Newsweek has an article on the recent proliferation of books--by Harris, Dennett, and Dawkins--on atheism. We start with Harris's endeavor.

Americans answered the atrocities of September 11, overwhelmingly, with faith. Attacked in the name of God, they turned to God for comfort; in the week after the attacks, nearly 70 percent said they were praying more than usual. Confronted by a hatred that seemed inexplicable, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson proclaimed that God was mad at America because it harbored feminists, gays and civil libertarians. Sam Harris, then a 34-year-old graduate student in neuroscience, had a different reaction. On Sept. 12, he began a book. If, he reasoned, young men were slaughtering people in the name of religion?something that had been going on since long before 2001, of course?then perhaps the problem was religion itself.

A rather mild treatment follows, which is all I would expect from a brief Newsweek article. The last few lines, however, sound a little ominous--a warning of sorts.

If Dawkins, Dennett and Harris are right, the five-century-long competition between science and religion is sharpening. People are choosing sides. And when that happens, people get hurt.

But aren't people getting hurt anyway?

Being an Atheist in America Isn't Easy - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com

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