I think he means be outspoken about what it means, not to teach it in school.
Only recently have atheists really become vocal about what it really means. So in part I think he's correct. However, it is very difficult to actually get some theists to understand at all that atheism really is a simple lack of belief in deities. For a variety of reasons, they misunderstand or simply cannot wrap their head around this simple fact. It does not mean we worship Satan, it does not mean we are just angry at God, and so forth. These are still common misconceptions held by many theists despite the attempts from actual atheists to explain that Richard Dawkins is not our prophet and we don't worship evolution. So, I'd say it's still at least half the theists fault, as many of them simply can't grasp it or want to pervert the meaning of it for their own ends.
My mother even told me she doesn't think I've lost belief in God, simply that I'm searching, or struggling, or something.
Only recently have atheists really become vocal about what it really means. So in part I think he's correct. However, it is very difficult to actually get some theists to understand at all that atheism really is a simple lack of belief in deities. For a variety of reasons, they misunderstand or simply cannot wrap their head around this simple fact. It does not mean we worship Satan, it does not mean we are just angry at God, and so forth. These are still common misconceptions held by many theists despite the attempts from actual atheists to explain that Richard Dawkins is not our prophet and we don't worship evolution. So, I'd say it's still at least half the theists fault, as many of them simply can't grasp it or want to pervert the meaning of it for their own ends.
My mother even told me she doesn't think I've lost belief in God, simply that I'm searching, or struggling, or something.
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?”
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
