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I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

In response to the global challenge posed by religious extremism, a small group of impassioned atheists has taken a new approach.

They target the tolerant with both reason and ridicule. The new atheists, as they were dubbed

by Gary Wolfe in a recent article in Wired magazine, condemn, quote, not just belief in God,

but respect for belief in God.

Religion is not only wrong, it's evil.

This month, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Christoff condemned the new atheists as

obnoxious and militant and in your face.

And he wrote that this, quote, charge of the atheist brigade in its treatment of conservative Christians is, quote, often just as intolerant and mean.

Atheism already had a PR problem. Then came Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation.

When he wrote that since 20% of all recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage, God is, quote, the most

...