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Atheism

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Atheism is a philosophical denial of the existence of God.[1] A more active stance affirms the nonexistence of God, and proposes positive belief rather than mere suspension of disbelief.[2] In addition, recently there have been a number of attempts by atheists to redefine the meaning of atheism in order to shift the burden of proof in relation to the question of the existence of God. Atheism is derived from the Greek word "atheos" - "a" meaning no or without and "theos" meaning God.

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Tensions between atheists and theists in the United States of America

It should be noted that despite American society being secular and atheist in theory, 76.5% of Americans seem to call themselves Christian, thus American public society underepresents and in many cases completely disenfranchises the implementation of the majority opinion: that there is a God. In this sense, 14.1% of American society which call themselves secularists decide policy, scientific opinion, educational course material, and many other forms of knowledge despite the fact the majority of American society believes in a higher power of some sort.[3]

Atheism among scientists and laypeople

The scientific community, above any other subgroup of the population, has become overwhelmingly atheistic. According to a 1998 report in Nature, a survey by Edward Larson found that,

“ among the top natural scientists, disbelief is greater than ever; almost total. ”

Interestingly, the biologists in the National Academy of Sciences were found to possess the lowest rate of belief of all the science disciplines, with only 5.5% believing in God.[4] This decline in belief in biologists strongly indicates the nature of the cause, and the ability of the teaching of evolutionary biology to turn people away from a belief in God.

The views of the general population over the last couple of decades remain largely unchanged with regard to creation vs. evolution. Also the number of people becoming atheists or agnostics in the USA has not changed in the last ten years according to social researchers.[5] However, a Gallup poll found a clear trend demonstrating that higher education and belief in evolution as the source of human existence were concurrent. From these statistics it would appear that higher education, and particularly specialization in the natural sciences, will indoctrinate students into naturalism or an atheistic view of the world.[6]

Shown here is the percentage in each country which responded that "they believe there is a god".
Shown here is the percentage in each country which responded that "they believe there is a god".

Education in these naturalistic philosophies, and the pervasive teaching of evolution is almost certainly the principal influence affecting the rise of atheism in our scientific community. Evolution may be better called evolutionism as it is considered a religion by many. Evolution is the champion theory of secular humanism, and a scientific community now totally under the control of an atheistic majority. The theory of evolution is being used in an attempt to explain the origin and evolution of life on earth without a supernatural creation. These theories are being taught as fact in science classes today, and such teaching will affect the way people view the world. If they are left unchallenged, this inundation will cause belief in God as the source of life to diminish, and evolution ultimately will have the power to convince people there is no God.

Atheism and suicide

According to studies taken in 2004, being religious decreases your chances of suicide, while rejecting religion, or being atheist, increases your risk of suicide.[7]

Atheist Ideologies

While atheism could be said to be unorganized prior to the writings of Marx (despite some previous communists, socialists, and anarchists rejecting God), once Marx put pen to paper and essentially developed communism into what it is today, one of the main tenets, among many others, is the rejection of religion: completely, through State control of education and belief and worship.

“ Religion is the opiate of the masses. (Karl Marx) ”

Atheism became an organized religion, complete with heroes, semi-gods in the form of revolutionary leaders, practices, and doctrines throughout perhaps almost every Communist nation that ever existed, and Nazi Germany.

Marx did not invent the idea of evolution, but it became an integral part to communist followers, and in the ideas of Hitler's National Socialism. An equally integral part to evolutionary theory and Social Darwinism implemented by Hitler and his fascist allies in the Balkans and Italy is the idea of "survival of the fittest", but this time it was taken to an extreme level. It fueled the Holocaust and the various genocides implemented by Hitler and his followers from 1932 or 1933 when Dachau opened to 1945 when the camps were liberated by the Allies. It gave Hitler a world-view of the Ubermensch and the Untermensch; Superhuman and Subhuman. The "Subhumans" were marked for destruction or slavery, while the German "Superhumans" became masters of Europe for the short time they had.[8]

Death rates for atheist ideological nations like the former Nazi Germany, Maoist China, Leninist-Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, Vietnam, and North Korea, among others are never going to be fully known, but there is a conservative estimate of over 100 million.[9] Nazi German genocide efforts killed tens of millions of Soviet citizens, in addition to millions of Germans, Poles, French, and nationalities throughout occupied Europe; while the Soviets killed tens of millions of their own citizens. In China, tens of millions of people were murdered or worked to death, and once the Khmer Rouge were forced out of power in Cambodia, over 25% of all Cambodians were dead or forever missing.[10]

News

References

  1. ↑ "Atheism and Agnosticism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, March 9, 2004. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  2. ↑ Sarfati, Jonathan. "Atheism is more rational?" (Dialogue) Creation Ministries International, September 5, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Religious Makeup of the United States." Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, August 26, 2003. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  4. ↑ Larson EJ and Witham L. "Leading scientists still reject God." Nature 394, 313 (July 23, 1998). doi:10.1038/28478 Accessed October 12, 2008. Archive copy. download PDF
  5. ↑ Dart, John. "Americans' belief in God is high, but nuanced." Christian Century, December 14, 2004. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Creation vs. Evolution II." Gallup organization, November 21-24, 1991. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  7. ↑ Dervic K, Oquendo MA, Grunebaum MF, et al. "Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt." Am. J. Psychiatry 161:2303-2308, December 2004. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Social Darwinism." ThinkQuest.com, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  9. ↑ Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation home page. Accessed October 12, 2008.
  10. ↑ Khmer Rouge by Wikipedia


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