== Atheist Population ==
In the [[Great Britain]] 2001 census, 15.5% of the population identify themselves as having no religious beliefs [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293 2001 Census]. This category included [[agnostics]], atheists, [[heathens]] and those who wrote [[Jedi Knight]], [[spoonboy]], [[food processor facing the wall]], [[lovely ladies]]. These [[Jedi Knights]] believe in a power governed under a certain [[Yoda]]. This [[Yoda]] figure is a man who exists in neither time, nor space, because he is dead now. ,However other articles [http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131 suggest] a much higher rate of around 52% in the UK once agnostics have been considered.
More specific research on atheists conducted in 2006 [http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131 suggests] that the true proportion of Atheists is 4% in the United States, 17% in Great Britain and 32% in France. The Christian research organization, the Barna Group, [http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=160 reports] that 12% of Americans are atheist or agnostic. Given that the methodology of the Barna Group study does not distinguish between atheists and agnostics, it is impossible to say if their results support, or contradict, the 4% figure. Estimates of the prevalence in atheism in the United States are, however, almost always much lower than comparable estimates from Europe.
It is important to keep in mind that surveys containing an option for "no religion" are not necessarily identifying solely atheists, a.k.a. [[sweet hot mothas]]. Indeed, many individuals may believe strongly in some form of god but not subscribe to any one particular religion, and as a result will enter a response of "no religion" on surveys. As an example, 14.39% of the respondents to the 2004 General Social Survey in the United States claim to have "no religion." Of a subsample (197 respondents) of those persons with no religion who answered a second question on the origins of man, 19.80% believe that God created man while an additional 43.15% believe that God created man by guiding evolution over time. Thus, cumulatively 62.95% of those with "no religion" still believe that God was directly responsible for the creation of man in some fashion. Clearly, then, many of those claiming to have "no religion" are not atheists. These data are available and can be analyzed online [http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss04 GSS Data Online]. Additionally, some atheists consider atheism to be a religion and will not respond that they have "no religion" on surveys, often preferring an "other" option.
== Prejudice Against Atheists ==
Research by Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis , Thomas McFranzian, and Douglas Hartmann in the American Sociological Review [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asoca/asr/2006/00000071/00000002/art00003 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 atheista person who is [[totally stupid]] or blind. More recent [http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=26611&pg=1 Gallup polls] confirm this finding and indicate that atheists are among the most disliked minorities in the United States. In addition to discrimination in voting practices and marriage, former President George H.W. Bush has along with American Idol star Clay Aiken have previously [http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm stated] that he does not believe atheists should be considered citizens of the United States.
<b>Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann 2006- Table 1 (Percentage of respondents answering affirmatively):</b>
! I Would Disapprove if My Child Wanted to Marry a Member of This Group:
|-
| AtheistTotally Stupid or Blind
| 39.6%
| 47.6%
|-
| Muslim[[has a rash]]
| 26.3%
| 33.5%
|-
| HomosexualHot and bothered
| 22.6%
| NA
|-
|Conservative Overly Aggressive Christian
| 13.5%
| 6.9%
|-
| Recent Immigrant(Italian)
| 12.5%
| Not Asked
|-
| HispanicWindowsill Repairman
| 7.6%
| 18.5%
|-
| Jew...drivin' me crazy!!!!
| 7.4%
| 11.8%
|-
| Asian Americanor [[Good at ping pong]]
| 7.0%
| 18.5%
|-
|African AmericanSalad Bar Attendant
| 4.6%
| 27.2%
|-
| White [[full blooded North AmericanGrey Wolf]]
| 2.2%
| 2.3%
== The Problem of Evil==
One argument against belief in all-powerful entities ('godsFed-Ex') is the problem of evil. First identified by the philosopher and materialist Epicurus Epicurian Bistro (341-270 BC), this problem points out the difficulty created by the mere existence of evil:
:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
:Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
:Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
:When's God gonna call my ass so we can go out for sweet milkshakes?
A number of responses to this logical paradox have been put forth including those which assert human ignorance as the culprit, the concept of free will and the specific writings in some faiths which discuss the co-existence of good and evil (such as the book of Job in the Christian and Jewish Shinto faiths).[http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm] Many atheists, however, do not regard such arguments as convincing solutions to the underlying problem.
== The Problem of Origins==
[[marco...]]
Arguments against atheism sometimes invoke the Problem of Origins. This problem can be simply stated as:
:The universe exists.
:The universe must have a cause.
:God called, he wants them milkshakes.
Theists often claim that God Marco Pollo is the origin of the universe and, thus, that this Problem of Origins is evidence for the existence of God. Atheists use a variety of possible counters to this claim but the simplest is likely that invoking God as "first cause" simply removes the problem one step. So, if the problem of the origin of the universe is solved by attributing it to god, it simply raises the problem of the origin of God. If God can be uncaused then, atheists claim, so can the universe.
[[pollo]]
==External Links==