Atheism

Atheism, in its broadest sense, is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods, thus contrasting with theism. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods and those who have no beliefs at all regarding the existence of gods. However, narrower definitions often only qualify the former as atheism, the latter falling under the more general term nontheism.

Distribution of atheists

Atheism is common in Western Europe, Australia, Canada, in former and present communist states, and, to a lesser extent, in the United States.

Related Topics:
Western Europe - Australia - Canada - Communist state - United States

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It is particularly prevalent among scientists, a tendency already quite marked at the beginning of the 20th century, developing into a dominant one during the course of the century. In 1914, James H. Leuba found that 58% of 1,000 randomly selected U.S. natural scientists expressed "disbelief or doubt in the existence of God". The same study, repeated in 1996, gave a similar percentage of 60.7%; this number is 93% among the members of the National Academy of Sciences. Expressions of positive disbelief rose from 52% to 72%. http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html (See also The relationship between religion and science).

Related Topics:
Scientist - 1914 - James H. Leuba - Natural scientists - 1996 - National Academy of Sciences - The relationship between religion and science

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Atheism in the United Kingdom

In early 2004, it was announced that atheism would be taught during religious education classes in Britain. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1148578,00.html A spokesman for the "Qualifications and Curriculum Authority" stated: "There are many children in England who have no religious affiliation and their beliefs and ideas, whatever they are, should be taken very seriously." There is also considerable debate in the U.K. on the status of faith-based schools, which use religious as well as academic selection criteria. http://www.iht.com/articles/47799.html

Related Topics:
2004 - Britain - Faith-based schools

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Atheism in the United States

In the United States, disapproval of atheists is common. For example, according to motherjones.com, 52% of Americans claim that they would not vote for a well-qualified atheist for president. http://www.motherjones.com/news/exhibit/2004/09/09_200.html Notwithstanding such attitudes, there are more atheists in the U.S. than members of any one religion except Christianity. Atheists are also legally protected from discrimination in the United States. They have been among the strongest advocates of the legal separation of church and state. American courts have regularly, if controversially, interpreted the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state as protecting the freedoms of non-believers, as well as prohibiting the establishment of any state religion. Atheists often sum up the legal situation with the phrase: "Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion." http://www.au.org/

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In Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumethttp://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=U10355, Justice Souter wrote in the opinion for the Court that: "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-517.ZS.html Everson v. Board of Education established that "neither a state nor the Federal Government can... pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another". This applies the Establishment Clause to the states as well as the federal government. http://atheism.about.com/library/decisions/religion/bl_l_BoEEverson.htm However, several state constitutions make the protection of persons from religious discrimination conditional on their acknowledgement of the existence of a deity, apparently making freedom of religion in those states inapplicable to atheists; however these state constitutional clauses have not been tested. Additionally, some state constitutions (namely, Arkansas and South Carolina) disallow atheists to hold public office, although most agree that, if challenged, these requirements would be ruled unconstitutional under Article Six of the United States Constitution which bans such qualifications. Civil rights cases are typically brought in federal courts; so such state provisions are mainly of symbolic importance.

Related Topics:
Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet - Irreligion - Everson v. Board of Education - Arkansas - South Carolina - Article Six of the United States Constitution

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In the Newdow case, after a father challenged the phrase "under God" in the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the phrase unconstitutional. Although the decision was stayed pending the outcome of an appeal, there was the prospect that the pledge would cease to be legally usable without modification in schools in the western United States, over which the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction. This resulted in political furor, and both houses of Congress passed resolutions condemning the decision, nearly unanimously. A very large group consisting of almost the entire Senate and House was televised standing on the steps of Congress, hands over hearts, swearing the pledge and shouting out "under God". The Supreme Court subsequently reversed the decision, ruling that Michael Newdow did not have standing to bring his case, thus disposing of the case without ruling on the constitutionality of the pledge.

Related Topics:
Newdow case - Pledge of Allegiance - Michael Newdow

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