Atheists Rising?

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An interesting paragraph from a USA Today article on the declining number of self-identifying Christians in America:

So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists. In a nation that has long been mostly Christian, “the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion,” the [American Religious Identification Survey] report concludes.

Time for the atheists lobby to issue a press release. Thing is, no matter how numerous atheists get in this country, they will never match the Religious Right. The members of the evangelical community believe passionately in their faith, and want to see it flourish in America. Some atheists are equally passionate about their non-belief, but I think it’s the nature of atheism that many of its adherents simply say “meh” when it comes to religion. Not the attitude you need if you want to be a political power.

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