What is atheism? Why would someone be an atheist? Why do people fear and dislike atheism? Simply stated, atheism is the lack of belief in a god or gods. Granted, atheists are each individuals and undoubtedly each of them prescribe [to] many different philosophies on life, politics and morality as do Christians. However, though atheists may choose to gather collectively for whatever purpose, unlike Christianity, atheism is not a belief system. An individual who identifies himself as an atheist is merely stating that he does not believe in [the existence of] god or gods. Atheism, as indicated by its name, is the opposite of theism which is belief in at least one god; to include polytheism (belief in many or more than one god) and monotheism (belief in only one god).
For the majority of Americans the term atheism (or reference to an individual as an “atheist”) has a negative connotation. This is not surprising as 76% of Americans identify themselves as Christians and a fundamental Christian ideology involves embracing a belief that non-Christians are condemned to Hell after they die. A poll conducted by the Princeton Religion Research Center (PRRC) estimates that 6 in 10 Americans “completely agree that the only assurance of eternal life is a personal faith in Jesus Christ”. To further support this belief, scripture from John such as: John 14:6: "Jesus answered: 'No one comes to the Father except through me'" and John 3:18: "...whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" are two relevant examples that reinforce the Hell scenario for the Christian mind. Christian values stem from an absolute faith in the philosophy of Jesus and the application of this philosop...
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...minating against and even committing violence against atheists, but atheists are the intolerant ones for simply making public their disdain for Christian doctrine and dogma? What sort of nation is America if blasphemy can be treated as worse than bigotry, discrimination, or violence?”
Works Cited
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Scheitle, Christopher P., and Roger Finke. Places of faith: a road trip across America's religious landscape. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Religious conscience in America has evolved considerably since the first settlers emigrated here from Europe. Primary settlements were established by Puritans and Pilgrims who believed "their errand into the wilderness [America] was above all else a religious errand, and all institutions - town meeting, school, church, family, law-must faithfully reflect that fact" (Gaustad 61). However, as colonies grew, dissenters emerged to challenge Puritan authority; indeed, many of them left the church to join untraditional religious sects such as "the Ranters, the Seekers, the Quakers, the Antinomians, and the Familists" (Westbrook 26). Debates over softening the stance on tolerance in the church engendered hostility in many religious leaders, priming some officials to take action. Whether it was in direct response to "the liberalizing tendencies beginning to take hold in some [. . .] New England churches" (Westbrook 65), or a "reaction against the attempt in the Age of Reason to reduce Christian doctrine to rationalistic explanation" ("Great Awakening"), the Great Awakening impressed upon the issues of religious conscience. Moreover, what spawns from this controversy is a query over the juxtaposition of morality and spirituality: the question of whether these conditions are actually related. The gradual escalation of unconventional thinking in religious affairs facilitated new ideas on what defined spirituality; one religious theory, boosted by Thomas Paine and his book, The Age of Reason, denounced both Christianity and Atheism, proposing instead, a new concept: the middle path of Deism.
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Because of the diversity and impact that religion has on the lives of Americans, the individual belief should be treated as equal, not t...
Atheism is disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods, they reject religion as apart of not only a rejection of ignorance, but also a rejection of their religious family and association of religion itself, says Catherine L. and Caldwell-Harris who are published in the Department of Psychology for Boston University, Lesley College,University of Haifa, and Trinity College. This is a stark contrast to theism, which is the belief in god and is the case for many Americans. This demographic is about 83% of America’s population, according to the most recent census. About 16% of the population, or about 34,169,000 people are of an unaffiliated position, which would include Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and those of no religious stance. This number has only increased since 1990 which was about 14,331,000 in 1990 (United States), and will only continue to grow as more and more people come out as the nonaffiliated in the coming years (Caldwell-Harris).
Theology is an intentionally reflective endeavor. Every day we reflect upon the real, vital, and true experience of the benevolent God that exists. We as humans tend to be social beings, and being so we communicate our beliefs with one another in order to validate ourselves. Furthermore atheism has many forms, three of the most popular atheistic beliefs include: scientific atheism, humanistic atheism and the most popular one being protest atheism. Scientific atheism is the idea that science is the answer for everything and god is not existent. The humanistic approach states that society is self-sufficient; therefore God is not needed for survival. Therefore how could he exist? The position that I will argue in this paper is the pessimistic idea of protest atheism.
Rahv, Philip. "The Unfuture of Utopia." George Orwell. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 102-105.
“As of 1994 there were an estimated 240 million atheists around the world comprising slightly more than 4 percent of the world’s population, including those who profess atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion”(Michael). Disbelief in God might be considered arrogant, but as you can see the group we refer to as atheists includes not only simple-minded imbeciles, but also the great American diplomat, Thomas Jefferson. “Atheists are frequently asked what atheism has to offer as opposed to religion. To answer this question, I need to assume that there are no gods or supernatural entities to reward us with a peaceful eternity if we follow some established morality. If the reason for this assumption is proven false, then the question is meaningless, as atheism ceases to exist”(Goluboff). A strong one-sided statement that gives little attention the fact that we presently...
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia: A New Translation, Backgrounds, Criticism. Ed. and trans. Robert M. Adams. Toronto: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1988.
God can be defined as a being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions (1). There are many people that do not believe in any religion. People who do not believe in a religion have no reason for believing in a God. People who do not believe in a God and argue against the existence of God are proving something that is completely false. There is a God for numerous reasons.
To explore the concepts of Utopian theory, both political and social, one must first engender a concrete definition of what Utopia means. Sir Thomas More, the original creator of the term Utopia, signifies it as “no place”. However, More’s clever play on words seems ultimately to suggest that ”no place” is just no place right now. That is to say that Utopia is “an ideal place that does not exist in reality” yet (Murfin and Ray 529).
6. Bohdan R. Bociurkiw and John W. Strong, Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and