Regardless of the lies told in opinion polls and surveys - fewer than 18% of Americans are active and regular church goers and in candid vox pop interviews, many of them confess to non-belief in magic and super-spooks.

In Europe the decline in religion is more established and fewer than 6% of Europeans remain in thrall to religion with that number off the scale in the most peaceful and advanced nations including Sweden, Norway and the UK where religious belief is viewed with more than a little suspicion and as an eccentricity and anachronism.

A 2015 report lists the top ten most peaceful and law-abiding nations as the least religious and the bottom ten least peaceful nations as the most religious. Perhaps that is all we need to know to be encouraged for the more civilised future of humanity as the trend away from religion continues to accelerate - with - or without - atheist "churches"..