Atheism Research Paper

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

Vashti McCollum an atheist objected to the religious classes being provided by the Champaign public school district. McCollum argued that the school district violated the First Amendment, the principle of separation of church and state.

In some ways, it is refreshing to read H.J. McCloskey's article, "On Being an Atheist". Most people assume atheists are simple nihilists who do not subscribe to any sort of convictions or beliefs. The author's text, however, refutes this conventional viewpoint by producing several reasons for embracing atheism, many of which are studied and labored counterarguments to typical claims of theists. The most important part of this essay is found in its opening paragraphs, in which the author makes a very prudent point in explaining the fact that most theists do not require elaborate proofs or empirical evidence to substantiate their beliefs in a divinity. Those who do have not completely subscribed to faith, but to testaments of man's deductive prowess, which should not be confused with faith. However, the author makes a number of points that he believes alludes to fallacies in theism that those well versed in theism can handily refute.

In this day and time American Atheists has voiced a loud opinion on prayer in schools. Atheists are a group of individuals that believe that there is not a God. American Atheists

Michael Newdow, an atheist, is Jewish. He states that he “was born an atheist.” His work as both an attorney and an emergency medicine physician has not stopped him from suing the United States government with his claims that

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,

Having completed the unit of philosophy of religion, you are now ready to respond to an article written by an actual atheist.  This article, titled “On Being an Atheist,” was written by H. J. McCloskey in 1968 for the journal Question.  McCloskey is an Australian philosopher who wrote a number of atheistic works in the 1960s and 70s including the book God and Evil (Nijhoff, 1974). In this article, McCloskey is both critical of the classical arguments for God’s existence and offers the problem of evil as a reason why one should not believe in God.

As the world grows, diversity follows. With this diversity different faiths, or even lack of, are created; one being Atheism. Atheism is the unbelief of God or any other supreme being. Atheism is becoming more present within the community which sometimes leads to criticism. Since Christianity is the is the polar opposite of Atheism, their beliefs, practices, and symbols (or lack of) are bound to clash. Nonetheless, Atheism continues to grow.

Having completed the unit of philosophy of religion, you are now ready to respond to an article written by an actual atheist. This article titled “On Being an Atheist,” was written by H. J. McCloskey in 1968 for the journal Question. McCloskey is an Australian philosopher who wrote a number of atheistic works in the 1960s and 70s including the book God and Evil (Nijhoff, 1974). In this article, McCloskey is both critical of the classical arguments for God’s existence and offers the problem of evil as a reason why one should not believe in God. Please note the following parameters for this paper:

In a region where Christianity and Catholicism is the dominant religion, people that do not affiliate themselves with religion, such as atheists or agnostics, are often frowned upon by the followers of God. Many people don’t realize that the discrimination of these people in America is very real and is a serious issue. All over the states, thousands of people are being looked down on by their acquaintances solely due to their lack of religious beliefs. This shouldn’t have to be an issue in the “land of the free”. People need to be more aware of the growing concern about the treatment of non-religious people in America.

Not surprising at all, Religiosity and Atheism are just additional "layers" added only recently (during the last 2000? or so? years) to our moral "layer cake", imposed by our society. We are still not yet sufficiently evolved to transcend our primal hunter-gatherer instincts.

Richard Feldman revealed his religion choice of atheist. Feldman lectures a course called, “Rationality, Relativism, and Religion” and centers his research from findings in this class. He establishes that a good amount of the class are religion majors. Throughout the course, the students displayed two attitudes toward disagreement. These attitudes are intolerance and relativism. He feels we should have an open mind when coming about discussing disagreements. There is no room for religious bigotry simply because it is not useful. Having an open mind when engaging in these discussion allows for full analytical overview.

In the article, “On Being an Atheist”, H.J. McCloskey discusses the reasons of why he believes being an atheist is a more acceptable than Christianity. McCloskey believes that atheism is a more rational belief versus having a God who allows people to suffer so he can have the glory. He believes to live in this world, you must be comfortable. The introduction of his article, he implements an overview of arguments given by the theist, which he introduces as proofs. He claims that the proofs do not create a rationalization to believe that God exists. He provides 3 theist proofs, which are Cosmological argument, teleological argument, and the argument of design. He also mentions the presence of evil in the world. He focuses on the existence

In today’s society, people continue to start controversial ideas about how they think society should operate. Madalyn Murray O’Hair is comparable to Martin Luther in that they both brought up a subject that is very contentious. Madalyn Murray O’Hair brings atheism out during a time period where most are strongly fixated in their religious beliefs. However, she gains many followers just as Martin Luther does.

People in our society today who have the atheist point of view on religion, which is the belief that there is no god, are going against the so-called norms of society, and therefor are seen as deviant. Deviance is just an idea. Society determines what is deviant by the ideas they hold of what should be the norm. Atheism is seen as a negative deviance, or below the norm. They have a status that is placed on them in society. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they believe in evil, although that is how it is sometimes viewed from people in society who have a specific religion or faith. Atheism, which is not a new idea, has been evolving in our society, and is the reason for problems leading to debate and court cases, and for