I share most of Dawkin's beliefs on religion but abhor the way he chooses to communicate them. I'm not sure if it's hit the US but in the UK we have a thing ca

I share most of Dawkin's beliefs on religion but abhor the way he chooses to communicate them. I'm not sure if it's hit the US but in the UK we have a thing called the Alpha Course. It's a Christian run 10 week course that discussed the "meaning of life" with a slightly (but only very slightly) covert agenda of converting the attendees to Christianity. My experience (anecdotal) of Alpha is that it does a good job of bringing lapsed Christian's back into the fold - that is people who basically accepted it but weren't practising. For anyone else - those of other faiths, atheists and so on, it doesn't seem to do much. There will be exceptions but that seems to be the general pattern. I see Dawkins as generally the same for atheists. I doubt very much he has any sort of major influence on Christians (other than to annoy them), he just gives atheists and agnostics a cheer leader and helps them confirm what they're thinking. Nothing wrong with that of course but he's not engaging in any way that's going to bring about the death of religion which is what he'd seem to like.