One technique employed by atheists to discredit religion is to constantly equate the ongoing violence of Muslims around the world with “religion.” The fallacy runs along these lines: Muslims believe in God and are religious fanatics who murder people in the name of God and religion. Catholics, Protestants, and others also believe in God and are therefore also religious fanatics who [would if they felt they needed to] murder people in the name of God and religion.” That's not a true categorical syllogism, but you get the idea.
Kupelian says:
“Remember, to atheists, Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all pretty much the same —dangerous monotheistic fairy tales that induce people to oppress and kill each other — the only difference being the particular myths, superstitions and rules they impose on followers based on each religion's traditions and supposed ‘holy books.’
“Thus, the pathological fanaticism and hair-trigger violence exhibited by brainwashed jihadists around the world today are easily associated by atheists with all religions, especially when they call to mind abuses committed in past centuries — say, the Inquisition or the Salem witch trials – in the name of Christianity.
“Another major, if more long-term, factor contributing to the popularity of atheist books, Prager notes, is the ‘secular indoctrination of a generation,’ thanks to our de facto atheistic public school system:
“‘Unless one receives a strong religious grounding in a religious school and/or religious home, the average young person in the Western world is immersed in a secular cocoon. From elementary school through graduate school, only one way of looking at the world – the secular — is presented.
“‘The typical individual in the Western world receives as secular an indoctrination as the typical European received a religious one in the Middle Ages. I have taught college students and have found that their ignorance not only of the Bible but of the most elementary religious arguments and concepts — such as the truism that if there is no God, morality is subjective — is total. So the generation that has been secularly brainwashed is now buying books that reconfirm that brainwash – especially now, given the evil coming from religious people.’
“Finally, observes Prager, Christianity and Judaism have, with some notable exceptions, failed to effectively counter the ever-rising tide of atheistic secularism in the Western world. Pointing out that ‘it is virtually impossible to distinguish between a liberal Christian or Jew and a liberal secularist,’ he notes that all three ‘regard the human fetus as morally worthless; regard the man-woman definition of marriage as a form of bigotry; and come close to holding pacifist beliefs, to cite but a few examples.’
“Thus, with religious evil increasing in the world – thanks to Islam — and fewer and fewer people willing and able to confront it, Prager concludes ‘the case for atheism will seem even more compelling.’”
