THE GROWTH OF ATHEISM

THE GROWTH OF ATHEISM

            What ever happened to the worship of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo by the Greeks? What happened to the Egyptian worship of Osiris, Isis, and Amun? The answer is, of course, that they were replaced by the religions of Christianity and Islam. Although those new religions honored different gods, they adopted many of the practices and observances of the ones they replaced. For example, scholars say that the ancient Black Stone (probably a meteorite) worshipped by Moslems at the Kaaba in Mecca was part of the worship of an earlier pagan god, perhaps the goddess Allat, long before the time of Mohammed. The celebration of Easter by Christians is reminiscent of the ancient Greek “Agapes” in which Greek people celebrated the resurrection of gods such as Mithras, Attis, and Dionysus, before the time of Jesus.

            Christianity and Islam are still going strong after 2000 and 1395 years respectively, but they have not remained stagnant. Over the centuries both religions have experienced the splitting-up and growth of divergent orthodoxies and conflicting sects. Today we see the decline of traditional Christian churches and the growth of high-demand sects such as Charismatics and Pentecostals. Traditional Islam, which split into Shia, Sunni, and other sects, seems to be challenged today by the growth of intense and often violent branches such as al Qaeda, and ISIS.

            In the last few centuries there has been another significant change in the religious universe. It is the growth of Atheism. Throughout the Dark and Middle Ages Atheism was virtually unknown. Open declaration of non-belief could find one tied to a stake sniffing smoke. During the “Enlightenment,” however, philosophers such as Voltaire, Hume, and D’Holbach, began to question the dogmas of all religion. Later, thinkers such as Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche proclaimed the absence of any god.

          The most serious challenge to established religions came, however, with the growth and expansion of Science. Copernicus and Galileo attacked the Christian belief that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Darwin showed that the human race evolved from lower forms of life by means of natural selection.

         According to a 2012 WIN-Gallup International Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism, the number of Atheists is on the rise across the world, with religiosity generally on the decline. The poll found that 23% of people around the world consider themselves “non-religious,” and 13% think of themselves as convinced Atheists. Between the years 2005 and 2012 the number of people claiming to be Atheist rose by 3% while the number of people claiming to be religious fell by 9%.

In the United States the number of people describing themselves as Atheist or Agnostic doubled from 2001 to 2009. Among adult Americans, 23% profess no faith affiliation. Moreover, the trend toward Atheism is accelerating. According to a Pew Research study released on May 12, 2015, one-third of all millennials (ages 18-34, approximately 75.3 million) now say they are unaffiliated with any faith.

 The Win-Gallup poll found that religiosity is higher among the poor--people in the bottom income groups are 17% more religious than those in the top income groups. The poll also found that Atheism is highest among the most educated people in the world. A survey of scientists in the illustrious National Academy of Sciences found that 72% were Atheists and another 20% were agnostic or had doubts. 

            If Atheism continues to grow at these rates and religiosity continues to decline, one has to wonder whether there will come a time when Atheism will pass religiosity and all of today’s gods and religions will go the way of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo, etc..