Mike's Prospectus

In recent years, a slew of books about atheism have gained popularity in America, books with titles that openly proclaim their attack on theism and faith, such as The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Some have labeled this ‘new atheism’, with its unabashed, outright denial of God and aggressive, at times arrogant tone, antitheism. I will explore the nature of this trend by exploring the origins and nature of atheism as a socially acceptable school of though in Western history. I will use America as the Clearly a large majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians now – what parts of society is this ‘movement’ coming from? How long has it really been around in America? Friedrich Nietzche said that “God is dead” 126 years ago - what was it that specifically brought this philosophical debate which has existed for hundred of years back into the mainstream? Is there really something substantially different between this new antitheism and the atheism that has developed in Western thought for the past few centuries? I am studying this trend to discover its origins and characteristics so that the reader might learn about the history of atheism, something not very prominently known in a largely Christian nation.

Alright, I'll be honest, I'm still not entirely sure. On one hand, I could focus specifically on the new atheism of recent years, in America. However, I don't know if I'll be able to find a whole lot on the specific qualities and causes of this 'movement'. I could, however, just use this new stuff as an introduction in which I'd delve into the whole history of atheism in the Western world. I'm afraid that part might be just a little broad, though, and I'm not quite sure what argument or environment I'd focus in on.