Acharya Prashant addresses the rise of atheism by distinguishing between two kinds of religion. The first is the usual, formal, organized, and popular religion, which he states has appropriated the word "religion." This type is based on organized belief systems and stories concerning a particular God. When people identify as atheists, they are typically rejecting these specific belief systems. He explains that this rejection was bound to happen because every story is a product of the mind, and every belief system is merely something one believes in, not necessarily having any truth to it. The advent of science, which showed the universe to be deterministic, and thinkers like Nietzsche who declared God is dead, contributed to this trend. All religions founded on belief were bound to lose their charm, and that is what is happening today. In contrast to organized religion, there is what Acharya Prashant calls "real religion" or "essential religiosity." This is not confined to any particular sect, stream, organization, or belief system. Instead, it is the fundamental thirst of the mind to reach a state of rest and peace. This essential religiosity, he argues, cannot be shunned or done away with. Man is born with restlessness, ignorance, unfulfillment, and loneliness, and therefore needs true religion to find peace. Religion, in its true sense, is one's fundamental, crying inner need, much like the body's need for hunger and thirst. He expresses concern that in the name of atheism, people might also reject this core spirituality. While it is understandable to reject the notion of a fictional God, it becomes a tragedy if this leads to rejecting the need for peace, truth, compassion, love, and deep understanding. He points out that many great saints and religious reformers were, in a sense, atheists because they did not subscribe to the prevailing, often juvenile, notions of God. Atheism is wonderful if it serves as a counter-narrative to the superstitions of popular, organized religion. The intended relationship between religion and spirituality is that religion should be the outer shell or gateway to the kernel of spirituality. However, Maya is such that religion often becomes a barrier to true spirituality. Therefore, when popular religion is challenged or discarded, it can be an auspicious event if it leads to a cleansing of religion and a movement towards true spirituality. It is a welcome development if people, by dropping the stories of popular religion, turn towards what is truly religious or spiritual. However, it is a great problem if, along with rejecting organized religion, spirituality itself is also discarded.