Why the New Atheists Have Failed

The New Atheists were, in many ways, iconoclasts. They were excellent at tearing things down, but offered very little of genuine substance to replace what they sought to destroy. Calls to think “rationally” are well and good, but what does this actually mean in practice? How does one build a community, find meaning, or deal with life's inevitable suffering with mere rationality as a guide? The New Atheists seemed to assume that once religion was debunked, a utopia of reason and science would naturally follow. This was a naive and simplistic view of human nature and society. The level of hubris was, in retrospect, rather stunning.