Atheism

Atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, is the denial of the existence of any God.

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

Atheist morality

Atheists typically hold that no religious text can be our only source of morality, although they may contain useful ideas or principles. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the revealed words of such deities are not considered to have any more inherent moral authority than books written by people.

Origins

Based on quotes in the Bible, atheism goes back to at least 1000 B.C. "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." (Psalm 14). In actuality, atheism has probably been around almost as long as theism, although in recorded history it has always been a minority view.

Atheist Population

It is difficult to accurately determine the proportion of the population that is atheist because survey definitions, and even real life definitions, are often unclear. In addition, many people are unsure of the existance of God, making them technically agnostic, but they are sometimes counted as atheists. It is also important to keep in mind that surveys containing an option for "no religion" are not necessarily identifying atheists. Indeed, many individuals may believe strongly in some form of god but not subscribe to any particular religion, and as a result could enter a response of "no religion" on surveys.

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.

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. 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%

External Links

• 10 Myths and 10 Truths about Atheism
• Decline of Atheism -CreationWiki
• European Commission report on Social values, Science and Technology, includes info on Religious beliefs