from religious extremism or fanaticism. Rather, they argue that even religious moderates “provide protective coloration for their fanatical coreligionists.”16 It is probably this second element that leads to the shrillness of the New Atheist polemics, and it leads to a third element, which may be the most novel aspect of their thinking: a questioning of the principle of religious tolerance. Most unbelievers in the past have accepted the idea of religious freedom, wanting only to ensure that the principle