<p>This paper argues that a “deep atheist” critique of monotheism reveals how the functional equivalent of God is reproduced within many ostensibly secular, even atheistic ideologies and normative frameworks. Furthermore, the absence of a critical awareness of this God-function can generate many of the same problematic tendencies commonly attributed to fanatical forms of traditional religious theism. The “New Atheists,” in their reluctance to engage more nuanced philosophical conceptions of God beyond those associated with fundamentalism or scriptural literalism, thereby articulate a form of atheism that remains as shallow as the theism they refute. Engaging instead with a form of “deep theism,” represented by Don Cupitt’s Non-Realist theology, informs a more thorough atheistic critique by shifting attention away from debates over God’s existence and toward the structural function that the concept of God performs. Building on Brook Ziporyn’s model of “deep atheism,” this paper extends atheist critique to the very structural role that God occupies within monotheism, defined here as the privileging of a single, unified constellation of values, commitments, or conception of the Good over all other alternatives. The deep atheist critique thereby reveals the God-function’s presence operating within many ostensibly secular ideologies, including the normative programs of the New Atheist’s themselves, in forms of ‘civil religion’ or ‘secular theism.’ Because these frameworks often mirror the structural dynamics of monotheistic belief, they can exhibit similar pathological tendencies—most notably dogmatism, absolutism, and universalism—along with their potentially destructive symptomatic expressions in fanaticism, authoritarianism, and chauvinism.</p>