Atheists Celebrate 10-Year Anniversary of Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'
Atheist leaders have been celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the release of Richard Dawkins' best-seller The God Delusion, credited for leading "countless" of people away from faith.
"It was 10 years ago today when Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion was first published in the U.K.," wrote Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist blog on Sunday.
"The book went on to sell more than 3 million copies and, anecdotally, led countless people away from the religions of their youth. In fact, you could argue that The God Delusion has created more atheists than any other book in history … with the sole exception being the Bible," he argued.
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Mehta then listed several statements from leaders of atheist organizations who spoke out about the lasting legacy of the book, crediting it for helping form the modern secular movement and making it easier for atheists to identify as such.
"Dawkins' The God Delusion was a key work among a series including those by Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens and others that helped usher in the new era where atheism became a viable option for everyone," wrote Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.
Back in May, Dawkins said in an interview with BBC News that while he is proud of The God Delusion, he does not anticipate writing more books of the same nature.
"I've stepped back. I haven't written any more books along those lines. The God Delusion is a one-off. Not one that I'm ashamed of; I'm very proud of it. But it's a one-off," he said in response to a question.
The evolutionary biologist, who suffered a stroke earlier this year which forced him to cancel appearances, such as the "Reason rally" in Washington D.C., said in June that his health scare did not change his views on life and death.
"Well, nothing lies beyond. I consider mortality from time to time, I suspect we all do, but certainly nothing lies beyond," he said in another interview, reflecting on whether there is life after death.
