Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

181807

New atheism and the German secularist movement

Björn Mastiaux

pp. 171-192

Abstract

The topic of this chapter is one aspect of "New Atheism's' influence in Germany – or, more precisely, the bearing it may have had on the country's atheist and secularist scene. It is argued that the media hype surrounding the books by the "Four Horsemen" posed a discursive opportunity for Germany's freethought-secularist movement, helping it to gain visibility.The aim of this chapter is twofold: on the one hand it is to be argued that, at the time of the appearance of "New Atheism', there existed a secularist movement in Germany at all. This movement, several of its organizations, their histories, strategies, and differences are introduced. On the other hand, aspects of McAdam's political process approach are to be applied to an analysis of how it was possible for the movement to increase its mobilization noticeably over recent years. It is to be argued that the movement had built up some organizational strength of its own, which is a first prerequisite for mobilization. But, more importantly, the movement profited from the political or discursive opportunity that "New Atheism' afforded it. The media's demand for outspoken atheists helped some of the movement representatives to gain media standing and allowed them to put forward their critical frames of religion in general and the lack of church-state separation in Germany in particular. This situation, again, is to be interpreted as a case of "cognitive liberation', as it signaled to movement adherents that, finally, their positions were being heard.

Publication details

Published in:

R. Cotter Christopher, Tuckett Jonathan (2017) New atheism: critical perspectives and contemporary debates. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 171-192

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-54964-4_10

Full citation:

Mastiaux Björn (2017) „New atheism and the German secularist movement“, In: C. R. cotter & J. Tuckett (eds.), New atheism, Dordrecht, Springer, 171–192.