I also take exception to their claim that most Scientists are Atheists. Science and God are NOT mutually exclusive.
You can be a Theoretical Physicist working on the String and/or M-Theory and the Big Bang. That by itself means nothing -- as *someone* had to 1st make the Membranes that collided and which then caused the Big Bang.
The same for Evolution and God. Belief in one does not exclude the other. As *someone* had to do something to make 'x' happen (i.e.: turn it into 'y').
Atheists seem to be quite the bugaboo for being such a small percentage of the population. Moreover they are overrepresented in the Armed Services and underrepresented in the prison population, and tend to be well paid and well educated. Atheists are America's most despised religious minority, and yet they have not shown a proclivity to fly airplanes into buildings or behead those who disagree with them on theological or political matters.
Never been in the USA? Where did you get that from?
Hawking spends a good amount of time in the USA. He's been a visiting professor at Caltech for 20 years, spending a month or two there each year. He also makes many appearances at other schools in the U.S. He's certainly been here.