are "evangelical atheists" threatening to Christians?
Barna has issued a new report titled “Atheists and Agnostics Take Aim at Christians.” It begins with an image of a church in crosshairs, and is careful to note Christians’ fear-based claim that “the nation is becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity” due to the increasing numbers of “evangelical atheists.” This un-debunked persecution complex aside, the report does observe the following interesting data point:
One of the most fascinating insights from the research is the increasing size of the no-faith segment with each successive generation. The proportion of atheists and agnostics increases from 6% of Elders (ages 61+) and 9% of Boomers (ages 42-60), to 14% of Busters (23-41) and 19% of adult Mosaics (18-22).
Paul Waldman’s “Religion and the Threat Effect” at American Prospect takes up the thread of religious xenophobia, nothing that “even when you control for factors like party identification, the more secular people there were within a county, the more likely that people from evangelical denominations living there would vote Republican:”
The idea of religious conservatives as a surrounded minority, bravely holding the battlements of morality against an onrushing tide of cultural barbarism, is more than a convenient message that conservative pastors offer to their flocks. It is a key part of how the group defines its identity. And, critically, telling people they're under assault not only serves to keep them within the tribal borders -- it lends the entire enterprise an emotionally satisfying, even epic feel. You're not just a plumber or an insurance adjuster or a bond trader; by the very fact of believing what you do, you become a heroic warrior fighting a grand struggle against the enemies of all that is right and good.