Quote Originally Posted by Tacitus View Post
America's radical move to Atheism? I've traveled fairly widely across the country the last few years and can't recall anyplace without a healthy number of places of worship: church, cathedral, storefront, mosque, synagogue, commune, Buddhist temple, you name it. I also read about Wiccan, Druid, and assorted New Age meeting places. That polygamous Mormon compound in Texas currently in the news just serves to show you that there is SOME theistic association, no matter what floats your boat.

Theism, of whatever form and denomination, seems firmly rooted in the USA. This is probably because of our lack of a state sponsored religion, which has proven quite detrimental for theism in other places.

I have co-workers and inlaws who throw out the term "atheism" as a shorthand word for any group which is NOT characterized by a Protestant Christian, fundamentalist, Evangelical, premillenial dispensationalism approach to God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premillennialism
But this is mainly because they believe that if you don't bring this kind of theistic approach, you are doomed to roast in eternal hellfire. Obviously this would include atheists. But a fiery eternity also awaits other theists, who just don't have the right theological answers.
I'm simply referring to the large amount of people who are not associated, or do not submit to the discipline of their "religion". I tend to include those who belong to "invented" religions, such as Wicca, etc... (Show me their "Wiccan" heritage, and I'll think otherwise....) I guess if pressed, I'd tend to include the Easter/Christmas Christians as being functionally atheist.

Combine this with the "American Taliban Is Consuming the Country" drivel that is being spouted by neo-atheists to rally their "base".

The US is demonstrably becoming less religious, and less conservative. Despite the "double-speak" one hears from the anti-religious bigots.... One only needs to watch a movie, surf the web, listen to contemporary music, or read books on the bestseller list to understand that simple fact.

While we do NOT need an "American Taliban" I think it is just as likely that "Taliban" will come from the Left as from the Right.