Like the label of \u201cMilitant Atheist\u201d the label of \u201cNew Atheist\u201d has been equally thrown around. At first, the label was only reserved for the \u201cFour Horsemen\u201d of atheism, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. But the term was quickly transferred onto any atheist who speaks up about their lack of belief.<\/p>\n
The thing is that the label of \u201cNew Atheist\u201d implies that there are \u201cOld Atheists.\u201d The distraction between \u201cNew Atheists\u201d and \u201cOld Atheists\u201d seems to be that those who step out of the closet and simply make it public that they are skeptical of the claims of theistic religions are now branded as \u201cNew Atheists.\u201d While those atheists who continue to keep their disbelief to themselves and who even sometimes pretend to believe rather than \u201crock the boat\u201d can be considered \u201cOld Atheists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could you imagine if this distinction were made in the Gay community today? If a person like Merv Griffin was considered to be an \u201cOld Gay\u201d because he remained in the closet until after his death and people like George Takei who is open about his marriage to his husband are labeled as \u201cNew Gay\u201d extremists. That would effectively end the Gay Rights movement by forcing gay people back into the closet out of fear of being labeled extremists who are \u201cJust as hateful\u201d as those who believe that being gay is a sin and should be punished and\/or beaten.<\/p>\n
If simply stating that one doesn\u2019t believe in superstitious myths and ancient stories is enough to marginalize someone as a \u201cNew Atheist\u201d or some kind of atheist extremists than I have a real issue with that. It effectively shuts down conversation, debate, and any criticism of religious ideas. That however is the point. Religious people are afraid of dialog because at the end of the day there is no evidence for their ridiculous stories and beliefs.<\/p>\n
Another analogy that I think works would be a label of a \u201cNew Mathematician\u201d for anyone who continues to tell people that in fact one plus one does not equal five, but rather it equals two. While I would call that basic education, could you imagine what would happen if such a person was marginalized as an extremist? Why can\u2019t people just let everyone do their own math and if someone wants to believe that one plus one equals five, well they are entitled to their opinion, right?<\/p>\n