Louw, Maria (2019) Atheism 2.0: Searching for Spaces for Atheism in Contemporary Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Affairs, 6 (2-3). 206 -223.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Recent studies have convincingly demonstrated that Soviet state atheism continues to influence how religion is understood and practiced in present-day Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, however, a new generation of atheists is emerging whose ideas about atheism—and about religion—are informed more by globally circulating neo-atheist ideas and images. This paper explores their efforts to live atheist lives and be true to their atheist convictions, and the images of religion that play into the process. Focusing on the role of social media in particular, I will argue that while many, at least initially, embrace these platforms as ways to encounter like-minded individuals and experience moral community, what they encounter there are often images of atheism and its religious “others” with which they cannot identify and which often seem irrelevant to the challenges of everyday life, in which coexistence with (and caring for) religious others are central concerns for many.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | atheism; social media; community |
| Divisions: | Central Asia > Kyrgyzstan |
| Depositing User: | Katharina Penner |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Feb 2026 10:04 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2026 10:04 |
| URI: | https://ceeamsprints.osims.org/id/eprint/3241 |
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