The Pros And Cons Of Religion And Atheism

Religion as defined by Merriam-Webster is, “the belief in a god or in a group of gods; an organized

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

Atheist religions include Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Scientology. Atheism is the non-belief in god, so Atheists have no belief in god (Crabtree). Atheism is not so much a religion, but a belief. “Atheism isn 't, therefore, ‘a religion’ and nor should it be capitalized, any more than ‘monotheist’ or ‘polytheist’ should be” (Crabtree). Christians do not identify themselves as monotheist. They identify themselves as Christians or their specific denominations. For this reason, Atheists should not be radicalized as an extreme religion or rather extreme lack of religion. About 13 million (nearly 6 percent of Americans) describe themselves as atheist or agnostic (Smith). It is unrealistic that any person out of this 13 million will become a future President.

God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist The existence or otherwise of God has attracted a seeming countless debates from all classes of people mainly academics, comprising theologians, scientists and philosophers, not to mention laypersons. Consequently, this singular topic has generated many publications and reviews. Of particular interest are the two opposing views brilliantly presented by William Lane Craig, a popular Christian philosopher and apologist who is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Professor of Philosophy at Dartmouth College. There had been intense rounds of debate on the subject, prominent among which were the one at Dartmouth in 1999 and another at Wooddale Church in 2000. William Lane Craig believes, and firmly too, that God exists while Walter Sinnott-Armstrong would always want to convince his listeners that He does not. These opposing views and more are taken up in the 2003 popular and unique book, God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist. The uniqueness of the book, and in fact, its greatest strength can be found in the fact that it was co-authored by opponents, a christian and an atheist. What makes the book more interesting is that it represents the results of an actual debate, where each side not only presents its succinct and polite views but has the chance to actively respond to its opponent with some succinct theological and philosophical sophistication. While they arrive

In William L. Rowe 's paper "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism" he sets out to accomplish two main goals. The first goal is directed toward theists, while the second attempts to reach the very wellspring of an atheist 's heart. Foremost, Rowe sets out to show that there is "an argument for atheism based on the existence of evil that may rationally justify someone in being an atheist" (335). After he has effectively addressed this first issue he moves on to try and convince the atheist that in light of all the evidence that theists are rationally justified (just as much as the atheist) and therefore that atheists should subscribe to what Rowe calls "friendly atheism."

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,

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.

Although nearly 88% of the United States population believes that there is a God, this does not make them all religious people (Religious Beliefs and Practices). Religion is defined as being the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. The reason why many people might believe in a god or gods is because God is a social construction; the talk of a god is in all forms of media and everyday life, including the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States. For many people who are religious, like myself, they are taught that there is a God from an early age by various social institutions, including their family, peers, media, and in some cases, private schools.

Many people have an opinion about the overall nature of the universe and about the role which humanity plays in the universe. For example, “Why are we here” and “What will happen to us after we die”? The majority of us don’t know the answers to these questions. Thus, many of us want to have a religion because it gives us the impression that we are secure in the universe. It also provides guidance in our life. I presume it’s easier to live with some sort of explanation, even if it’s incorrect. When asked, “What religion do you practice”? I reply, “I’m atheist”. I simply lack belief in deities. However, many people have preconceived ideas about what I am and what I am not. For instance, I don’t believe in God, I loathe Christians; I concur

There are many types of atheistic beliefs, but overall Atheism is the disbelief in the existence of a god or gods (Merriam-webster.com). In Jesse Smith’s journal, “The Scientific Study of Religion” he investigates the roots of American Atheism and how it is rising in today’s society. In his journal he states, “There have been atheists in this country since its inception, but an expressed atheist presence in U.S. society has never been anything other than a very small minority” (Smith 80). He further states, “Within the last decade explicitly atheist groups all across the country proliferated and became conspicuous. These groups have become increasingly interconnected, and an expanding network-an American atheist community- is developing a more recognizable place in American culture” (Smith 80). Atheism is at the peak of its existence and is growing every day. In 2012 this atheist group even made the newspaper for its rally to be held at the National Mall in Washington D.C. The article written by John Watts states, “The National Mall will play host to a rally for atheists on Saturday, March 24, that is being referred to as the “Woodstock for nonbelievers”, and this event is intended to be celebratory” (Watts). This event turned out to be the largest ever gathering of nonbelievers in one place (huffingtonpost.com). This growing movement is called New Atheism.

In Atheism: The Case Against God, George H. Smith refutes arguments that many Theists use to try and prove God’s existence. One example of this is what he describes as “The Argument from Life.” This argument is often referred to as the fine-tuning argument as it argues that the Universe that humanity is a part of is so unlikely, it is as if it has been fine-tuned by a supernatural force. Although Smith argues against this claim using a variety of arguments, he is ultimately unsuccessful in refuting it because an intelligent designer is a better explanation for life than chance.

An atheist is someone who does not believe in a God or creation, but this leads to a sort of problem in beliefs throughout the world and it attacks past heritages and religions. Is there not a God and if there was, can it be scientifically proven? With this concept in mind scientist can make a new set of theories in Macroevolution, which is the study of evolution in large portions such as the universe. With this, we find all sorts of ideas but no proven answers, as there is small evidence to the beginning of the world. We can use theories to answer creation or deny it, for religious science theories are different from atheist perspective. Religious science has a reason and more evidence tied to the past events even though some argue you

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

There are many different religions that people believe in today. When I think of religion I think of a group of people who believe in a god or gods that created the world and determine your faith. There are different forms of theist religions, some of these religions believe in many gods and some only believe in one. That to me was the main part about being religious, is that you had to believe in a god. I never believed or knew that religions could be non-theistic, so I always counted atheism as a non-religion. Coming in to college and having the knowledge that I would have to take two religion courses I was a bit weary. I did believe in a God or that any non-theistic views are religious. So I had some bias about what I was going to learn about such as: about this all powerful being God, that all religions have the same basic core just different practices, that the evolutionary theory would be thrown out and that there would be an underlying tone that everyone should be religious. Thinking that I would be shunned for not believing in a god was the one thing that scared me the most.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the