About this site
About us
Our beliefs
Your first visit?
Contact us
External links
Good books
Visitor essays
Our forum
New essays
Other site features
Buy a CD
Vital notes

World religions
BUDDHISM
 
CHRISTIANITY
Who is a Christian?
Shared beliefs
Handle change
Bible topics
Bible inerrancy
Bible harmony
Interpret Bible
Persons
Beliefs, creeds
Da Vinci code
Revelation, 666
Denominations
 
HINDUISM
ISLAM
JUDAISM
WICCA / WITCHCRAFT
Other religions
Cults and NRMs
Comparing religions

Non-theistic...
Atheism
Agnosticism
Humanism
Other

About all religions
Important topics
Basic information
Gods & Goddesses
Handle change
Doubt/security
Quotes
Movies
Confusing terms
Glossary
World's end
One true religion?
Seasonal topics
Science v. Religion
More info.

Spiritual/ethics
Spirituality
Morality/ethics
Absolute truth

Peace/conflict
Attaining peace
Religious tolerance
Religious hatred
Religious conflict
Religious violence

"Hot" topics
Very hot topics
Ten commandm'ts
Abortion
Assisted suicide
Cloning
Death penalty
Environment
Equal rights - gays & bi's
Gay marriage
Nudism
Origins of the species
Sex & gender
Sin
Spanking kids
Stem cells
Women-rights
Other topics

Laws and news
Religious laws
Religious news

Web site logo

ATHEISM:

About Atheism and Atheists:
Description, religion & nationalism, number

horizontal rule

Sponsored link.

horizontal rule

Read a news feed of current topics, maintained by American Atheists

horizontal rule

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 for the existence of one or more deities (gods and/or goddesses) and have concluded that there is no real evidence of the existence of gods or goddesses. They generally believe that the universe, Earth and its life 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. Until the word Agnosticism came into general usage during the 19th century, people we now call 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:

bulletNot 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.
bulletNot Satanists. Most Satanists view themselves as Agnostics or Atheists; they look upon Satan as a symbol, not as a living entity with a personality. 
bulletNot all secular Humanists. However, many Humanists are Atheists.
bulletNot all homosexuals or bisexuals. However some people with minority sexual orientations are Atheists.
bulletNot 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. 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

horizontal rule

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

bulletChief 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..."
bullet"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.
bullet"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
bullet"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
bullet"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
bullet"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:

bullet"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
bullet"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

horizontal rule

Sponsored link:

horizontal rule

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

horizontal rule

Numbers of Atheists

Estimates of the numbers of Atheists are hopelessly inaccurate:

bulletAccording to the 2001 World Almanac, Atheists number:
bullet121 million in Asia
bullet56 million in the former USSR
bullet23 million (3.5%) in Europe
bullet2.7 million in Latin America
bullet1.6 million (0.5%) in North America
bullet0.4 million in Oceania
bullet0.4 million in Africa 8
bulletAmerican Atheists claim that almost 30 million Americans are Atheists. 
bulletAccording to the 1991 Canadian Census, there are only 13,515 Atheists in Canada. However, this number cannot be an accurate value. Many Atheists probably identified themselves to the census taker as Humanists, Free thinkers, Unitarian Universalists, Ethical Culturalists, persons of no religion, etc.
bullet The Graduate Center of the City University of New York conducted a massive 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 all of the organized religions in the U.S., except for Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. If one were to count the number of Agnostics among the Humanists, Unitarian Universalists, 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.
bulletA Canadian Angus-Reid poll taken in the mid-1990's found that about 14% of Canadians are Atheists; that would total over 4 million Atheists, circa 2002. 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.

horizontal rule

References used:

  1. "Introduction," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/visitors.center/
  2. "Webster's New World Dictionary; 3rd college edition," Page 86
  3. "Atheism," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/drive.thru/atheism.html#fallacies 
  4. Liz Burcin, "American Atheists in Pennsylvania," at: http://www.geocities.com/athens/aegean/5388/
  5. "Atheist and Agnostic Quotes" at: http://www.math.unl.edu/~augustyn/godisdead.html
  6. "George Bush: Citizen's quote," at: http://bennyhills.fortunecity.com/hardy/203/

  7. "Supreme Court Cases: Emerson v. Board of Education, 1947," at: http://www.phschool.com/atschool/supreme_court_cases/everson.html
  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/

horizontal rule

Site navigation:

 Home > Religions of the world > Atheism > here

or Home > Christianity > Christian personalities > God > Atheism > here

or Home > Religious information > God > Atheism > here

or Home > Spirituality > God > Atheism > here

horizontal rule

Copyright © 1996 to 2007, by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-AUG-14
Author: B.A. Robinson

line.gif (538 bytes)

horizontal rule

Go to the previous page, or to the Atheist menu, or choose:

Google
Web ReligiousTolerance.org
Go to home page  We would really appreciate your help

E-mail us about errors, etc.  Purchase a CD of this web site

FreeFind search, lists of new essays...  Having problems printing our essays?