Changes

Atheism is still with us. But the movement that threatened to form has petered out. Crucially, atheism’s younger advocates are reluctant to compete for the role of Dawkins’s disciple. They are more likely to bemoan the new atheist approach and call for large injections of nuance. A good example is the pop-philosopher Julian Baggini. He is a stalwart atheist who likes a bit of a scrap with believers, but he’s also able to admit that religion has its virtues, that humanism needs to learn from it. For example, he has observed that a sense of gratitude is problematically lacking in secular culture, and suggested that humanists should consider ritual practices such as fasting.<ref>[http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/after-the-new-atheism/ Richard Dawkins has lost: meet the new new atheists] by Theo Hobson</ref>}}

Atheism is still with us. But the movement that threatened to form has petered out. Crucially, atheism’s younger advocates are reluctant to compete for the role of Dawkins’s disciple. They are more likely to bemoan the new atheist approach and call for large injections of nuance. A good example is the pop-philosopher Julian Baggini. He is a stalwart atheist who likes a bit of a scrap with believers, but he’s also able to admit that religion has its virtues, that humanism needs to learn from it. For example, he has observed that a sense of gratitude is problematically lacking in secular culture, and suggested that humanists should consider ritual practices such as fasting.<ref>[http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/after-the-new-atheism/ Richard Dawkins has lost: meet the new new atheists] by Theo Hobson</ref>}}

YouTube atheist [[Thunderfoot]] said about the atheist movement after [[Reason Rally 2016]] had a very low turnout:

YouTube atheist [[Thunderfoot]] said about the atheist movement after [[Reason Rally 2016]] had a very low turnout:

{{Cquote|I'm not sure there is anything in this movement worth saving. [[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens]] is dead. [[Richard Dawkins|Dawkins]] simply doesn't have the energy for this sort of thing anymore. [[Sam Harris|Harris]] went his own way. And [[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]] just kind of blended into the background. So what do you think when the largest gathering of the nonreligious in history pulls in... I don't know. Maybe 2,000 people. Is there anything worth saving?<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/even-atheists-bash-reason-rally/ Even atheists bash 'Reason Rally']</ref>}}

{{Cquote|I'm not sure there is anything in this movement worth saving. [[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens]] is dead. [[Richard Dawkins|Dawkins]] simply doesn't have the energy for this sort of thing anymore. [[Sam Harris|Harris]] went his own way. And [[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]] just kind of blended into the background. So what do you think when the largest gathering of the nonreligious in history pulls in... I don't know. Maybe 2,000 people. Is there anything worth saving?<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/even-atheists-bash-reason-rally/ Even atheists bash 'Reason Rally']</ref>}}