The links between Craig Stephen Hicks’ atheism, and his murder of three Muslim students, continue to be a focus of many media outlets. The Washington Post declares that the killings “shine a light” on the tensions “between Islam and atheism.” The BBC reports that the FBI will be investigating whether “any federal laws were violated” (and they should). Also, The Raleigh News-Observer quotes the father of one of the victims as saying, “This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime.”

Let me be clear, if Hicks was motivated by his disdain for Islam, then he must be prosecuted for a hate crime. They are inexcusable. That being said, his actions do not reflect the motives of modern atheism. Over the past several years, I have journeyed across the United States and have spoken at several nontheistic conferences and for local groups. I have met hundreds (feasibly thousands) of atheists from all walks of life, and I have had many intimate conversations with those branded as the voices of modern atheism. In all of these travels, not once has any of these diverse individuals even hinted at violence as being a viable option in dealing with any religion. Not once.

This was the motivation behind my (and many of my colleagues’) quick condemnation of the correlation between Hicks and atheism. Nonetheless, despite my pointing out that the word atheism “is not capitalized for a reason,” and that atheism is “not even a form of religious belief,” I was lambasted all across the Internet for my “no true Scotsman” defense. (Granted, this was in part due to Dawkins’ retweet of my article, and everything he touches brings out the crazies.) and in spite of these quick condemnations from so many atheists, individuals like Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig wrote “There is a distinction to be made between atheism in its pure sense … and New Atheism.”

Similarly, CJ Werleman, an atheist who is always quick to separate religious motivations from fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, posted on Twitter that he hoped “this tragedy awakens America to the threat New Atheists (post 9/11 anti-theists) pose to a civil society.” Furthermore, He wrote an article for the Middle East Eye (an online publication aimed particularly at Middle Eastern readers), and specified:

“I hope Hicks is a one-off example of a New Atheist turning his hatred of religion into a maniacal act of violence, but there’s little reason to be optimistic. In their minds, and inside their own echo chamber – New Atheists read the same books; listen to the same podcasts; attend the same conventions – religion is evil; therefore evil acts are motivated by religion.”

I must say, that I have shared an adult beverage (or two) with Werleman, and found him to be quite pleasant. However, I feel that even with the recent controversy surrounding him, this article is his most irresponsible and potentially dangerous.

Are Newer Atheists Militant?

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