Eddie Tabash

Edward Tabash, more commonly referred to as Eddie Tabash, is an American lawyer and political/social activist. Tabash is an atheist and a proponent of the strict separation of the church and state.

He chairs the Board of Directors for the Center for Inquiry.

He debated the prominent Christian apologists William Lane Craig, Peter van Inwagen, J.P. Moreland, Greg Bahnsen and Richard Swinburne.

Eddie Tabash on the American atheist movement

See also: American atheism

Tabash said at the 2010 Michigan Atheists State Convention:

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In every generation there has been a promising beginning of a true vanguard movement that will finally achieve widespread public acceptance for nonbelief. Yet, in each generation there has been an ultimately disappointing failure to actually register the naturalistic alternative to supernatural claims in the public consciousness... Now given the confounding extent to which religion is entrenched in our society, it could take a minimum of 100 years of sustained, intense effort to even begin to cut into the current monolithic stranglehold that religion has on American mass culture,

”

Tabash said in a 2007 speech to the Atheist Alliance International organization:

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The other likely future is one in which by a shift of only one vote on the United States Supreme Court, we will essentially become a theocracy in which all branches of government we be freed to favor religion collectively over nonbelief.

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The likelihood that American atheists will engage to 100 years of sustained, intense effort to gain widespread acceptance is remote.

According Pew Research:

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In the 2014 Religious Landscape Study, self-identified atheists were asked how often they share their views on God and religion with religious people. Only about one-in-ten atheists (9%) say they do at least weekly, while roughly two-thirds (65%) say they seldom or never discuss their views on religion with religious people. By comparison, 26% of those who have a religious affiliation share their views at least once a week with those who have other beliefs; 43% say they seldom or never do.

”

See also: Atheism and apathy and Views on atheists

In addition, demographic trends point to the atheist population in the United States plateauing in the 21st century as far its proportion of the American public (see: Demographics and trends in American secularism|Demographics and trends in American secularism).

Furthermore, due to various historical events/trends, the atheist movement saw a number of setbacks during the latter portion of the 20th century and beyond. As a result, it has lost a considerable amount of confidence (See: Low morale of the atheist movement).