Paper Example. Growth of Atheism in America

Atheism refers to the lack of belief in the existence of deities. The reasons for not believing in the deities include arguments such as the problem of evil, inconsistent revelations, rejecting concepts that cannot be falsified, and the lack of empirical evidence. The burden of proof for the atheists is about the theists to provide that God exists. Most people are atheists because of their upbringing or education, or because of simply adopting their cultural beliefs (Russell 8). Some are atheists because they think that there is no proof for the existence of God or the lack of reliable evidence. Atheists believe that one must only believe in things that they have good evidence. This paper explores the reasons why there has been an increased number of atheists in America, and some of the reasons why they put through for their lack of belief in deities. Atheists do not believe in the existence of God, rely on the aspect of morality and reason, and they question the portrayal of Christ in the Gospels as inflicting pain and suffering.

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Reasons for Atheism

Atheists do not believe in the creed professed by all forms of religion, claiming that their mind is their church. All the national institutions of churches, whether Turkish, Christian, or Jewish, are considered human inventions established for terrifying and enslaving humankind, monopolizing profit, and power (Paine 2). It is the responsibility of a man to find happiness in himself, which is fulfilling mental faithfulness. Infidelity does not exist through believing or not believing. Rather, infidelity is made up of professing to believe what one does not believe in. While the Quran was written in heaven and brought by an angel, atheists such as Paine contend that they did not see the angel themselves, meaning that they do not have any right to believe it (Paine 6). Some of the biblical stories, such as the life of Jesus Christ, show the extent to which atheists have formed their opinions. Jesus Christ did not write any account of himself, including his parentage, birth, or anything else. Neither is the New Testament, his writing. These accounts are written by historians who make people believe otherwise. Atheists argue that a small number of people are introduced as proxies for the entire universe to claim that they saw it, and everyone else is expected to believe it. The books in the bible, from Genesis to Judges, do not have any authenticity, while the Book of Ruth is an idle and foolishly told story (Paine 144).

Atheists believe in the power of reason and secularism to influence every aspect of human behaviour. Jacoby states that secularism, and not a religion, played crucial roles in the development of social and political events in the United States. A major event that shows the importance of secularism to people's lives is through the drafting of the U.S Constitution. The founding fathers of the United States of America did not intend the country to become religions (Jacoby 235). Instead, they strongly supported the separation of the State and Church, omitting the word of God from the Constitution. Just like the founding fathers, modern day atheists believe that religion is not necessary because they can do with secularism. Believing in religion is a matter of personal choice. In the government, separation from the church is defined by the customs and not the laws. Secularism was important in the Civil Rights Movement, but it does not deny the roles of religion in the movement altogether.

For atheists, religion does not give them a cause and morality like secularism, and the power of reason does. The word Christian and religion is used today by most people loosely. Using the first-cause argument, Russell explains why he chose to become an atheist. All the things that we see in this world have a cause, but it is not the same concept that it used to be (Russell 4). Atheists have difficulties explaining who made them because they must explain who made God, an aspect which they do not believe in. If all the things must have a cause, then God must also have a cause. At the same time, human laws are defining the behaviours of people, telling them to behave in specific ways. However, natural laws are descriptions of what one does, and they are often un-debatable. Atheists consider that no one provided natural laws and demanded people to behave like that. They quickly question why God issued natural laws and not any other laws. If one says that God issued the laws for his good pleasures, and without reasons, there is something that is not subject to law, which makes natural law invalid.

Atheists do not believe in the remedying of justice. Most theists believe that the existence of God is needed to bring justice into the world. However, for most atheists, there is great injustice in the world, and the good often suffers while the wicked prosper (Russell 7). If one must have justice in the world entirely, there are imaginations of future life towards redressing the balance of life in the world. Therefore, theists claim that there must be a God, Heaven, and Hell for justice to prevail in the long-run. Unlike atheists, most people believe in God because they have been taught from early infancy to do it, which is the main reason. People's desires to believing in God are pushed by the safety effect, where they feel that there is someone who will look after them. This plays a crucial role in influencing them to believe in God, something which atheists consider does not exist (Russell 8). In addition, the image of Christ in the Gospels has been criticized by atheists, who, in the first place, doubted whether He existed in the first place. Modern Christians do not believe in the second coming of Christ, the same way the old Christians did. The actions of Christ are also disapproved and objected by atheists. Christ is shown in the Gospels as believing in eternal punishment.

Christ is also shown to express anger to people who did not listen to His teachings, and attitude, which is the same with modern day preachers. However, these actions are what atheists consider unreliable and not present in rationalists such as Socrates. Anyone with kindness and good intentions, such as Christ, could not have inflicted terrors and fears into the universe. Christ embraced the doctrine of cruelty, which He inflicted on the world. The Christ of the Gospels is responsible for all the issues in the world. The church has inhibited the moral progress of the world. All the progress of humane feeling, improvements in criminal law, and the steps towards war diminution have been opposed by churches. The Christian religion organized by the Christian churches has been and still is the main enemy of moral progress (Russell 12). On the same note, there are different ways the church, by insisting on what it decides to call morality, inflicts more unnecessary and undeserved suffering. The church is responsible for forcing some aspects of morality which it expects people to follow. These are just a few laws that the church has imposed on people, considering them moral while they do not have anything to do with human happiness. Without morals, people cannot become happy. Atheists believe in morals and clearly defined facts.

Conclusion

This paper has enlightened reasons as to why atheists do not believe in deities, and their subsequent rise in the United States of America can be narrated through these factors. Atheists do not believe in the creed professed by all forms of religion, claiming that their mind is their church. Atheists believe in the power of reason and secularism to influence every aspect of human behaviour. As explained, people's desires to believing in God are pushed by the safety effect, where they feel that there is someone who will look after them. Christ is also shown to express anger to people who did not listen to His teachings, and attitude, which is the same with modern day preachers. However, these actions are what atheists consider unreliable and not present in rationalists such as Socrates. Atheists do not believe in deities because of the Christian religion organized by the Christian churches has been and still is the main enemy of moral progress. On the same note, there are different ways the church, by insisting on what it decides to call morality, inflicts more unnecessary and undeserved suffering.

Works Cited

Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A history of American secularism. Metropolitan Books, 2005.

Paine, Thomas. "Age of Reason: Miscellaneous Essays for Third and Fourth Parts." (1908).

Russell, Bertrand. Why I am not a Christian: and other essays on religion and related subjects. Simon and Schuster, 1953.