Especially in the last year, the reemergence of media coverage about aggressive atheism has helped focus British attention on that most crucial of all questions: Does God exist? Even scientists are arguing the question. In spite of a rather vigorous defense, atheism certainly appears to be gaining ground in Britain and Europe.
by John Ross Schroeder
In the title of a feature article, columnist Gerard Baker of The Times recently called 2006 "a good year for religious conflict and atheism" (Dec. 22, 2006).
Many things have been and are being written about Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins' disbelief in God. He is perhaps the world's foremost apostle of atheism. John Preston, writing in Seven (the magazine supplement of The Sunday Telegraph), stated that Dawkins "is almost evangelical in telling Christians they are misguided in their faith" (Dec. 17, 2006, p. 8).
Even those who vehemently oppose his views generally acknowledge that Professor Dawkins "has caused a sensation this year with the runaway success of his anti-religious book, The God Delusion" (The Sunday Times, Dec. 24, 2006, p. 2). His book has headed the nonfiction best-seller list in Britain, and it stayed on The New York Times best-seller list for 14 weeks.
On a recent train and ferry trip from England to Northern Ireland, I saw at least two individuals reading The God Delusion intently. In one case I sat down opposite a businessman, and a conversation about Professor Dawkins' book soon ensued. It turned out to be a friendly discussion in which I pointed out some of the flaws in the author's rationale.
Education and religion
Richard Dawkins started his aggressive educational campaign with a two-part television documentary titled The Root of All Evil?--referring to religion in general and Christianity in particular.
However, as Gerard Baker has astutely pointed out, "The two great global conflicts of the 20th century were not truly religious at all...It was twisted ethnic, rather than religious, ideology that principally animated the Nazis. And it is worth noting that the narrowly avoided conflict which would have trumped even these tragedies--a nuclear war with the Soviet Union--would have been launched and prosecuted in the name of militant atheism" (The Times, Dec. 22, 2006).
