What is needed to combat the overwhelming level of belief in God?

[SteveII]

I have seen first hand, that apologetics in the last 10 years is on a HUGE upswing in churches.

You report this as positive; however, I'd like to present a different perspective. For two thousand years religious authority supported by societal pressure has ensured unquestioned belief. The focus of belief has largely been a function of one's family specifically and geography generally; perpetual indoctrination. Only the very brave had previously had enough conviction to openly question the prevailing dogma. Have you asked yourself why in the last ten years has it been important for religious institutions to increase engagement of the more reasoning side of its adherents; i.e., apologetics? This not so strangely coincides with the phenomenon of what's now called new-atheism, a very vocal manifestation of what's always existed...skeptical inquiry into the existence of God and religious claims.

Let's be honest about apologetics. Despite how fresh and new the arguments seem when one is first made aware of them, most have been around for hundreds of years; they were also promptly refuted. Apologetics only serves to drag out the inevitable given the dearth of evidence for god and religious claims. You put a lot of stock into atheist population statistics when you should be much more alarmed about the rapidly increasing ranks of nones. Apologetics is the clapper ringing hell's bells.

The truth is that the cat not only escaped the bag, but promptly turned around and shredded it.

EDIT: Sorry, this post was more for Nestors reply.

Your view that apologetics will have the opposite effect that the church intends is interesting. However, I have seen that it just makes smarter Christians (long overdue). The arguments are not promptly refuted if you allow for the possibility of God (which enough people do in the world). I will grant that some long-held positions might change. You might move from a 6-day creation to some other position. You might move from a 6000 year old earth to another position. HOWEVER, there is nothing new the atheists are throwing our way that has not be dissected and answered a dozen different way for decades to millennium. There still continues to be more Christians each year in the US and the world. If there was a fatal flaw that would cause the whole house of cards to fall if pointed out, do you think we would see that?