[John Kilduff]

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How do you characterize the "old brand" of atheism?

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I guess when you would get burned at the stake for atheism, old atheism was not believing in god an not liking being told that you were a bad person for believing that. New atheism is telling other people they're bad people because they believe in god. The ironing is delicious.

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Ummm...you don't see a bit of difference between "burning at the stake" and "vociferously disagreeing"? There is no irony to be found here.

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Yes, I do, I kid.

But seriously, from the view as communicated by the OP, the "new" atheism involves openly attacking the true believers. Old atheism was about seeking accpetance of a minority view, which is a defensive position.

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So the "new atheism" is just much more intolerant of other points of view regarding god, etc. than the "old atheism" was. Not surprising actually.

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Hm yes, and now that you mention it...I've been getting the impression that a lot of the newer ways of thinking are actually more intolerant than their older counterparts (not just limited to religion and politics although probably concentrated there).

edit: by "newer" I am referring to spans of recent years or decades, not spans of centuries.