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Atheism by
CreationWiki

Creationists on Atheism

Seculars on Atheism

Percents Attending Church

Is Evolution a Religion?

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.

 

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 underrepresents 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 inevolution 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]

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.

 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]

 

Evolutionism - Is Evolution a Religion?

News

• Court Says Atheism is a Religion The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that atheism should be treated as a ‘religion. August 19, 2005

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

Gallup polls (1982-1999) addressing views of Americans on creation, evolution, theism, and atheism

Available Answers / Choices

The Creation Position: God created man pretty much in his present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. The Theistic Evolution Position: Man has developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process, including man's creation. The Atheistic Evolution Position: Man has developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. No God participated in this process. No Opinion.

Gallup Polls: Results
Year	Creation	Theistic Evolution	Atheistic Evolution	No Opinion
1982	44%	38%	9%	9%
1991	47%	40%	9%	4%
1993	47%	35%	11%	7%
1997	44%	39%	10%	7%
1999	47%	40%	9%	4%

More related poll data and discussions

• Beliefs of the U.S. Public and Various Faith Groups about Evolution and Creation

  Biblical Worldview Held By 4 Percent Of Adults Maranatha Christian Journal 12/5/03

  Number of Americans with No Formal Religion Increasing, Survey Finds Christianity Today Magazine - 1/9/02

  Poll: Creationism is more popular than ever by Bryce Miller

  Polls Show Change From Evolution to Creation by Eric Blievernicht

  Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000 stats by Glenmary Home Missioners

  Results of a poll conducted November 21-24, 1991 by the Gallup Organization

  The Attitude of Various Populations toward Teaching Creation and Evolution in Public Schools by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D.

  Toward the Development of an Instrument for Measuring a Christian Creationist Worldview

  Worshipers at the Secular Altar LA Times 6/17/04

  ZOGBY Poll Texas.2003 Views of Texas Residents on Teaching Evolution

Atheism by CreationWiki

• Atheism
• Evolutionism
• Decline of atheism
• Agnosticism
• Secular humanism
• Naturalism
• Darwinism
• Evolution requires naturalism Response to Talk.Origins
• Evolution is atheistic Response to Talk.Origins

Creationists on Atheism (External)

• Atheism by Conservapedia
• Atheism by Mariano, Creation Ministries International. June 11, 2009.
• Atheism by In Search of the One True Religion
• Atheism and Nihilism of Evolution by John Woodmorappe
• Atheism - Free-thinker or Non-thinker
• Atheism is more rational? by Jonathan Sarfati
• Atheism, its teaching and validity examined by CARM
• How Do Creationists Answer Their Critics by Henry Morris
• Hume, Kant, and Rational Theism by Hugo Meynell
• Refutation of Atheism by Harun Yahya
• The Atheism of the Gaps by Stephen M. Barr 1995 First Things 57 (November 1995): 50-53
• The Bible Compared to Modern Atheism
• The Holocaust- Ideas and Their Consequences by Ray Cotton
• Atheism - The New State Religion by Jerry Bergman. ICR Impact No. 257 (Nov 1994)
• The Psychology of Atheism by Paul C. Vitz
• Theism, Atheism, and Rationality by Alvin Plantinga
• Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist by Ralph McInerny

Seculars on Atheism

• By the Numbers: Christian Differences Scientific American: July 1999. Statistics on the number of Christians world-wide.
• Leading scientists still reject God  Nature July 23, 1998, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313. Our latest survey finds that, among the top natural scientists, disbelief is greater than ever — almost total.
  • Philosophy/Religion (Discussion Board Point/Counterpoint Reply to the Nature Poll)
• Science and God: A Warming Trend By Greg Easterbrook
• Scientists Disbelief in God Grows Strong - by American Atheists
• Reflections on Agnosticism, Atheism, & Skepticism by the Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, & Secularism Website
• Room for God?
• The Atheism Web A shared resource for atheists, agnostics and freethinkers.