While the great myth may appear to arise every year around Christmas and Easter, the fact is, this great myth is everpresent throughout the year.

The reality is that the only thing on the rise is ignorance.  Not in the derogatory sense of the word.  But literally.  We are witnessing  the consequences of poor education, mis-information, bad information, propaganda and benightedness.  It is ignorance in its purest form.

Here's why.  There are two types of atheists: 1) The genuine article.  2) The wannabe. And it is only the latter that is on the rise.

Wannabes are the classic pseudo-intellectuals who are under the impression that atheism is somehow synonymous with intellectualism.  They are reminiscent of the Diane character from Cheers. They reflect the juvenile nature of the 15 year old smoking - and choking on - a cigarette for no reason other than its cool.

The high profile wannabes will include the likes of Christopher Hitchens.  Am I the only one tired of this guy being portrayed as some sort of intellectual powerhouse?  His academic credentials are non existent yet he is often treated as if he has a dozen PhDs. Sure, he supported a competent response to 9/11; shall we give him a medal?

The wannabes will also include the likes of  Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and others, all of whom have taken the atheist argument on a dramatic ride into intellectual surrealism. Yes, these two hold advanced academic degrees and inasmuch as they do hold these degrees, we are enabled to gaze on the utter pathetic state of academia.

Betrand Russell, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century and committed atheist, would dismiss these guys as an embarrassment to the academic pursuit of knowledge.

Be aboslutely clear:  These wannabes have ever answed the question, Does God Exist? All have offered arguments about the legitimacy of religion.  None have addressed the existence of God. 

The current - state of / legitimacy of - religion and the existence of God are two completely unrelated issues.

The greatest minds of western civilization all offered arguments for the existence of God - Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, and Kant to name only the most prominent.  All of them argued for the existence of God without a single mention, not even a nod, towards religion. The entire crop of current atheists barely acknowledge these great minds, much less actually take on the arguments.  Dawkins, for example, gives Aquinas one paragraph.  His entire book is an argument against the legitimacy of religion and has little or nothing to do with the existence of God.

The very same is true of the great atheists - i.e., the genuine articles. The likes of A.J. Ayer, Bertrand Russell and others all argued against the existence of God without ever mentioning religion, directly or indirectly.  These men were genuine intellectuals all of whom would most certainly scoff at this current crop of atheists.

Syllogistically, the wannabes argument is this:

Lets stick with this logic.  Shall we?

Could this be any more nonsensical?  Actually, I'm not sure I could count the number of fallacies in these arguments.  Yet they are received by academics as great thinkers.

My concern is compounded when the wannabes are given credibility by notable intellectuals such as Dinesh D'Souza who often debates the wannabes in public forums.  With all due respect to the Christian apologist, he should know better.

It would be more than a little helpful if religion in the United States would stop giving these wannabes and other mindless liberals ammunition.  Many conservatives are often accused of failing to criticize President Bush for his domestic agenda which ran contrary to their views.  In the very same way, conservatives too often fail to criticize religious groups and engage in a blanket and blind defense of religion.  This is a gross mistake.  Just as conservative politicians should be engaged when they fail to act like conservatives ... so too should religions be engaged when they fail to act religious.  All too often religion fuels the liberal agenda and conservatives stand by and allow it to happen.

I always defend religion - Catholics, Jews and Protestants - when I'm confronted with a liberal agenda or intellectual wannabes. But it's a chore and I'm never happy to do it. The truth is, the current state of religion in the United States is an abysmal embarrassment.

Catholics in the U.S. are led by spineless creatures most of whom have egos that put anything D.C. or Hollywood have to shame.  Forget the laity who are Catholic in name only. Many Catholic bishops are, in fact, Catholic in name only.  Including my own local Bishop of St. Petersburg.  He, as do many other bishops, exhibit a failure to understand the world around them, and their role in that world.

American Jews, specifically Reform Jews, have little idea what they believe anymore.  The only thing they're certain of is that they better cough up forty grand for their kid's Bar Mitzvah or risk being ostracized.  And lets not forget the extent to which they have turned their back on Israel.

And Protestants.  I'm not even sure where to begin. They continue to insist that the solution to every problem is to start a new church. Many, particularly in the northeast, have become pagan-like in that they have abandoned Christ in favor of worshipping culture. And some in the south are now trying to Christianize Capitalism - which is no less bizarre than any attempt to Christianize Marxism.

Still, I have and will continue to defend religion.  Even if I do feel like I need a shower afterwards.

The point is, however, it would never occur to me that any of this nonsense occurring in Religion has anything at all to do with the existence of God. Or the nature of God. I really don't care what the academic degree or where that degree is from. Giving intellectual wannabes the time of day is an anathema. In this context, it gives the illusion that Atheism is on the rise.

And illusions have a way of fading into reality.