Sarah+G.+-+REL+-+SP12

Sarah Gardner []

Summary: This article was about a student who got a 62,000 dollar scholarship from the Rhode Island chapter of the American Humanist Association, which is an organization for Atheists. The student, Jessica Ahlquist , showing a prayer removed from her Cranston high school. She got the check in Washington D.C. and this event was said to be "the largest gathering of the secular movement in world history." Ahlquist plans to use her check to help pay for her education at Brown University, where she wants to attend after she finishes high school.

Relevance: The definition of atheism is the rejection of  belief in the existence of deities or the belief that there are simply no deities (Atheism). Instead they focus on spirits and being spiritual. It is estimated that about 2.3% of the population is atheist with the most atheism being in western countries (Atheism). Atheists believe that gods don’t provide a purpose in life or influence our lives in any way. Most atheists have a secular view but there is not one set way for an atheist to act, like there can be in other religions (Atheism). The first atheists were found in Ancient Greece (History). Many people wrote atheists papers and made atheist pictures but none of these works survived. Many of the first atheists were killed due to their unpopular belief (History). Rome got many of their ideas from Greece but the true idea of atheism wasn’t really taken. The people of Rome called people atheists if they didn’t believe in their religion, so Jewish and Christian people were called atheists even though they weren’t really (History). Then in the middle ages there was not much atheism because the churches controlled all the schools and universities, so they didn’t teach atheism. But then in the 13th and 14th centuries the church started to leave the schools and atheism was once again being practiced (History). Then the Era of Deism began, which was just a deistic movement. This movement started and ended in all different times all over the world but in all countries many believers of atheism were killed (History). Finally in the 19 hundreds free thinking was more accepted in America. Many free thought publishers were in business, free thought organizations flourished, free thought lectures were given, and many free thought books were written (History).  Today atheism is better known in the United States even if it is not a popular belief. Atheists are more accepted then they were before, with 4% of the country being atheist (Atheism).

Evaluation: Religion can say a lot about a person. It tells what they believe and even how they act. Without religion some people would be nothing and others simply wouldn’t care. Freedom of religion is one of the things people treasure about living in the United States. In some countries you can be killed for your religious belief but here in the U.S. we can believe in whatever we want. People deserve to be able to think and follow whatever religion they want to because it is a personal choice, not one that the state or country can make for you. Without freedom of religion we simply wouldn’t be the United States.
 * 1) What is the actual number of atheists in the United States?
 * 2) How does one decide to become atheist?
 * 3) Are there any large national atheist organizations?
 * 4) If so, do they get together?
 * 5)  Is atheism passed down through generations like other religions are?
 * 6) Are there any atheist holidays?
 * 7) Are there any special things you need to do to be an atheist or can you just proclaim yourself one?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Atheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism>. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"The History of Freethought and Atheism." //Positive Atheism (since 1995) Join the Struggle Against Anti-Atheist Bigotry!//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990c25.htm>.