McAnulla, SD (2014) Secular Fundamentalists? Characterising the new atheist approach to secularism, religion and politics. British Politics, 9 (2). pp. 124-145. ISSN 1746-918X
Abstract
The ‘new atheism’ has become an established cultural reference point in Britain. The anti-religious texts of authors such as Richard Dawkins have fuelled much media discussion concerning the public role of religion in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The new atheism has also been politically controversial, with a government minister recently criticising ‘secular fundamentalism’ for threatening religious identity and seeking to remove religion from public life. Many commentators have argued that new atheism effectively mirrors the features of religious fundamentalism, evincing an intolerant and absolutist worldview that may damage social and political relations. This article seeks to examine the extent to which new atheism possesses features that echo those of the religious fundamentalist. It is contended that while the new atheists display strong anti-religious convictions, they generally do not adopt stances of absolute certainty. New atheists promote uncompromising arguments for depriving religion of institutional and political privileges, yet maintain liberal tolerance for the practice of religion itself. It is suggested that while new atheists ought not to be considered secular fundamentalists, they do proselytise for radical secularism and atheism in a way which could be considered ‘evangelical’ in certain respects.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2013, Palgrave Macmillan. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in British Politics. The definitive publisher-authenticated version McAnulla, SD (2014) Secular Fundamentalists? Characterising the new atheist approach to secularism, religion and politics. British Politics, 9 (2). pp. 124-145, DOI:10.1057/bp.2013.27 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2013.27 |
Keywords: | New atheism; secular fundamentalism; religion; secularism |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Politics & International Studies (POLIS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Mar 2017 10:15 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2017 02:48 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2013.27 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/bp.2013.27 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:87747 |