When did the definition of atheism change into this "new age" version?
I have asked that same thing, many times over. From what I have been able to research, the “new age” definition is not that old. The earliest mention of it that I could find was after 2001.
Prior to that redefining, atheism was in direct opposition to theism. That is where the ‘a’ comes from. Theists stated that “there is a God,” while atheists, standing in direct opposition, stated that “there is no God.”
When asked why atheists don’t believe in God, most will answer that there is a lack of evidence. If there is no evidence of something existing, then an honest atheist should be able to say that God does not exist, according to that lack of evidence. I can justifiably say that a six headed human does not exist, because there is not any evidence of a six headed human. That statement stands true until proven otherwise. Instead, what we get with this new age definition is, “the lack of a belief in any god(s).” It is softer language, and not as offensive.
Penn Jillette, a self proclaimed atheist (I dare say anti-theist) alluded to this new age definition in his book God, No! (c. 2011). In post book interviews, he was asked why he did not believe in God. His answer was:
“What makes me libertarian is what makes me an atheist -- I don't know. If I don't know, I don't believe. I don't know exactly how we got here, and I don't think anyone else does, either. We have some of the pieces of the puzzle and we'll get more, but I'm not going to use faith to fill in the gaps. I'm not going to believe things that TV hosts state without proof. I'll wait for real evidence and then I'll believe.”
Penn Jillette’s position is actually agnosticism: “I don’t know.”
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