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Non-Theistic belief systems including: Atheism, Agnosticism, "The Brights" Free thinking, humanism, etc.

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One of the problems in the field of religion and ethical systems is that certain terms (e.g. Atheism, Agnosticism, Humanism) have multiple meanings. Perhaps the most impressive example of confusion are the terms "Witch" and "Witchcraft." They have at least 17 different definitions.

The vast majority of adults in North America are theists: they believe in a God or supreme power. They may regard God as a unity (as in Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism) or a duality (a God and Goddess as in Wicca), a Trinity (as in most Christian faith groups), etc. But there is a growing minority of adults who have abandoned traditional organized religious beliefs about deity and define themselves in various ways:

bulletAgnosticism is not a religion or complete ethical system. It is simply a belief that we cannot prove either the existence or the non-existence of deity; (i.e. of one or more gods, one or more goddesses, or combinations of the above). Many Agnostics believe that we can never know about the existence of a deity. Others suggest that we cannot know anything about deity or deities at this time with the currently available evidence, but that this could conceivably change in the future.
bulletAtheism is also not a religion or a complete ethical system. It has two main definitions:
bulletThe lack of a belief that deity, in the form of one or more supernatural gods or goddesses, exists. American Atheists define an Atheist to be a person who "...does not believe in a god or gods, or other supernatural entities." 1
bulletThe Barnes & Noble Encyclopedia define Atheism as "The denial of the existence of God or gods."
bulletThe Brights: This is a recently created network of individuals who view the universe as "free of supernatural and mystical elements." Brights consist of a diverse community including: Agnostics, Atheists,  Freethinkers, Humanists, Rationalists, Secularists, religious skeptics, some Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists, Wiccans, Neopagans, and followers of other religions.
bulletEthical Culturalism: This is a movement founded in the U.S. by Felix Adler (1851 - 1933). He advocated replacing religious beliefs and codes with a secular ethic.
bulletFreethinking: This originally referred to persons who doubted the Trinity -- the concept that a Godhead existed composed of a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They supported the concept of a single indivisible deity. It has since changed its meaning to include persons who reject religious beliefs in general.
bulletHumanism is a philosophy which in most cases embraces Agnosticism or Atheistic belief about the non-existence of a deity. But it goes further to create ethical systems based upon reason and logic. It regards humanity as the measure of all things. Humanists emphasize a belief in the importance of doing good in society.
bulletRationalism: This was a movement in the 18th century Protestantism that abandoned the idea of Biblical inerrancy and adopted the belief that the Bible can be analyzed as a historical document. Some Rationalists assert that the existence of some form of deity can be proven by reason. Others see Rationalism and Atheism as synonyms.

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About non-theists:

Many Agnostics, Atheists and Humanists have a negative attitude towards traditional formal religions. Some feel that:

bulletReliance on an interaction with a mythical deity interferes with one's ability to interact with fellow humans.
bulletReliance on god's will, and expectations of an eternity spent in Heaven reduce our motivation to solve our own problems on earth. This leads to many social evils being neglected.
bulletSuch religions promote the idea that perfectly natural feelings (such as anger, lust, pride, wanting things) are evil and sinful. But feelings are not normally under conscious control. The result can be debilitating feelings of guilt where none should be present.
bulletThat traditional beliefs are often supported by fear of eternal punishment after death and by fear of retaliation by an angry and vengeful god during this lifetime. To live in a state of fear is unhealthy.

According to a study by Barna Research, "roughly 7% of the adult population - approximately 14 million people - describe themselves as atheistic or agnostic. America has more atheists and agnostics than Mormons (by a 3 to 1 margin), Jews (by a 4 to 1 margin) or Muslims (by a 14 to 1 margin)." 2 They further found "that atheists and agnostics are dominated by:

bulletwhites (71%),
bulletmen (64%), 
bulletadults under 35 (51%), 
bulletresidents of the Northeast and West (56%)." 

In at least one area of life, they exhibit strong "family values". According to Barna Research, they have one of the lowest (if not the lowest) divorce rate of any religious group -- much lower than for conservative Christians, for example. 

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Reference:

  1. "Introduction," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/
  2. "Atheists and Agnostics Infiltrating Christian Churches," 1999-OCT-15, at: http://www.barna.org/
  3. Deus, is a freethought philosophy and religion forum. See: http://deus.org 

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Copyright © 1996 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last update: 2007-FEB-19
Author: B.A. Robinson

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