Pseudo-atheism in T.C. Boyle's “Chicxulub“

Hi there, could you please review my essay and tell me if it sounds half-way professional. Maybe some of you guys even know the short story which is subject to the essay. The language level I'm aiming at is at least B-2 (university level basically). If you have any recommendations, feel free to let me know. By the way, I'm from Germany. Thank you.

Pseudo-atheism in T.C. Boyle's “Chicxulub“

“Chicxulub“ by T.C. Boyle is a short story about a couple who is confronted with the possible death of their adolescent daughter Madeline. They receive a phone call from the hospital informing them that “Maddie“ was struck by a car and is in surgery. After a long and painful time of waiting in the hospital the two are asked to identify a body. It becomes obvious that the dead girl is not Maddie but a friend of hers, this relieves her parents. Except for this main plot the story is frequently interrupted by the narrator addressing the reader discussing the impact of so-called „civilization enders“. These are huge asteroids which would extinguish most life when they hit earth. He argues that, since it is unpredictable when such an event occurs, human life is random and unstable. After that he examines ontogeny and phylogeny, stating that men may accept individual tragedy as long as mankind and human culture survive.
“Chicxulub“ basically suggests that, in the omnipresence of doomsday, everyone may autonomously set their own priorities, regardless of an abstract “higher good“. Though it first seems that the protagonist is atheist, the text shows his inner conflict between scientific and religious views. Since he seeks „god's help“ in the increasingly pressuring situation he should better be described as a pseudo-atheist or a pragmatic believer. The development of his set of beliefs undergoes three stages.

1. Scientific approach – physics and mathematics.
2. Pragmatic belief
3. Repeated denial of a higher entity

“The force of its entry—the compression and superheating of the air beneath it—caused it to explode some twenty-five thousand feet above the ground, but then the term “explode” hardly does justice to the event. There was a detonation—a flash, a thunderclap—with the combustive power of eight hundred Hiroshima bombs.“ In the first part of the story, the narrator mainly talks about possibilities and consequences of an asteroid impact. His tone is clear and cynical which strengthens the reader's impression of him as a strict science believer.
In the hospital, when Maddie's condition is still unclear, he suddenly starts to mutter short prayers, particularly addressed to “whoever or whatever may be listening.“ This clearly suggests that he is a pragmatic believer and at least hopes there is a god. It becomes even more evident when he fears that “those gods of the infinite and the minute“ might take his daughter if he claimed her as his own.
Questioning the relevance of human life in general he denies divine beings saying that “the gods are nothing but a rumor“. When it becomes obvious that the dead girl is not Maddie he concludes that his personal tragedy (the real asteroid “Chicxulub“ poses as an analogy for this) has not yet arrived.
Through the protagonist's faith conflict, “Chicxulub“ exposes the current shift of paradigms, meaning that science slowly replaces religious faith. Nevertheless, even men, who normally deny god belief, might hope for higher powers when in extreme situations.