Posted: Apr 18, 2012 7:12 am
Invictus_88 wrote:Er, folks. The numbers don't matter here. Strictly speaking, the numbers and demographics stuff being discussed here is "off-topic".
His quote, when you take time to read it, refers to the nature of the atheist/anti-theist 'debate', not anything to do with the growth of any group or even the relative size of any group. He is clearly referring to the tone of the discussion, which - in point of fact - does seem to be softening (after a fashion).
I would think that the number of people who hold a perspective that could be described as "new atheism" is entirely on-topic.
If the Archbishop's point is that nobody has published any books in the last year or two with the impact of Letter to a Christian Nation, The God Delusion, or God is Not Great, and that consequently there's less coverage in the media, I wouldn't disagree.
But so what? That doesn't mean "the high tide of 'new atheism' has passed". It simply means "the high tide of books being published on 'new atheism' has passed.