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About Atheism and Atheists:

Description. Religion & nationalism. Numbers.

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Description of Atheism:

Atheism is not a religion in the sense that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are. Conventional religions usually include a belief in the nature of deity, other religious beliefs, a moral code, religious rituals and sacraments, and a membership in a religious community. Rather, an Atheist's belief system is confined to one factor: the existence or non-existence of a deity. He or she will have a personal moral code. However, it would generally be derived from purely secular considerations, and will be unrelated to any religious texts.

Most Atheists have analyzed the available material evidence about deities (gods and/or goddesses) and have concluded that there is no real evidence of their existence. They generally believe that the universe, Earth and its life came into existence and evolved by perfectly natural processes. They see no evidence of intervention or guidance by a supernatural entity. They generally feel that ethical and moral systems governing human behavior can be developed without reference to any code of behavior of allegedly divine origin. Other Atheists are people who have simply never been exposed to belief in a deity or deities and therefore have no belief in them.

In ancient Greece, the term was used to refer to people who did not believe in the official pagan religion; i.e. unbelievers. "Atheism is derived from the Greek, atheos, and means simply 'away from the belief in a god or gods.' " ₃ In ancient Rome, Christians and Jews were often called Atheists because they did not believe in the pantheon of Roman gods and goddesses.

Agnostics see no conclusive proof either of the existence or non-existence of god(s) or goddess(es). Until the term Agnosticism came into general usage during the 19th century, people who we now recognize as Agnostics were commonly lumped together with Atheists.

The Constitution of Texas, and those of a few other states allow Atheists to be discriminated against in employment, jury selection, and public office. Fortunately for religious minorities, these sections of individual state Constitutions have been nullified by subsequent provisions in the federal Constitution.

In North America, Atheists are:

	Not all Communists. However, many Communists are Atheists. Communism is primarily a political and economic belief system. Atheism is a religious belief. The two are not necessarily related.
	Not all Satanists. Most Satanists view themselves as Agnostics or Atheists; they look upon Satan as a symbol, not as a living entity with a personality.
	Not all secular Humanists. However, many Humanists are Atheists.
	Not all homosexuals or bisexuals. However a small minority of people with a minority sexual orientation are Atheists.
	Not all anarchists. However, some anarchists are Atheists. Again, anarchism is a political belief system whereas Atheism is a religious belief.

The antonym of Atheism is Theism - belief in the existence of a deity. There are thousands of different forms of Theism, just as there are thousands of gods and goddesses that Theists believe in. 

Atheists have always constituted a very small percentage of the population. However, the number of people who identify themselves as Atheists has grown rapidly, particularly over the last few decades. This increase may have been partly caused by the decline of attendance at Sunday schools, and churches. It probably also reflects the general increase in secularism within society. Many Atheists who feel a need for spiritual discussion, fellowship in a religious community, and ritual join a congregation of the Unitarian-Universalist Association.

Madalyn Murray (later O'Hair), wrote a document used in the court case Murray v. Curlett, 1961-APR-27. It reads, in part: 

"An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist knows that heaven is something for which we should work now - here on earth - for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist thinks that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue, and enjoy it. An Atheist thinks that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment. Therefore, he seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to know a god. An Atheist knows that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist knows that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He wants man to understand and love man. He wants an ethical way of life. He knows that we cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer nor hope for an end to troubles in the hereafter. He knows that we are our brother's keeper and keepers of our lives; that we are responsible persons, that the job is here and the time is now." ₄

Religion and nationalism in America

National feelings have become so integrated with religion in the United States that many people do not even consider an Atheist to be a true citizen. Some quotations: ₅

	Chief spokesman for National office of the Boy Scouts: "...once a person admits to not believing in God, this raises the question of whether or not that person believes in America..."
	"The Boy Scouts of America maintain that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing his obligation to God." Statement on the Boy Scouts of America membership form.
	"The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgment of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship..." Boy Scouts of America policy, 1970.
	"Who are beneficiaries of the Court's protection? Members of various minorities including criminals, Atheists, homosexuals, flag burners, illegal immigrants (including terrorists), convicts, and pornographers." US Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, Address to the Heritage Foundation, 1996-FEB-29.
	"No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God." George H.W. Bush 6
	"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being." Jerry Falwell.

On the other hand, the U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom to all persons, including the right to be an Atheist:

"The 'establishment of religion' clause of the First Amendment means at least this: neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, majority opinion; Everson v. Board of Education 330 U.S. 1 (1947) 7

"No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or nonattendance." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, majority opinion; Everson v. Board of Education 330 U.S. 1 (1947) 7

A new, tongue-in-cheek, name for Atheists:

Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell of California decided to create a new word for "Atheists," in order to encourage them to come out of the closet in spite of the heavy prejudice against them. Taking a cue from homosexuals and their embracing of the term "gay," Geisert and Futrell suggest that "bright" become a synonym for "Atheist." Richard Dawkins wrote in The Guardian: "People reluctant to use the word atheist might be happy to come out as bright." ₉

Numbers of Atheists:

Estimates of the numbers of Atheists are hopelessly inaccurate and essentially meaningless:

	According to the 2001 World Almanac, Atheists number: 121 million in Asia 56 million in the former USSR 23 million (3.5%) in Europe 2.7 million in Latin America 1.6 million (0.5%) in North America 0.4 million in Oceania 0.4 million in Africa 8
	American Atheists claim that almost 30 million Americans are Atheists. They define "Atheist" broadly to include those who firmly believe that no God exists, those that have no belief in God, and those for whom the term "God" has no meaning. This is a broad enough definition to include what others call Atheists and Agnostics.
	According to the 1991 Canadian Census, there are only 13,515 Atheists in Canada out of a population that was approaching 30 million. However, this number cannot be an accurate value. Many Atheists probably identified themselves to the census taker as Humanists, Free thinkers, Unitarians, Ethical Culturalists, persons of no religion, etc. In order to obtain an accurate number of Atheists, pollsters cannot simply ask what label a person uses to describe their religion. The pollsters have to ask them about their specific beliefs, if any, in God.
	A Canadian Angus-Reid poll taken in the mid-1990's studied people's religious beliefs. They found that about 14% of Canadians are Atheists. That would include about 4 million adults in the country. The pollsters found out, apparently to their embarrassment, that Atheists formed the largest single religious category of Canadians. So they split the group into two sub-classifications: real Atheists, and Atheists who attend religious services. This made certain that a Christian classification became the largest category.
	The Graduate Center of the City University of New York conducted the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) in 2001. It was a massive study involving the interview of over 50,000 adults. They estimate that 902,000 (0.4%) of Americans identify themselves as Atheists. The number of Atheists exceeds the number of followers of the various organized religions in the U.S., except for Christianity, Judaism, Islam. and Buddhism. If one were to count the number of Atheists among the Humanists, Unitarian Universalists, Free thinkers, and those who refused to answer the pollster, they would probably outnumber all of the organized religions in the country, except for Christianity and perhaps Judaism.
	The Gallup Organization regularly finds that about 93% of the 228.2 million American adults (excluding those in Alaska and Hawaii) believe in either a personal God or some "higher power." This source is often quoted incorrectly by the media as stating that over 90% of Americans believe in a personal God.
	The ARIS study was repeated during 2008. They asked American adults with which religion, if any, they identified themselves. Only 1.6% of American adults call themselves either Atheist or Agnostic. The pollsters then asked the respondents about their belief, if any, in God. They found: Only 70% of Americans believe in a personal God. 12% are either Atheists (do not believe in God's existence) or Agnostics (do not know whether a personal God exists). This totals about 27 million adults, which is close to the American Atheists' inclusive estimate for Atheists. 12% are Deists; they believe in a distant higher power but not a personal God. They view God as the creator who established the physical laws of the universe, started it up, left the scene and hasn't been seen since. It is worth noting that the vast majority persons with Deist beliefs have never heard of the terms "Deist" or "Deism."

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "Introduction," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/
2. "Webster's New World Dictionary; 3rd college edition," Page 86
3. "Atheism," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/ 
4. Liz Burcin, "American Atheists in Pennsylvania," at: http://www.geocities.com/
5. "Atheist and Agnostic Quotes" at: http://www.math.unl.edu/
6. "George Bush: Citizen's quote," at: http://bennyhills.fortunecity.com/
7. "Supreme Court Cases: Emerson v. Board of Education, 1947," at: http://www.phschool.com/
8. The World Almanac and Book of Facts (2001), Page 692.
9. Michael Kesterton, "Social Studies: A daily miscellany of information..." The Globe and Mail, 2003-JUL-2. Online at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
10. American Religious Identification Survey [ARIS 2008]," Trinity College, 2009-MAR, at: http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/

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Latest update: 2011-AUG-21
Author: B.A. Robinson

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