Richard Dawkins angry that 'atheist' label on Bernie Sanders would be considered a smear on his campaign

Atheist Richard Dawkins expressed outrage that the Democratic National Committee thought to attack Sen. Bernie Sanders by labeling him an atheist.

The British evolutionary biologist and author of the international bestseller "The God Delusion" took to Twitter on Monday to express his indignation at the news that calling someone an atheist could be a tool for a smear campaign.

"What kind of a country is it where 'accusing' a candidate of atheism is assumed to damage his electoral prospects?" wrote the 75-year-old intellectual in a tweet that garnered 3,775 likes and circulated more than 2,000 times.

Dawkins reacted after the incendiary emails that WikiLeaks dumped Friday. Nearly 2,000 email exchanges throughout January 2015 to May 2016 from the supposedly neutral DNC officials revealed their partisan support for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and even brainstormed on how they could subvert Sanders' campaign.

"He had skated on having a Jewish heritage," wrote DNC's CFO Brad Marshall on May 5, 2016, as reported by ABC News. "I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist."

According to a report released in January by Pew Research, 51 percent of American respondents said they still value a presidential contender who believes in God and would "less likely" vote for someone who does not.

"The new survey confirms that being an atheist continues to be one of the biggest perceived shortcomings a hypothetical presidential candidate could have," stated Pew.

Pew's survey showed that American voters believe being an atheist still poses as a deal-breaker for presidential hopefuls, followed by a candidate's insolvency, history of extramarital affairs and history of marijuana use.

The leaked emails threatened to shake the Democratic National Convention that opened on Monday as DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation.

The 74-year-old senator from Vermont himself endorsed his support Monday night for his former rival. However, hundreds of Sanders' supporters walked out of the Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday to protest Clinton's nomination.