Faith and Atheism.

Thought worthy.  I am not sure of your initial premise, Atheism is as old as at least David: "The fool says in his heart there is no God."  The same polemic existed before Newton, as reflected in Pascal's Pensees.  I do think that in its eagerness to integrate with the science--especially in the enlightenment period, too much was forced.  Though the church cannot be wholly blamed, for even the Renaissance spoke of theology that it was the queen of the sciences.  The bifurcation that developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century should have had no attempt to co-opt each other--though that is better seen in retrospect.
Today, Christianity has found that it is about purpose, and its sister about process.  The nuance and paradox needs be appreciated.  That way, whether it is images from the Hubble or Data from the Large Hadron Collider, can still inspire awe whether or not that person is a person of Faith.

http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/01/11/are-some-atheists-more-%E2%80%98religious%E2%80%99-than-they-realize/