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| | The atheist Georgetown professor [[Jacques Berlinerblau]] declared: | | The atheist Georgetown professor [[Jacques Berlinerblau]] declared: |
| | {{cquote|American atheist movements, though fancying themselves a lion, are more like the gimpy little zebra crossing the river full of crocs. In terms of both political gains and popular appeal, nonbelievers in the United States have little to show. They are encircled by cunning, swarming [religious] Revivalist adversaries who know how to play the atheist card. The gimpy zebra remark was a little goofing on this over-the-top chest-thumping that emerges from Movement Atheists. They [[Nones#Atheists attempting to falsely inflate their numbers via the nones|wildly overestimate]] their numbers. They tend to overestimate the efficacy of their activism. They underestimate how disciplined and organized their adversaries in the religious right are, too. They fail to recognize that mocking religious people in public is entirely inimical to the goals they wish to achieve."<ref>[http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-09/professor-jacques-berlinerblau-tells-atheists-stop-whining Professor Jacques Berlinerblau tells atheists: Stop whining!], Christian Century, Sep 14, 2012 by Kimberly Winston</ref>}} | | {{cquote|American atheist movements, though fancying themselves a lion, are more like the gimpy little zebra crossing the river full of crocs. In terms of both political gains and popular appeal, nonbelievers in the United States have little to show. They are encircled by cunning, swarming [religious] Revivalist adversaries who know how to play the atheist card. The gimpy zebra remark was a little goofing on this over-the-top chest-thumping that emerges from Movement Atheists. They [[Nones#Atheists attempting to falsely inflate their numbers via the nones|wildly overestimate]] their numbers. They tend to overestimate the efficacy of their activism. They underestimate how disciplined and organized their adversaries in the religious right are, too. They fail to recognize that mocking religious people in public is entirely inimical to the goals they wish to achieve."<ref>[http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-09/professor-jacques-berlinerblau-tells-atheists-stop-whining Professor Jacques Berlinerblau tells atheists: Stop whining!], Christian Century, Sep 14, 2012 by Kimberly Winston</ref>}} |
| | + | === David Silverman's inaccurate reporting on the effectiveness of firebrand atheism === |
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| | + | ''See also:'' [[Decline of militant atheism in the West]] and [[Atheism and public relations]] |
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| | + | [[File:David Silverman Reason Rally.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|[[David Silverman]] ]] |
| | + | In 2015, in an article entitled ''The Case Against In-Your-Face Atheism'', the ''Daily Beast'' reported about David Silverman, the president of the American Atheists organization: |
| | + | {{Cquote|Like any good marketer, Silverman says he has sales figures proving his approach is working. In a [http://youtu.be/oX9x_952Pt4 talk] he gave about firebrand atheism, he claimed that his data, based on an analysis of Google searches for the word “atheist” performed over the past several years, shows that his in-your-face approach is working.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/04/the-case-against-in-your-face-atheism.html ''The Case Against In-Your-Face Atheism'']</ref>}} |
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| | + | However, according to Google trends data for the USA/world, searches for the word "atheist" have been plunging since April 2012 and continue to plunge downwards (See also: [[Google trends - Atheism and agnosticism terms]]).<ref>[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=atheist&geo=US&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4 Google trends - Atheist - USA]</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=atheist&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4 Google trends - Atheist - Global searches]</ref> Silverman still does not recognize that [[New Atheism]] was merely a fad and now a more docile atheism has taken its place.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2011/01/19/3116506.htm The poverty of the new atheism] by Scott Stephens</ref><ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2015/12/uproar-against-dawkins-is-sign-of-new-atheism-retrogression/ Uproar Against Dawkins Is Sign of New Atheism Retrogression] by Joshua Kelly</ref><ref>[http://www.firstthings.com/article/2010/05/believe-it-or-not Believe It or Not] by David Bentley Hart</ref> |
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| | + | In addition, since its 2012 high point due the [[Reason Rally 2012|2012 Reason Rally]], the number of Google searches in the United States for the term "David Silverman" has gone down significantly (The [[Reason Rally 2016|2016 Reason Rally]] was a failure in terms of it attendance).<ref>[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=David%20Silverman&geo=US&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4 Google trends - David Silverman - Google USA]</ref> In July 2016, worldwide Google searches for the term "David Silverman" is nearly as low as it was in June 2006 which was its lowest point in recent history.<ref>[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=David%20Silverman&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4 Google trends - David Silverman - Global searches]</ref> See also; [[Global atheism|Decline of global atheism]] |
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| | == Evangelical atheism vs. militant atheism practiced by communists == | | == Evangelical atheism vs. militant atheism practiced by communists == |