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→Impact of the New Atheism
Not too long ago, I wrote that American atheism was going the way of the freak show. As books by Christopher Hitchens and other "new atheists" climbed the best seller lists, I caught a lot of flak for that prophecy. But atheist make up only 1.6% of respondents to this survey....<ref>American Faith: A Work In Progess by Stephen Prothero, USA Today, March 10, 2008, page 11A</ref>}}
Not too long ago, I wrote that American atheism was going the way of the freak show. As books by Christopher Hitchens and other "new atheists" climbed the best seller lists, I caught a lot of flak for that prophecy. But atheist make up only 1.6% of respondents to this survey....<ref>American Faith: A Work In Progess by Stephen Prothero, USA Today, March 10, 2008, page 11A</ref>}}
A prime reason for the ineffectiveness of the "new atheism" is the shallowness of its material. For example, even atheist philosopher [[Michael Ruse]] stated that that Richard Dawkins' book ''The God Delusion'' made him "embarrassed to be an atheist".<ref name="TDD3">http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/47052/?page=3</ref>
A prime reason for the ineffectiveness of the "New Atheism" is the shallowness of its material. For example, even atheist philosopher [[Michael Ruse]] stated that that Richard Dawkins' book ''The God Delusion'' made him "embarrassed to be an atheist".<ref name="TDD3">http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/47052/?page=3</ref>
The "New Atheism" largely has a unfavorable view otuside the United States as well. The [[liberal]] leaning British publication the [[Guardian]] stated the following regarding the "New Atheism":
{{cquote|Anti-[[faith]] proselytising is a growth industry. But its increasingly hysterical flag-bearers are heading for a spectacular failure...
These increasingly hysterical books may boost the pension, they may be morale boosters for a particular kind of American atheism that feels victimised - the latest candidate in a flourishing American tradition - but one suspects that they are going to do very little to challenge the appeal of a phenomenon they loathe too much to understand.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2074076,00.html</ref>}}
==Atheism and the Bible==
==Atheism and the Bible==