Research Paper On American Atheism

According to data from the Pew Research Center, Americans are becoming less religious, but, simultaneously, more spiritual. Often described as “nones,” these individuals have rejected the trappings of institutional religion, yet still feel “a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being as well as a deep sense of wonder about the universe.”

James Fowler developed his stages of faith after conduction in-depth interviews of 359 people. The sample subjects were predominately white, with equal numbers of males and females and included a wide range of ages, from three and a half to 84 years old. Fowler’s interviews consisted of 30 plus questions regarding the subject’s life experiences, relationships, values, commitments and religion. After analyzing the responses, Fowler placed each subject in one of six faith stages. The responses indicated that as the subject’s age increased, so did their stage of faith (Hutchison, 2015).

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 the article “ On Being an Atheist,” H.J. McCloskey attempts to inform his readers that the belief in atheism is a “much more comfortable belief” by effectively using a disdainful rhetoric towards theists and their faith. McCloskey delves into both the Cosmological and Teleological arguments, which within he criticizes the arguments and to further his argument against theism, he also presents the Problem of Evil and why evil cannot possibly exist with a perfect God being the creator of universe. What will be displayed in this essay are the counter-arguments to McCloskey’s criticisms and the attempt to discredit his claims that regard the “comfortable” position that lies within atheism and its arguments.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center as part of a broader Religious Landscape Study, 78 percent of people who do not identify with any religious group were raised in a faith system and then left as adults. Further, about half of those people said that a lack of belief caused them to leave their faith, citing, among other things, "science" and "lack of evidence" as reasons for this skepticism.

Many people believe the United States is becoming a "Godless" culture. The argument is that we are losing our moral values, because religion is not an important part of our life anymore. This is the view of most Fundamentalist Christians and right wing believers. I vehemently disagree with this argument. I say this because there are many ways to practice religion. We have many ethnic populations in our country with many different religions. Because of this, there are many beliefs that differ from the Christian based or religions of only one god. Therefore, our country is not becoming Godless, there are many ways to practice one's faith.

Religion and spirituality have been complex issues in the United States of America. This is especially true when it comes to Native Americans. Since the 16th century, contact between Native Americans and Europeans has been filled with both good and bad. In this paper, the issue of religion and spirituality and how they figure into the story of Indian-European contact between the 16th and 21st centuries will be discussed.

The functionality of America would not be as novel or ingenious without religion, a monumental influence in the building of the United States. If we trace back hundreds of years to colonial times, religion acted as the absolute driving force that convinced colonists that America was the new haven they had been looking for. It also contributed long lasting moral, social, and political impacts seen in countless movements reflecting the christian ideals of truth, life without sin, and altruism, or good works. Lastly, religious liberty is a major campaign so trite that one will find religious tolerance laws in every state as well as various religious tolerance groups with ease. Patently, the rudiments of religion are responsible for shaping

The religions around the world are practiced in America such as Christianity,Islam,Jewish,etc and this country still remains one of the most religious nations in the world today.Population also usually can be participates in organized religious practice while others can choose to engage in a private spirituality.Besides that,religion can be describes as spiritual belief in, worship of, or obedience to a God and considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny.I believe the percentages in American people that believe in God still be higher in 50 years ahead,but the religious practicing probably will decreasing.It has many factors such as age, race, gender, economic class, and other demographic factors that can affect American

The number of atheist and agnostic has been expanding there have long been predictions that religion would fade from relevance as the world modernizes, but all the recent surveys are finding that it’s happening startlingly fast. An atheist is a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings along with an agnostic, an agnostic person is a person who holds that the existence of an ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human

Religious faith is important to most Americans, with approximately 95% of Americans reporting belief in God and about 50% being active in church organizations (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Despite the widespread prevalence of religious beliefs in society, some researchers have maintained that religion and religious beliefs are often neglected in psychological research (Jones, 1994; Plante, 1996). This neglect stems from a couple of different factors. First, it is difficult for psychologists to overcome the fact that believers in many religions claim to have unique access to the truth. Secondly, truly theological questions such as the existence of God or the nature of an afterlife are often ignored by scientists. This may be in part a

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

There are many factors that have an impact on the American government and society. One main factor is religion. Religion, defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. The predominant religion of the United States is Christianity, and the minorities include Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Atheism. The United States has a long history of being known as

Fundamentalism and Religion For a vast majority, the term “fundamentalism” evokes images of hostage crises, embassies under siege, hijackings, and suicide bombers. But these images hardly present a comprehensive picture. People in the west associate fundamentalism with Islam, this is indeed a mistaken belief. Fundamentalism is defined as " the affirmation of religious authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of neither criticism nor reduction; it is expressed through the collective demand that specific creedal and ethical dictates derived from scripture be publicly recognized and legally enforced ." (Lawrence)

Lance Armstrong, Morgan Freeman, John Lennon, and Brad Pitt. What do they all have in common? They're all Atheists. Many religious followers think that Atheism is a disgrace and that Atheists should be punished. The American Atheist Society defines Atheism as being a lack of belief in the religious system. But many people think that Atheism is a disbelief in a god or gods. (“History of American Atheists”). Atheists are being attacked and treated unfairly because of their lack of belief in the religious system. Violence by religious followers and stereotypes from religious books prove that Atheism is not yet accepted by the religious community.