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New Atheism

2004-2006 · The United States and Britain (The United States and the United Kingdom)

Between 2004 and 2006 Sam Harris's The End of Faith, Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion, and Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell reach bestseller lists, with Christopher Hitchens's case following in 2007. The New Atheism argues its brief in the open market of books rather than the courts, and unbelief's public numbers climb with it.

Tagged: Atheism Secular and Non-Theistic

The Event

Date
2004-2006 (exact)
Era
Secular Modernity; Standard periodization of secular and non-religious history
Location
The United States and Britain; today The United States and the United Kingdom
Traditions
Secular
Streams
Atheism
Key figures
Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens
Key texts
The End of Faith, The God Delusion, Breaking the Spell

Primary Sources

  • The tradition's own record of the event.

Secondary Sources

  • Gottlieb, Anthony. The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy. New York: Liveright, 2016.
  • Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004.
  • Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
  • Zuckerman, Phil, ed. Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010.

Provenance: HIST-1325; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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