / _cStephen LeDrew.
264		1	_aNew York : _bOxford University Press, _c[2016]
264		4	_c©2016
300			_ax, 262 pages ; _c24 cm
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 221-256) and index.
505	0		_aThe evolution of atheism -- The New Atheism -- A light in a dark jungle -- The secular movement -- The moral minority -- Purists, freethinkers, and bridge builders: Tensions at the grassroots -- The atheist right -- Conclusion: A radiating bush.
520			_aThe concept of evolution is widely considered to be a foundational building block in atheist thought. Leaders of the New Atheist movement have taken Darwin's work and used it to diminish the authority of religious institutions and belief systems. But they have also embraced it as a metaphor for the gradual replacement of religious faith with secular reason. They have posed as harbingers of human progress, claiming the moral high ground, and rejecting with intolerance any message that challenges the hegemony of science and reason. Religion, according to the New Atheists, should be relegated to the Dark Ages of superstition and senseless violence. Yet Darwin did not see evolution as a linear progression to an improved state of being. The more antagonistic members of the New Atheist movement who embrace this idea are not only employing bad history, but also the kind of rigid, black-and-white thinking they excoriate in their religious opponents. Indeed, Stephen LeDrew argues, militant atheists have more in common with religious fundamentalists than they would care to admit, advancing what LeDrew calls secular fundamentalism. In reaction to fundamentalist Christianity and Islamism, this strain of atheism has become an offshoot of the religion it tries so hard to malign. The Evolution of Atheism outlines the political tension at the heart of the atheist movement. The New Atheism, LeDrew shows, is part of a tradition of atheist thought and activism that promotes individualism and scientific authority, which puts it at odds with atheist groups that are motivated by humanistic ethics and social justice. LeDrew draws on public relations campaigns, publications, podcasts, and in-depth interviews to explore the belief systems, internal logics, and self-contradiction of the people who consider themselves to be atheists. He argues that evolving understandings of what atheism means, and how it should be put into action, are threatening to irrevocably fragment the movement.
650		0	_aAtheism. _994670
650		0	_aAtheism _xPolitical aspects. _9301294
650		0	_aIrreligion. _994671
994			_aC0 _bNFG
942	0	0	_04
999			_c227925 _d227925