Although the New Atheism movement (which is a form of militant atheism) is a shadow of its former self, it did create some increased public discussion about atheism in America.
The
God Delusion is a 2006 best-selling book by the new atheist Richard Dawkins which advocates atheism/agnosticism and criticizes religion. Although its critics rightly pointed out the book was shallow intellectually and contained many factual errors, it did sell a lot of copies.
If you look at the data below, which includes a Google trends USA graph for the word "atheist", a case can be made that the effects of New Atheism movement and the book The God Delusion may be
largely over by 2021 in the United States.
Current low morale of the atheist movement
In the latter portion of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st
century, due to various historical events/trends, the atheist movement
has had lower confidence/morale (see:
Low morale of the atheist movement).
Google trends graph:: Searches for the word "atheist" at Google USA
Global resurgence of religion. Lower confidence of secularists
On July 24, 2013,
CNS News reported:
| “
|
Atheism is in decline worldwide,
with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population
in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020,
according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global
Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton,
Mass."[17]
|
”
|
The agnostic Eric Kaufmann
is a professor of politics at Birkbeck, University of London and
author. As noted above, his academic research specialty is how
demographic changes affect religion/irreligion and politics.
Kaufmann wrote in 2010:
| “
|
Worldwide, the march of religion
can probably only be reversed by a renewed, self-aware secularism.
Today, it appears exhausted and lacking in confidence... Secularism's
greatest triumphs owe less to science than to popular social movements
like nationalism, socialism and 1960s anarchist-liberalism.
Ironically, secularism's demographic deficit means that it will
probably only succeed in the twenty-first century if it can create a
secular form of 'religious' enthusiasm." [18]
|
”
|
In 2012, Eric Kaufmann indicated:
| “
|
I argue that 97% of the world's population growth is taking place in the developing world, where 95% of people are religious.
On the other hand, the secular West and East Asia has very low
fertility and a rapidly aging population... In the coming decades, the
developed world's demand for workers to pay its pensions and work in its
service sector will soar alongside the booming supply of young people
in the third world. Ergo, we can expect significant immigration to the
secular West which will import religious revival on the back of ethnic
change. In addition, those with religious beliefs tend to have higher
birth rates than the secular population, with fundamentalists having far
larger families. The epicentre of these trends will be in immigration
gateway cities like New York (a third white), Amsterdam (half Dutch),
Los Angeles (28% white), and London, 45% white British.
[19]
|
”
|
Kaufmann told a secular audience in Australia: "The trends that are
happening worldwide inevitably in an age of globalization are going to
affect us."
[20]
Austria: Leading indicator of European desecularization
Concerning the future of religion/secularism in Europe, Eric Kaufmann also wrote:
| “
|
We have performed these unprecedented analyses on several cases. Austria
offers us a window into what the future holds. Its census question on
religious affiliation permits us to perform cohort component
projections, which show the secular population plateauing by 2050, or as
early as 2021 if secularism fails to attract lapsed Christians and new
Muslim immigrants at the same rate as it has in the past. (Goujon,
Skirbekk et al. 2006).
This task will arguably become far more difficult as the supply of
nominal Christians dries up while more secularisation-resistant Muslims
and committed rump Christians comprise an increasing share of the
population.[22]
|
”
|
See also:
Investor's Business Daily on the flood of Muslim immigrants to Europe
