Global Sceptical Publics - From non-religious print media to ‘digital atheism’

Oct 1, 2026

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Edited collection exploring non-religion, atheism, and sceptical publicity across media forms and geographies. Traces how rationalist and secular aesthetics, street performance, and popular culture evaluate atheism and nihilism, and how gender, affect, and language shape religious-sceptical expression. Develops historical and contemporary accounts of secularising publics, including UK and transatlantic media strategies, and examines digital atheist counterpublics and online community-building. Includes foreword, introduction, three themed parts, afterword, and indexes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages382

Reading Time9 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Part I Aesthetics and visual culture of non-religion

Part II Mediated scepticism: historical and contemporary trajectories

Part III Atheism and scepticism in a digital age

Global Sceptical Public s FROM NON-RELIGIOUS PRINT MEDIA TO ‘DIGITAL ATHEISM’ Edited by Jacob Copeman and Mascha Schulz Global Sceptical Publics Global Sceptical Publics From non-religious print media to ‘digital atheism’ Edited by Jacob Copeman and Mascha Schulz First published in 2022 by UCL Press University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT [Available to download free:](Available to download free: www.uclpress.co.uk)[ www.uclpress.co.uk](Available to download free: www.uclpress.co.uk) Collection © Editors, 2022 Text © Contributors, 2022 Images © Contributors and copyright holders named in captions, 2022 The authors have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library. Any third-party material in this book is not covered by the book’s Creative Commons licence. Details of the copyright ownership and permitted use of third-party material is given in the image (or extract) credit lines. If you would like to reuse any third-party material not covered by the book’s Creative Commons licence, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright owner. This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0), [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/)[ ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/)[by-nc/4.0/](by-nc/4.0/. This licence allows you to share and adapt the work for non-commercial use)[. This licence allows you to share and adapt the work for non-commercial use](by-nc/4.0/. This licence allows you to share and adapt the work for non-commercial use)[ ](by-nc/4.0/. This licence allows you to share and adapt the work for non-commercial use)providing attribution is made to the author and publisher (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work) and any changes are indicated. Attribution should include the following information: Copeman J. and Schulz M. (eds). 2022. Global Sceptical Publics: From non-religious print mediato‘digitalatheism’.London:UCL Press.[https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800083448](https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800083448) Further details about Creative Commons licences are available at [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/) [ISBN: 978-1-80008-346-2](ISBN: 978-1-80008-346-2) (Hbk.) ISBN: 978-1-80008-345-5 (Pbk.) ISBN: 978-1-80008-344-8 (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-80008-347-9 (epub) DOI: [https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800083448](https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800083448) Contents List of figures vii Notes on contributors ix Acknowledgements xiii Foreword: the frustrating and wonderful ambiguity of sceptical publics xv Joseph Blankholm Introduction: non-religion, atheism and sceptical publicity 1 Jacob Copeman and Mascha Schulz Part I Aesthetics and visual culture of non-religion 1 Rationalist camera: non-religious techniques of vision in India 39 Jacob Copeman and John Hagström 2 Performing the secular: street theatre and songs as ‘secular media’ in Bangladesh and West Bengal 71 James Bradbury and Mascha Schulz 3 ‘There is no god, Summer’: a critical evaluation of Rick and Morty’s approach to atheism and nihilism 97 Frank Bosman 4 Aesthetics ofthe secular 127 Stefan Binder 5 Gender, affect and atheism in Arabic media 144 Natalie Khazaal CONTENTS v Part II Mediated scepticism: historical and contemporary trajectories 6 ‘Apostates’: a new secularising public in the United Kingdom 173 John Hagström 7 Satan, sex and an Islamist zombie apocalypse: religion-sceptical publicity and blasphemy in Turkish cartoons and comic books 193 Pierre Hecker 8 From campaign and dispute to ‘public service broad/ narrowcasting’: secularist and atheist media strategies in Britain and America – a contextual history 219

FAQs

What is the book’s main focus?

It examines non-religion and atheism through the lens of sceptical publicity, showing how these ideas circulate and are shaped by different media forms.

How is the content organized?

The book is divided into three parts: aesthetics and visual culture, mediated scepticism across time, and atheism/scepticism in a digital age, followed by an afterword and index.

What topics are covered in the digital age section?

The section addresses digital atheist counterpublics on platforms such as Reddit, online community and engagement, young Moroccan non-believers’ online voices, and portrayals of everyday atheist lives in India.

Oct 1, 2026

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