--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to know why the “new…" description: "\"“If you want to know why the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Atkins sell so many books, the answer is that they’re o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/n-t-wright-1173_atheists_if-you-want-to-know-why-the-new-atheists_774765.jpg" --- # If you want to know why the “new atheists” like Richard… ![“If you want to know why the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Atkins sell so many books, the answer is that they’re offering the modernist version of the good old-fashioned theological term “assurance.” They are assuring anxious ex-believers that the nightmare of…” quote by N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/n-t-wright-1173_atheists_if-you-want-to-know-why-the-new-atheists_774765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/n-t-wright-1173_atheists_if-you-want-to-know-why-the-new-atheists_774765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/n-t-wright-1173_atheists_if-you-want-to-know-why-the-new-atheists_774765.jpg) > ““If you want to know why the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Atkins sell so many books, the answer is that they’re offering the modernist version of the good old-fashioned theological term “assurance.” They are assuring anxious ex-believers that the nightmare of small-minded and stultifying “religion” is gone”” [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New atheists provide a modern version of religious certainty, offering reassurance to former believers that religion’s constraints are gone. **In simple terms:** They replace old faith with modern certainty for ex‑believers. Key Takeaway Recognize the need for reassurance beyond religion. Themes faith certainty modernism religion psychology Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - discussing belief systems - writing about religion - counseling former believers - debating atheism Key Concepts secularism existential anxiety cognitive comfort Questions to Reflect On - What replaces religious assurance for you? - Can certainty be harmful? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex spiritual needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheists/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“I’ve often wondered how the term “'New Atheism”' gained such currency. It is a misnomer. There is nothing new about nonbelief. All of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tayler/i-ve-often-wondered-how-the-term-new-atheism-gained-such-currency-it/) [Jeffrey Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tayler/) > [ Their \[the new atheists\] treatment of the religious viewpoint is pathetic to the point of non-being. Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion would fail… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/their-the-new-atheists-treatment-of-the-religious-viewpoint-is/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [Atheism is a moral position - a rather rigid one, if you've ever read the opinions of its highest-profile espousers, Christopher Hitchens and Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/atheism-is-a-moral-position-a-rather-rigid-one-if-you-ve-ever-read/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [“When you consider atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, their strongest arguments are “moral arguments” against the existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-r-marshall/when-you-consider-atheists-such-as-richard-dawkins-daniel-dennett-sam/) Taylor R. Marshall > [What replaces Christianity isn't going to be Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and so on. It's going to be something else and something secular people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/what-replaces-christianity-isn-t-going-to-be-richard-dawkins/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Few would argue that Richard Dawkins is the world's most famous atheist, especially now that his friend and rival for the title, Christopher Hitchens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/few-would-argue-that-richard-dawkins-is-the-world-s-most-famous/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“Bill Maher, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have all been frustrated by this question: Why is the Left refusing to lift a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/bill-maher-sam-harris-richard-dawkins-and-christopher-hitchens-have/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [“First, because it’s based on a fantastic illusion. Let’s say that the consensus is that our species, we being the higher primates, Homo sapiens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-kelly/first-because-it-s-based-on-a-fantastic-illusion-let-s-say-that-the/) Joshua Kelly > [Everywhere religion has gone it has created disunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/everywhere-religion-has-gone-it-has-created-disunity/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“In so far as religion is gone, reason is going. For they are both of the same primary and authoritative kind. They are both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/in-so-far-as-religion-is-gone-reason-is-going-for-they-are-both-of/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Organizing atheists is like hurding cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/organizing-atheists-is-like-hurding-cats/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [Violence and religion have often gone together, but it's not a perfect correlation, and it doesn't have to be a permanent connection, because religions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/violence-and-religion-have-often-gone-together-but-it-s-not-a-perfect/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Atheists are like wild feral dogs wih no master. But Christians are like loving dogs with a giving and loving master. Domesticated dogs will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/atheists-are-like-wild-feral-dogs-wih-no-master-but-christians-are/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-fanatical-atheists-are-like-slaves-who-are-still-feeling-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Atheists don't hate fairies, leprechauns, or unicorns because they don't exist. It is impossible to hate something that doesn't exist. Atheists, like the painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/atheists-don-t-hate-fairies-leprechauns-or-unicorns-because-they-don/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) ## More by N.T. Wright > [“This means that the church, the followers of Jesus Christ, live in the bright interval between Easter and the final great consummation. Let's make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/this-means-that-the-church-the-followers-of-jesus-christ-live-in-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Sunday, kept as a commemoration of Easter ever since that event itself (a quite remarkable phenomenon when you come to think about it), is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/sunday-kept-as-a-commemoration-of-easter-ever-since-that-event-itself/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The point of trying to understand the cross better is not so that we can congratulate ourselves for having solved an intellectual crossword puzzle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-point-of-trying-to-understand-the-cross-better-is-not-so-that-we/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“there is no such thing as a god’s-eye view (by which would be meant a Deist god’s-eye view) available to human beings, a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-god-s-eye-view-by-which-would-be-meant-a/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The “goal” is not “heaven,” but a renewed human vocation within God’s renewed creation. This is what every biblical book from Genesis on is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-goal-is-not-heaven-but-a-renewed-human-vocation-within-god-s/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“having a hard enough time explaining to his disciples that he had to die; they never really grasped that at all, and they certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/having-a-hard-enough-time-explaining-to-his-disciples-that-he-had-to/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“If we are talking about the victory over evil and the launch of new creation, it won’t make much sense unless we are working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/if-we-are-talking-about-the-victory-over-evil-and-the-launch-of-new/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The personal message of Good Friday, expressed in so many hymns and prayers which draw on the tradition of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-personal-message-of-good-friday-expressed-in-so-many-hymns-and/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“To recognize that the Psalms call us to pray and sing at the intersections of the times--of our time and God's time, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/to-recognize-that-the-psalms-call-us-to-pray-and-sing-at-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Successful resistance to temptation may result in an increase of moral muscle, but that is because one is going to need it. A temptation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/successful-resistance-to-temptation-may-result-in-an-increase-of/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours” (Matt. 5:3) doesn’t mean, “You will go to heaven when you die.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/blessings-on-the-poor-in-spirit-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-yours-matt-5/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“As C. S. Lewis regularly remarked, the chronological snobbery of the modern age (i.e. the assumption that anything that comes after around 1750 is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/as-c-s-lewis-regularly-remarked-the-chronological-snobbery-of-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The kingdom of God is, at its heart, about God’s sovereignty sweeping the world with love and power, so that human beings, each made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-kingdom-of-god-is-at-its-heart-about-god-s-sovereignty-sweeping/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“pre-Christian Judaism, including the disciples during Jesus’s lifetime, never envisaged the death of the Messiah. That is why they never thought of his resurrection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/pre-christian-judaism-including-the-disciples-during-jesus-s-lifetime/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) [Explore all 278 N.T. Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) ## More Atheists quotes > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) > [We're not mad at God, just like atheists don't hate Santa or Unicorns, they're just not there!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-mehta/we-re-not-mad-at-god-just-like-atheists-don-t-hate-santa-or-unicorns/) [Hemant Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-mehta/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. I summon Aquinas, Augustine, Paul \[of Tarsus\], Teresa of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/again-i-hear-almost-everyday-from-atheists-who-write-off-religion-as/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [The two most evangelical groups in the world are atheists and vegetarians, especially the least knowledgeable and least intelligent individuals within those groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-coleman/the-two-most-evangelical-groups-in-the-world-are-atheists-and/) Clark Coleman > [“the plain fact of the matter was that the Disc was manifestly traversing space on the back of a giant turtle and the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-plain-fact-of-the-matter-was-that-the-disc-was-manifestly/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“They hate us because we are atheists and we feel sorry for them because they are religious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/they-hate-us-because-we-are-atheists-and-we-feel-sorry-for-them/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-are-all-atheists-about-most-of-the-gods-that-humanity-has-ever/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [After a few days in hospital, I was thinking, Oh, gee - I raised in a church, Protestant upbringing which I'd rejected as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/after-a-few-days-in-hospital-i-was-thinking-oh-gee-i-raised-in-a/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) [Browse all 400 Atheists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you want to know why the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Atkins sell so many books, the answer is that they’re offering the modernist version of the good old-fashioned theological term “assurance.” They are assuring anxious ex-believers that the nightmare of small-minded and stultifying “religion” is gone”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.T. 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