"The only explanation I can think of is that some at least of the signatories are zealots who, despite their scientific training, can be far more emotional and extreme in their thinking than the religious believers whom they hold in contempt....
Their explosive response to Mr Cameron’s gentle musings is proof enough. In several ways they exaggerate or distort what he wrote....
Yet despite his article’s even-handedness and the absence of any notion of exclusiveness, the letter finds it necessary to emphasize that we are ‘a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives’. That is exactly the point the Prime Minister was making.
The truth is that there is a new breed of militant atheists who are capable of being as unreasoning as the most bone-headed creationist. Their intolerance is a strange mirror reflection of the bigotry of religious extremists..."
This new breed of militant atheists are as intolerant as any religious fundamentalists | Daily Mail Online
Another ding quote. Per the article, the author states that the drastic fall in Christian followers is due to lack of propaganda.
I could offer a few tentative explanations for the drop in church attendance and decline of Christian belief: poor or non-existent religious education, the virtual disappearance of religious broadcasting, and the failings of the Church of England, which can sometimes appear introspective to the point of self-obsession.
A religion that people are willing to kill and die for should not need propaganda if it is true. It should just be true and obvious and evident to anyone.
The reason that non-believers like myself dislike the idea of religion, is that religions are leading us to an ultimate nuclear conflict, for a reason we cannot fathom since we don't follow those beliefs.
So we try to use reason and logic and science, to try to persuade religious followers that they are heading down a dangerous path. History has shown this, and it will only continue repeating itself, each time with more and more dangerous weapons.
So non-believers are left with few options. We can't just sit by and let you people destroy yourselves, because you'll destroy us in the process. We're not going to go militant on you and try to wipe religions off the planet, because that's impossible and also wrong. We can only try to educate you. Make the fanatics realize that there are other ideas out there from many places on the Earth which may also be true and should be considered. And if they want to continue to grow their faith, they should learn to do it in peace and rely on education rather than eradication. Help others who know things that you don't know, and learn from them at the same time. Faith should be a personal epiphany, that grows as you grow and learn. Not something forced down your throat from birth, that cannot be changed.
I can't speak for other non-believers, but that's why I argue these things. I want to see us continue to evolve and flourish, and eventually colonize other star systems. But we're not going to get there if we blow ourselves up first. And that's where these organized religions are ultimately leading us...