Originally Posted by Fluffmeister

The problem with Dawkins is that he has a "strawman" argument. He thinks that anyone who isn't an atheist must believe in a sort of bearded policeman in the sky called "God", and then provides arguments against that.

The truth of the matter is that many non-atheists have a totally different conception about what "God" means to them.

I think at the moment it isn't a question of traditional religions versus atheists, but traditional religions and atheists both getting nervous about the rise of what they see as "new age" philosophy. More and more people seem to be saying "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual" - and that pisses off traditional religions who see it as a dangerous trend, *and* the atheists who want their own hard-core scientific materialism to be justified.