You won't see this trend slowing down, either. As the Religious Right starts to whine and complain about how they're supposedly being "oppressed," so, too, will the Atheists get louder.

And yes, I'm an Atheist, and I'm proud of it. I'm raising my sons in the same manner as well. I'd rather them think clearly than have their minds clouded by outdated dogma.

Time makes ancient ways uncouth!

I myself am a Taoist, I think that there is some beauty and truth in religion but not in the kind of religion being most espoused. The most dangerous verse in the bible is that which describes the kingdom of heaven being in everyman's heart. If you understand that concept then the whole house of cards starts to crumble.

You cannot identify yourself as an atheist and then claim to believe in spirituality. An atheist's worldview is free of supernatural elements, and is based purely on the naturalistic. No magic elves, no goddess, no cosmic force creating a guide for ethical behavior. Nothing.

Atheism is just another point of view.
There is no advantage other than we learn to rely on our own selves rather than a dogma.

By and large, atheists are typically individualists. That means they don't form groups and churches like religious people do. Because of that reality, estimates of how many atheists there are are inflated, and anyone trying to tell you what "atheists" believe is up in the night, because there are no "atheist creeds" that describe what a non-existant group of atheists believe!

Jen, you are the biggest culprit. You cannot tell anyone what "atheists" believe at all, because there is no official, centralized organization of "true" atheists. Least of all can you tell us that there is a contradiction between atheism and "spirituality"! You don't know what you think you know. I know of several atheists who believe in "magic" and what I would call "spirituality". They aren't members of an organization of atheists, and they don't publish "articles of faith", but so what? Mormons publish articles of faith and then don't live by them!

Most importantly, your false assumption that atheists have no basis for "ethics" is not only wrong but offensive. Just because their values are not based on Santa Claus or similar fictitious character doesn't mean they have no morals.