If you can't demonstrate it, then you shouldn't believe it.
Markjo, in the USA, 86% of people identify as Christian. 46% attend a house of worship @ least once a month. I know Western Europe is much more secular, but still, outright atheism is rare there too. Most people in Western Europe prefer a vague Deism. So why is the FES, whose strength has always been the UK & the US, different?
Quote from: Yaakov ben Avraham on January 20, 2014, 04:14:05 AMMarkjo, in the USA, 86% of people identify as Christian. 46% attend a house of worship @ least once a month. I know Western Europe is much more secular, but still, outright atheism is rare there too. Most people in Western Europe prefer a vague Deism. So why is the FES, whose strength has always been the UK & the US, different?Athiesm is pretty common in the UK.
If we are not speculating then we must assume
Define "new atheists".
New Atheism is a social and political movement in favour of atheism and secularism promoted by a collection of modern atheist writers who have advocated the view that "religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises."[1] There is uncertainty about how much influence the movement has had on religious demographics, but the increase in atheist groups, student societies, publications and public appearances has coincided with the non-religious being the largest growing demographic, closely followed by Islam and evangelicalism in the US and UK.[2]New Atheism lends itself to and often overlaps with secular humanism and antitheism, particularly in its criticism of the indoctrination of children and perpetuation of ideologies.
That's how far the horizon is, not how far you can see.
Quote from: Yaakov ben Avraham on January 20, 2014, 04:14:05 AMMarkjo, in the USA, 86% of people identify as Christian. 46% attend a house of worship @ least once a month. I know Western Europe is much more secular, but still, outright atheism is rare there too. Most people in Western Europe prefer a vague Deism. So why is the FES, whose strength has always been the UK & the US, different?We're an internet community. Internet communities tend to be more secular than physical ones, in my experience. I don't really know why.