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New Atheism As a Case of Competitive Postsecular Worldviews

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New Atheism As a Case of Competitive Postsecular Worldviews New Atheism as a Case of Competitive Postsecular Worldviews Alan G. Nixon 98061264 A dissertation submitted to the School of Social Sciences and Psychology The University of Western Sydney In part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Social Sciences 2014 Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank my interview participants for their time, as I would not have been able to have a well-rounded thesis without their views. Secondly, my family and friends for their support throughout this long process. I would especially like to thank my mother Kim for her tireless editing. I would also like to thank my primary supervisor Adam Possamai for his efforts in helping this project to come to completion. Last, but certainly not least, my partner Megan, who supported me through all the ups and downs that such a large project entails. I could not have done it without all of you. Statement of Authorship The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part for a degree at this or any other institution. Alan Nixon Date: …………………………………………. Signature: ………………………………….. Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................ V LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................................VI ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................................... VII I. PERSONAL INTEREST ............................................................................................................................ VIII II. ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 1 INTRODUCING THE NEW ATHEISM...................................................................................................................... 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Post-Secular Paradigms and the Non-Religious .......................................................................................... 6 Our Diminishing Ignorance of Non-Religion/Irreligion ......................................................................... 14 The Terminology of the Emerging Field ........................................................................................................ 17 Non-Religion ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 A Growing Demographic .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Heterogeneous Structure of the Non-Religious Group and Typologies of Non-Religion .................... 22 Irreligion .................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Diversity in Irreligion........................................................................................................................................................... 28 Covert/Public .................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Accommodation/Confrontation ............................................................................................................................... 40 Substitution/Elimination ............................................................................................................................................ 42 Humanist/Scientific to Empathetic/Intellectual .............................................................................................. 44 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................................ 46 AIMS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 47 CHAPTER OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................................... 49 ETHNOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................................................... 50 DATA ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................................... 52 METHODS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Interviews .................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Sampling Method and Selection Criteria .................................................................................................................... 54 Interview Process .................................................................................................................................................................. 56 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................................ 57 Internet Participant Observation..................................................................................................................... 57 Web 2.0 and Religion/Irreligion ..................................................................................................................................... 57 Are Online Demographics Representative? .............................................................................................................. 59 Real World and Cyber World Connections ................................................................................................................ 60 Private and Public Space on the Internet ................................................................................................................... 63 i Blogs, Citizens Journalism and Produsage ................................................................................................................. 64 Egocentric Networks ............................................................................................................................................................ 68 Emergence of Online Trends ............................................................................................................................................ 72 Search Trends, Interest over Time and Google Trends ................................................................................ 73 Hashtags and NodeXL ................................................................................................................................................... 73 Event Based Model ................................................................................................................................................................ 76 Internet Participant Observation Process ................................................................................................................. 77 Historical Analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 78 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................................... 81 LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................... 84 CHAPTER 3. WHAT IS THE NEW ATHEISM? ......................................................................................... 86 A COMPETITIVE POSTSECULAR WORLDVIEW ............................................................................................ 87 HISTORICAL ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................... 88 Influences on the Rise of the New Atheism ................................................................................................... 89 Post-Communist: Ejection of ‘Humanist’ Views and Consumer Society ..................................................... 91 Postmodern: Multiple Modernities ..............................................................................................................................
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