They don't perform any research on the topic, they gather no actual data on the topic, and they're not atheists themselves.

That should be enough for us not to take what they have to say about the topic any more seriously than a layperson.

But I'll go even further and say that their statements on the subject should actually be considered dubious.

Those with education and careers centered around promoting a faith often receive education which includes anti-atheist ideas from institutions which were founded on belief systems which uphold that those outside their faith, including atheists, are morally bankrupt.

Religious apologetics and certain theological schools are often institutions of devotion in which students enter with a conclusion in mind and are given information meant to reinforce that conclusion.

They are not the same as educational institutions of academic scholarship in which conclusions are meant to be reached only after data is gathered.