Atheism

Atheism is defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy as "the negation of theism, the denial of the existence of God."^[1] Other definitions exist which simply state something along the lines of a "belief that there is no God or gods."^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]. Such definitions are perceived by Creation Wiki^[6] as recent "attempts by atheists to redefine the meaning of atheism in order to shift the burden of proof in relation to the question of the existence of God." This itself contradicts the traditional concept of burden of proof^[7] where those making the claim that something is true have to provide evidence^[8] for the truthfulness of their claim. Proving the claim that something does not exists can only be disproven by providing supporting evidence^[9] for the existence of that which is denied to exist. Proof for the existence of God is ultimately faith based. ^[10]

Well-known atheists include Bertrand Russell, Ayn Rand, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Douglas Adams, William Borden and Sam Harris.

Atheism and morality

Since atheism is not a worldview it carries no obligation to any kind of moral system such as those based on political ideologies or religious texts. Thus atheism is amoral not immoral. Immorality results from flouting the conventions of one's own morality; amorality is being without morality.^[11] Atheists of course do have moral and ethical codes which differ among atheists since atheists can have any system of morality they choose.

Origins of atheism

It is known that ancient Greece produced a theory of materialism as early as the 5th century BC. Materialism is a philosophical position that the material is all that exists. Therefore, it automatically excludes immaterial beings. In addition to materialism the Greeks also considered Spiritualism, in which the material world is an illusion and only spirit exists, as well as dualism, in which both the material and the spiritual exist (e.g. Christianity).

It was only from the late 18th century after the demise of the of Church's controll and influence over western society that the first openly atheistic thinkers appeared. Following the French Revolution in the 19th century rationalistic and freethinking philosophers under the influenced the rise of atheism to prominence. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including Ludwig Feuerbach, Arthur Schopenhauer, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

During the 20th century atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as existentialism, Objectivism, secular humanism, nihilism, logical positivism, Marxism, feminism and the general scientific and rationalist movement. Since the collapse of communism and the reduction in the number of actively antireligious regimes many God-based and faith-based movements are experiencing increasing confidence and influence vis-à-vis secular movements and ideologies.

Atheism is apparently mentioned in the Bible:

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good" (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

Atheist Population

In the Great Britain 2001 census, 15.5% of the population identify themselves as having no religious beliefs 2001 Census. This category included agnostics, atheists, heathens and those who wrote Jedi Knight. However other articles suggest a much higher rate of around 52% in the UK once agnostics have been considered.

More specific research on atheists conducted in 2006 suggests that the true proportion of Atheists is 4% in the United States, 17% in Great Britain and 32% in France. The Christian research organization, the Barna Group, reports that 12% of Americans are atheist or agnostic. Given that the methodology of the Barna Group study does not distinguish between atheists and agnostics, it is impossible to say if their results support, or contradict, the 4% figure. Estimates of the prevalence in atheism in the United States are, however, almost always much lower than comparable estimates from Europe.

It is important to keep in mind that surveys containing an option for "no religion" are not necessarily identifying solely atheists. Indeed, many individuals may believe strongly in some form of god but not subscribe to any one particular religion, and as a result will enter a response of "no religion" on surveys. As an example, 14.39% of the respondents to the 2004 General Social Survey in the United States claim to have "no religion." Of a subsample (197 respondents) of those persons with no religion who answered a second question on the origins of man, 19.80% believe that God created man while an additional 43.15% believe that God created man by guiding evolution over time. Thus, cumulatively 62.95% of those with "no religion" still believe that God was directly responsible for the creation of man in some fashion. Clearly, then, many of those claiming to have "no religion" are not atheists. These data are available and can be analyzed online GSS Data Online. Additionally, some atheists consider atheism to be a religion and will not respond that they have "no religion" on surveys, often preferring an "other" option.

Public Disapproval of Atheists in America

Research by Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis and Douglas Hartmann in the American Sociological Review indicates that most Americans would be more willing to vote for a homosexual or Muslim presidential candidate than an atheist. The same study indicates that 47.6% of Americans would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist. More recent Gallup polls confirm this finding and indicate that atheists are among the most disliked minorities in the United States. In addition, former President George H.W. Bush has previously stated that he does not believe atheists should be considered citizens of the United States.

Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann 2006- Table 1 (Percentage of respondents answering affirmatively):

	This Group Does Not At All Agree with My Vision of American Society:	I Would Disapprove if My Child Wanted to Marry a Member of This Group:
Atheist	39.6%	47.6%
Muslim	26.3%	33.5%
Homosexual	22.6%	NA
Conservative Christian	13.5%	6.9%
Recent Immigrant	12.5%	Not Asked
Hispanic	7.6%	18.5%
Jew	7.4%	11.8%
Asian American	7.0%	18.5%
African American	4.6%	27.2%
White American	2.2%	2.3%

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are one contemporary group known to discriminate against atheists. The BSA has been sued several times by Scouts who had been denied the rank of Eagle solely because they were atheists.

The Problem of Evil

One argument against belief in all-powerful entities ('gods') is the existence of evil. Philosopher and materialist Epicurus (341-270 BC), wrote:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Theodicy is the branch of study in theology and philosophy that defends the goodness of God despite the existence of evil. ^[12] In traditional Christianity and Judaism the book of Job is used to explain the existence of evil. ^[13] In recent times Christian apologetists often cite Alvin Plantinga's free will defense in regards to the existence of evil. ^[14]^[15] The work of St. Augustine is also cited in regards to theodicy. ^[16]

The Problem of Origins

Arguments against atheism sometimes invoke the Problem of Origins. This problem can be simply stated as:

All things that exist have causes.

The universe exists.

The universe must have a cause.

Theists often claim that God is the origin of the universe and, thus, that this Problem of Origins is evidence for the existence of God. Atheists use a variety of possible counters to this claim but the simplest is likely that invoking God as "first cause" simply removes the problem one step. So, if the problem of the origin of the universe is solved by attributing it to god, it simply raises the problem of the origin of God. If God can be uncaused then, atheists claim, so can the universe. However, theists claim that the first and second law of thermodyamics argues against an eternal universe. ^[17]^[18]

Many leading scientists reject God. ^[19]Creationist scientists assert the theory of evolution is an inadequate explanation for the variety of life forms on earth. ^[20]

Creationists also state that the origin of life is not possible though natural processes and the origin of life is the result of God. ^[21]^[22]^[23]

External Links

References

[1] ttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/

[2] ttp://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=atheism

[3] ttp://library.thinkquest.org/25416/gloss.htm

[4] ttp://www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm

[5] ttp://studentorgs.georgetown.edu/guskeptics/definitions.htm

[6] ttp://creationwiki.org/Atheism

[7] ttp://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/claims/truth.html#burden

[8] ttp://john.curtin.edu.au/society/glossary/

[9] ttp://john.curtin.edu.au/society/glossary/

[10] ttp://www.gotquestions.org/Does-God-exist.html

[11] ttp://www.creationtheory.org/Morality/

[12] ttp://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861719540/theodicy.html

[13] ttp://apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/doctrinal_apologetics/bowman-job.html

[14] ttp://www.xenos.org/essays/evilpo.htm

[15] ttp://www3.baylor.edu/~Scott_Moore/handouts/free_will_defense.html

[16] ttp://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5124

[17] ttp://godevidences.net/space/lawsofscience.php

[18] ttp://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2329

[19] ttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v394/n6691/full/394313a0.html

[20] ttp://www.icr.org/home/resources/resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/

[21] ttp://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/origin-of-life.html

[22] ttp://www.trueorigin.org/abio.asp

[23] ttp://www.macrodevelopment.org/library/meyer.html

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]