New Atheism

The current surge of secular books has re-ignited the age-old ideology that there is no God or Supreme Being. The popular thought that there is no God has gained momentum, giving rise to what is now branded “New Atheism”.

The question is; what is new about New Atheism?

The word Atheist originates from the word Theist. Theist refers to someone who believes in god or gods. As we’re all aware putting the letter a in front of theist is Latin for “no” (Latin: a- "no" + theist) or no belief in god or gods.

It seems that one thing that is “new” about New Atheism is in how they have redefined the term claiming that Atheism is not a belief. It is quite confusing to comprehend how an ideology of not believing, or to not believe in something, is not itself a belief .

I would like to get some thoughts on this topic from different perspectives in hopes that we can better understand the perspective of New Atheism. There are a number of questions that come to mind on this topic but I believe that beginning with some definitions will help keep the discussion focused and alleviate confusion as the discussion progresses.