Review by Choice Review
The success of this book rests on the author's willingness to venture beyond his stated premise, which is to offer an interpretation of modern atheistic movements framed by the lens of evolution. LeDrew (Centre for the Study of Religion and Society, Uppsala Univ., Sweden) analyzes both the ideological overtones of different clusters of atheist movements and the social structures that generate them. Though his primary target is the highly publicized "new atheism," which convincingly roots in a conservative scientism, the author also provides an excellent analysis of tensions and differences within the atheist movement. LeDrew's most impressive feat may be providing the theoretical tools that will help readers understand the importance of factions within atheism, as parsed in terms of social and political methods and goals. For those seeking to understand the shape of atheism and how it has changed, this book provides a more analytical look at the subject than does John Haught's God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens (2008), which provides a confessional challenge to the movement's arguments. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. --Daniel R. Boscaljon, independent scholar
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this complicated study and critique of atheism, LeDrew primarily focuses on the four heavyweights of "New Atheism": Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. While atheism is nominally opposed to theism-and commonly seen as antagonist toward religious fundamentalism-LeDrew argues that, beyond the metaphysical dimension, New Atheism has become a social and political movement utilized as a "defense of the position of the white middle-class western male." Drawing parallels with the mechanisms of religion, LeDrew makes the case that a secular fundamentalism controls the New Atheism movement. Discussing the Islamophobic atmosphere in the post-9/11 era, for instance, LeDrew explains how ideological scientism underscores such animosity and is, in fact, a means for maintaining Western hegemony in the face of competing belief systems. LeDrew also proposes that the atheism movement is in the process of splintering following "a break in the historical connection between scientific atheism and classical liberalism." He sees atheism diverging along political lines, with an "atheist Right" forming in opposition to traditional movements toward social justice and multiculturalism with atheism. Although some readers will find his conclusions moribund, LeDrew has created a detailed and even-handed examination of the social and political environment surrounding New Atheism. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Review by Library Journal Review
Discussions of atheism's history and reception has moved from the controversial statements of influential atheists in public settings to sober academic studies. This latest entry, a revised version of Ledrew's doctoral dissertation, is an intelligent and sensitive treatise of contemporary atheism as the fruit of a long tradition of thought, and in its latest manifestation, more similar to the rigidity and dogmatism of its avowed enemy, "religion," than it might at first appear. The new atheism, it seems, is as prone to narrowness and shoddy thinking as the most credulous of religious movements. VERDICT This well-researched investigation of new atheism and its discontents should satisfy curious readers of all kinds who wish to learn more about the rise of this strident movement. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
