If God died in the 1960’s then someone forgot to tell the British publishing industry.  Books about God have been the surprise bestselling phenomena of the past 18 months.  Richard Dawkin’s The God Delusion which has sold over a million has been joined in the best seller lists by Christopher Hitchin’s God is not Great, Sam Harris’s Letter to a Christian Nation, A A Grayling’s Against all Gods and a host of other books extolling the virtues of atheism and the dangers and follies of religion. Atheist publications are not new and for anyone with any knowledge of basic philosophy and religion the arguments put forward in these books contain nothing new.  What is interesting is why they have proved to be so popular.  They are clearly tapping into something in the popular zeitgeist in sections of both European and North American society.   From a publishing point of view it is clearly the right place and the right time to launch the New Atheist publishing.  Why?

There is no doubt that the books are in general well written, entertaining and informative.  They are written in a populist style about subjects which most people would consider important and interesting.  Little wonder that they have proved a hit.  Yet there are other reasons why they have hit the spot. 

The first is fear.  People are afraid of religion.   After all, as is pointed out ad nauseum by all the atheist writers, atheists don’t fly planes into buildings (granted, but then neither do they build hospitals or establish schools because of their atheism!).  Dawkins, Hitchins, Harris et al love to warn us that the religious are going to bomb us, take us back to the Dark Ages and abuse our children.  The fact that this is a fear which is widely held means that they can get away with the most extraordinary hyperbole – Dawkins for example tells us that Harris’s book is so important that we should read it if it is the last thing we do and hope that it is not.   Such apocalyptic paranoia is all too typical of the New Atheists.

Another reason for the popularity of these works is that they appeal to the prejudices of their readers.  Prejudices such as all religions are essentially the same and that therefore what can be said about one must apply to the others. The illogicality of that should be obvious – but sadly when it comes to matters of religious belief logic often seems to be thrown out of the window.   Dawkins makes no secret that he is preaching to the choir – he just rejoices that it is a big choir.  Most people who read these books are delighted with them, not because they challenge pre-existing beliefs, but rather because they reinforce them.  The books are read with all the delight of a believer reading Holy Writ, one can almost hear the Amens and Hallelujahs being shouted across Atheist living rooms and media outlets! 

In addition, whilst making some clear and reasonable criticisms of religion, criticisms which religious people have to face up to and indeed have been doing so for centuries, the New Atheist authors are able to get away with their sweeping generalisations, ad hominem arguments and simplistic philosophy because they are largely appealing to people’s ignorance.    In a world where thanks to Google and Wikipedia, everyone has instant ‘knowledge’ to suit their own prejudices, it is easy for the wisdom of previous ages and of those who have studied and thought about these issues for many years, to be dismissed as irrelevant and meaningless.   Thus our New Atheist writers are able to dismiss all theology as useless as a chocolate teapot.  They know that we largely live in an ahistorical society where despite the interest in genealogy people are rooted in the here and now and are largely ignorant of the past, thus enabling the New Atheists to make sweeping historical generalisations which they will never be challenged on.  Thus Dawkins in The God Delusion can make the incredible claim that the racism of such ‘liberal’ thinkers as H G Wells and Thomas Huxley would now be unacceptable because of ‘improved education and in particular the increased understanding that each of us shares a common humanity with members of other races and with the other sex – both deeply unbiblical ideas that come from biological science, especially evolution’.    Only someone with a complete ignorance of the Bible, theology and the early history of 19th Century evolutionary thought could make such a claim.  Whereas in the early 19th century Christians such as Wilberforce were arguing that all human beings were made in the image of God and should be treated equally, liberal evolutionary thinkers such as Huxley argued in 1871 “No rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average negro is the equal, still less the superior, of the white man.”! 

Well written, polemical, appealing to fear, prejudice and ignorance – all that needs to be added to the mix is that New Atheist books have been superbly marketed.  The God Delusion is a ‘must have’ coffee table book for the British chattering classes.  Newspapers and media are regularly drip fed interviews, publicity material and of course many columnists share the presuppositions and thinking of Dawkins et al.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this marketing is the self portrayal of the books as being new, brave, courageous and adding to ‘the debate’.  One supermarket chain even had an advertising campaign for The God Delusion which placed the book at the front of the store and then urged shoppers to purchase the book and ‘join the debate’.  But they have refused to sell any alternative. And therein lies the problem -  there is no debate. 

 The New Atheists generally do not debate – they shout.  They know that they are right and that their position is the reasonable and intelligent one, therefore everyone who disagrees with them is ipso facto not intelligent enough to debate with. If anyone doubts the crypto–religious nature of the New Atheism just pay a visit to the Dawkins website, complete with its testimonies and ‘converts corner’.  Try challenging atheist doctrine and you will soon find yourself on the receiving end of abuse normally reserved for heretics by the most extremist religious cults.   And attending a Dawkins book event is more like a Billy Graham revivalist meeting, than it is an educational event.  There are a lot of needy atheists out there (and recovering religious types) who need this kind of therapy, but it should not be dignified by being called ‘debate’. 

This lack of debate is exacerbated when the other point of view is almost never carried in the secular media.  Of course occasional critical columns or comments are offered, but these are usually about style rather than substance.  The British Media no more ‘does’ religion, than do British politicians.   And to some extent the Church in Britain is to blame for this – divided, defensive and dumbed down, it has created a ghetto mentality and a Christian market, with the result that any attempt to break out of that is met by defeatism at home, and derision abroad.

There are of course exceptions.  When I wrote my own response to Dawkins we wanted to place it in the secular market place and so Borders were approached.  Although perhaps a little suspicious of ‘religion’ they took it on board and as a result have had their most successful Scottish book tour. With attendances of over 100 at each of their stores for an event with an unknown author, it is clear that there is something in the air.  Religion (as well as anti-religion) still stimulates.  And sells.  

The New Atheist movement may be a publishing phenomena but it is also a political movement and as such carries all the dangers of fundamentalist involvement in politics.  As part of the political campaign to marginalise Christians and prevent our involvement in public society all MPs have been sent a copy of The God Delusion.  Should we be worried?  Yes.  When fear, prejudice and ignorance are used to influence politics and stifle debate, then all those who want an open and tolerant society should be warned.  Atheist fundamentalism may prove to be just as  potent, intolerant and dangerous a force in British society as any religious fundamentalism.