I generally consider myself more Center-Right, and focus a bit more on right-wing politics. However, I also make a hard effort to keep appraised of both sides. On that note, there's a reoccurring conflict I've started to note going on between people on the Left. This conflict tends to focus around multiculturalism and Islamic extremism. One side, the "Mainstream" for lack of a better term, believes that multi-culturalism and tolerance are the key to dealing with extremism. The other side, made up of primarily (but not exclusively) Atheists, believes that the Left has become almost too tolerant and is ignoring some very real problems.

However, I am not an expert on this matter and don't proclaim to be. I was hoping that people who identify themselves as being politically leftist could clarify on this. Is the Left in danger of splitting in half over the above problems?

personally as being left on many issues, no. The left is very united on almost every issue. The days of Conservatives democrats Vs The hippies are over and the hippies won.

it's not really a divide among leftists, since new atheists represent a very small part of left (usually left, but it is not a political group per say so there may be some right wing new atheists too). It is specifically a "war" between the *Regressive* Left (Glenn Greenwald, Cenk Uygur, Reza Aslan, Noam Chomsky) and the New Atheists (Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher, Christopher Hitchens)

Here is a few link if you are interested by the subject:

New Atheists Vs Progressives | Proposing A Ceasefire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As67_rhvTVY

Sam Harris and Cenk Uygur Clear the Air on Religious Violence and Islam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVl3BJoEoAU

Chomsky on Hitchens, Harris and Skinner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9QCAUPPeY

Maajid Nawaz on Sam Harris and the Regressive Left
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Vjn3d70UQ

Edited 2/3/2016 20:15:13

I generally find New Atheists like Bill Maher to have a surprising libertarian note to their views...especially when it comes to foreign policy and immigration.

it is really a case-by-case thing. Most of the New Atheists are against war, but this is not that case for all of them. Christopher Hitchens being the prime example of the contrary.

The whole fight between the progressive left and the new atheist is on how we should tackle ideologies, especially Islam. Atheist don't hesitate to take the gloves off and being unapologetic when talking about Islam and the beliefs held by some, if not most of the people in the muslim world. And they argue that the progressive left are muslim apologists. The progressives (or "regressives" if you are in the New Atheist camp) argue that New Atheists are patronizing minorities and being islamophobic bigots...

I'm center-right but there clearly is a schism between the progressives/collectivists and the liberals/libertarians on the left.