For most of human history, theism was treated as a given. To be sure, there were differences of opinion on the issue. Are there many gods or one? Does he communicate through law? Or prophets? If so, which ones? Might he have become incarnate at some time in human history? These questions and countless others have been answered in many different ways by the world’s great religious traditions. But the underlying presumption in favor of some form of theism remained a constant.
This is no longer the case. Where atheists of old worked to conceal their skepticism for fear of punishment or social ostracism, today they collect hefty book advances and enjoy widespread public adoration. And no wonder: A recent poll shows that one in five Americans has no religious preference, more than double the number reported in 1990 — and the highest rate since the number began to be tracked in the 1930s. According to another survey, nearly a third of Americans under the age of 30 describe themselves as atheist, agnostic, or "spiritual but not religious," making the millennial generation the most religiously unaffiliated of any on record.
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