Religion and the new atheism : a critical appraisal

269 Pages·2010·1.13 MB·English

by  Amarnath Amarasingam

Religion and the New Atheism
Studies in
Critical Social Sciences
VOLUME 25
Series Editor
David Fasenfest
Wayne State University
Studies in
Critical Research on Religion
VOLUME 1
Subseries Editor
Warren S. Goldstein
Center for Critical Research on Religion and Harvard University (U.S.A.)
Editorial Board
Roland Boer, University of Newcastle (Australia)
Christopher Craig Brittain, University of Aberdeen (U.K.)

Darlene Juschka, University of Regina (Canada)
Lauren Langman, Loyola University Chicago (U.S.A.)
George Lundskow, Grand Valley State University (U.S.A.)
Kenneth G. MacKendrick, University of Manitoba (Canada)
Andrew M. McKinnon, University of Aberdeen (U.K.)
Robert A. Orsi, Northwestern University (U.S.A.)
Michael R. Ott, Grand Valley State University (U.S.A.)
Sara Pike, California State University, Chico (U.S.A)
Dana Sawchuk, Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)
Religion and the New Atheism
A Critical Appraisal
Edited by
Amarnath Amarasingam

LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
On the cover: “Wanderings”, Death Valley, California (2008). Photograph by Amarnath
Amarasingam.
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Religion and the new atheism : a critical appraisal / edited by Amarnath
Amarasingam.
p. cm. -- (Studies in critical social sciences ; v. 25)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18557-9 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Atheism. 2. Religion--
Controversial literature--History and criticism. I. Amarasingam, Amarnath. II. Title.
III. Series.
BL2747.3.R47 2010
211'.8--dc22
2010015918
ISBN 978 9004 18557 9
ISSN 1573-4234
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill
NV incorporates the imprints BRILL, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus
Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
For Harshi, with love
SERIES EDITOR PREFACE
Th is is the fi rst book in the series “Studies in Critical Research on
Religion” published by Brill (hardcover) and Haymarket Books (paper-
back). We understand the term “critical” in the broadest possible sense
and therefore think that this book is appropriate for the series. Some
may associate a critical perspective with atheism and therefore be sur-
prised how a book series bearing such a name would publish this.
While certain strains of the critical approach (like the Left Hegelians and
the Orthodox Marxists) are indeed atheistic, others like the Frankfurt
School are more ambivalent. Since as Kant logically argued in his
Critique of Pure Reason, the existence of God is empirically unverifi a-
ble (one way or the other), atheism becomes just another belief system.
Th e essays in this book represent a broad range of perspectives, some
of which are closer to a critical perspective. While none of the essays
fully embraces the New Atheism, some of them do see validity in some
of its claims. We hope that the publication of this book will not only
lead to a better understanding of the New Atheism but also help to
establish the relationship of a critical perspective to it.
Warren S. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Center for Critical Research on Religion
West Newton, Massachusetts USA
www.criticaltheoryofreligion.org
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................ix
Foreword .....................................................................................................xi
Richard Harries
Preface .......................................................................................................xiii
Reza Aslan
1. Introduction: What is the New Atheism? ..........................................1
Amarnath Amarasingam
I. Religion and the New Atheism
2. Judaism and Atheism: Th e Challenge of Secular Humanism .......11
Robert L. Platzner
3. Beating ‘God’ to Death: Radical Th eology
and the New Atheism .........................................................................25
Jeffrey W. Robbins and Christopher D. Rodkey
4. Religion as Phantasmagoria: Islam in Th e End of Faith .................37
Rory Dickson
II. Science and the New Atheism
5. What Has Atheism Ever Done for Science? .....................................57
Steve Fuller

6. Cognitive Science and the New Atheism .........................................79
William Sims Bainbridge
III. Sociology and the New Atheism
7. One-Dimensional Rage: Th e Social Epistemology of the
New Atheism and Fundamentalism .................................................97
William A. Stahl
8. Th e New Atheism and Sociology: Why Here? Why Now?
What Next? ........................................................................................109
Stephen Bullivant
viii contents
9. Th e New Atheism and the Secularization Th esis ........................125
Michael Ian Borer
10. Th e New Atheism and the Empowerment of American
Freethinkers .....................................................................................139
Richard Cimino and Christopher Smith
IV. Philosophy, Ethics and the New Atheism
11. Ethics, Out-Group Altruism, and the New Atheism ..................159
Gregory R. Peterson
12. Disparate Destinations, Parallel Paths: An Analysis of
Contemporary Atheist and Christian Parenting Literature ......179
Jeff Nall
13. Is God a Hypothesis? Th e New Atheism, Contemporary
Philosophy of Religion, and Philosophical Confusion ..............203
Ryan C. Falcioni
Aft erword ................................................................................................225
Mark Vernon
About the Authors ..................................................................................233
References ................................................................................................237
Index ........................................................................................................251
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to all of those people who made this book possible. First,
I would like to thank Warren S. Goldstein, Executive Director of the
Center for Critical Research on Religion, and the Studies in Critical
Research on Religion Series editor, for his ceaseless support and enthu-
siasm for the project. I would also like to thank the editors at Brill for
their kindness and endurance in patiently answering the dozens of
emails and questions I threw their way from the very beginning.
I would also like to thank all of the contributors to this book for releas-
ing their hard wrought chapters into the hands of someone who is just
beginning their academic career. You made an enjoyable experience
from what could have been a stressful foray into publishing. I am also
grateful to Ron Rooth for meticulously copy editing the manuscript.
I would like to thank the students and faculty in Wilfrid Laurier’s
Religion and Culture department as well as the faculty in the Religious
Studies department at the University of Waterloo for their ongoing
support. Special appreciation must go to Rory Dickson, Adam Stewart,
and Asma Bala.
I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Lorne L. Dawson, and long-time
friend and mentor, Robert A. Campbell, who provided helpful advice
gleaned from years of experience.
I would like to thank my parents, who, while oft en wondering what
exactly an academic does, always encouraged my pursuits. Your love is

boundless, and I am forever in your debt. I am also grateful to my
father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Iyah for their love and endless
support.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Harshi, who is not only patient
and loving, but, as it turns out, also a shrewd editor. Th is book is dedi-
cated to you.