Atheism is a minority position in today’s world. At least in the parts of the globe accessible to pollsters, most people believe in God.. . . . Consider, for example, the United States, where, despite the country’s constitutional commitment to the “separation of church and state,” most institutions of daily life are infused with theism. U.S. coins carry the proclamation “In God we Trust,” sessions of the U.S Congress open with a prayer offered by the official congressional chaplain, and national and civic leaders routinely invoke the name of God in campaign and policy speeches.

Within this climate, skeptics and atheists are viewed with suspicion. We are presumed to be arrogant, devoid of moral sentiments, and insensitive to a wide variety of human gods. Indeed, according to the authors of a recent survey from the University of Minnesota, “Atheists are at the top of the list of groups that Americans find problematic in both public and private life.” Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said that they would ‘disapprove’ if their child ‘wanted to marry a member of this group.’ The survey’s authors hasten to point out that these opinions seemed not to reflect their respondents’ actual encounters with real, live atheists -- most people in the survey claimed not to know any -- but rather reflected a stereotypical construction, one that linked disbelief with egotism, consumerism, and ethical relativism. ix - Introduction