Abigail Shore

Professor Blandford
UWRT 1103
December 9, 2015
Final Conversation Essay
What is atheism? Who are atheists? For many years atheism was very uncommon. It was
something that people did not relate too. Over the last century atheism as become more popular.
Many scientists today are atheists. What is an atheist? It is someone who doesnt believe in God.
I have seen in my research that atheism and agnosticism are constantly mixed up with each other.
There is a difference in not believing in God and the belief that there is no God.
Through my research I have learned many new things about atheism that I did not know
before. Although I was not able to answer all of my questions, I was able to get a better
understanding of why someone doesnt believe in God. Learning that there was a difference in
people who didnt believe in God and people who had no belief there is a God was something I
did not know. I used to consider that atheism as well. My research has shown me a different
perspective than I expected. I didnt accept atheism at all when I first came into this project, but
after much research I have learned to see that there are reasons behind why someone is an
atheist. It took me awhile to not a have a biased outlook on this topic. Most of my sources were
written by atheists, so for me as I was reading through sources I had to understand that they are
looking at things in a different point of view than I am. Reading my sources definitely helped me
get a better understanding of how an atheist thinks. In one of my sources it showed that many
atheists have turned from God because of a situation that left them with a broken heart or left

them feeling lonely. Many atheists turned to scientific research rather than believing in a Greater
Power that created the universe. Charles Darwin definitely had a huge impact on atheism.
Although he never believed in God at the beginning Darwin, through his research and scientific
discoveries, turned more towards atheism. Richard Dawkins was also a very well-known atheist.
I have heard about him in one of my philosophy classes in high school. In some of Dawkins
blogs on his official website, the percentage of Americans who believe in a God has dropped. He
shows how Americans claiming there is a God has dropped from seventy-one percent to sixtythree percent in 2007 when there was an actual visible comparison of a decline in religion.
Because of this research on his page, the numbers are large enough to be reliable. It states the
shift is small but statistically significant which means the change in percentage is a major
decline in comparison to past years. In an interview with Professor Richard Dawkins, he was
asked What in your opinion is wrong with believing in God or believing there is a God? He
responded with the statement that because he is a writer and an educator he likes the fact that
we believe something because there is evidence. In other sources other atheists responded to the
belief in God false because there was no true evidence in a Mighty Power. Other authors have
pointed out how is it possible to believe in something that you cant see? Another source that
definitely helped me realize why someone can believe there is no God was the movie Gods Not
Dead. The philosophy professor was an atheist, and he claimed the reason why he was an atheist
is because he watched his mother die and after years of praying that God would save her, he said
that he felt lonely and that is the reason he turned to atheism. Many atheists throughout my
research have gone through a situation that has caused them to believe that there is no God.
The literacy of this topic is much different than I had learned in my life. My literacy was
something that I have grown up with my entire life. This literacy about atheism and how atheists

think really was a struggle for me because I didnt understand why they thought the way they
did. Taking on this inquiry project, I had to relearn a way of thinking that I did not relate to.
Atheists look at thing in a much different way than I expected. The majority of atheists that I
read about in my studies look at things in a more scientific way rather than a religious way. For
me my way of thinking was always what does the Bible say about this? Although not all
atheists think in a scientific way, atheists go about things based on morals and their own way of
thinking. How an atheist thinks is based mainly on what they want to believe. Atheism is a
totally different perspective than I imagined. Its literacy is more based on research and how they
were raised. Since most of my sources by atheists I was able to get a better grasp on how they try
to get out what they want to prove about atheism. Although they do have a biased point of view
of atheism I believe that it helped me better understand the background behind atheism. The
points that atheists try to get out is not why or why not someone should be an atheist but why
someone believes the way they believe. In a lot of my research I had to understand that the
author was writing in a way for readers to learn why someone doesnt believe in God. Not being
able to see God in human form is also something I came across. For Christians as for myself we
believe in God based on faith otherwise there would be no reason in trusting in God. A lot of
people dont believe in God because they cannot see or hear God. I stated early that people
convert to atheism because of something tragic or because of how they were raised. I didnt quite
understand how someone can turn from God until after I watched the scene from Gods Not
Dead. The professor in the movie tells Josh that after years of praying as a kid and watching his
mother die he had lost all faith that there is a God. I was able to understand that going through
something tragic and not getting an answer to a prayer is the hardest thing. I was able to
remember a time that I prayed to God to help some of my friend, but I didnt get the answer that

I wanted. I remember feeling alone and abandoned. Feeling that way is tough; remaining true to
your faith after going through a valley is even tougher. So after seeing and reading stories after
stories of tragedies I was able to have a better idea of why someone can turn away and believe
there is no God. I also saw the controversial between atheists and Christians. Since I define
myself as a Christian, it was harder for me not to look at the way Christians see atheism. Woody
Allen, an atheist, quoted To you I am an atheist, to God I am a Loyal Opposition. When I read
his words I saw the point he was trying to get across. Christians look at people who dont believe
in the exists of God as atheists. But why? As I thought more and more about it I saw that people
label people just because of their beliefs. Richard Dawkins states We are all atheists about most
of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. I really had
to think and dwell on this saying for a moment before understanding that Dawkins proved a
point. Everyone at some point will claim that some type of god is not real, so to those people
who believe in those gods will consider he rest of us atheists towards their gods.
From my research, I was able to get more understood answers on why someone can
believe there isnt a God. For a long time I had a hard time not jumping to assumptions that an
atheist was a terrible person. As I continued my studies of this topic, I was able to learn a totally
new perspective. Atheism isnt something someone should look down on or judge because just
like everyone else there is a reason behind how someone lives. Atheist tend to go through
situations that have caused them to turn from believing in a higher power, or they have grown up
in an atheistic atmosphere. I didnt know that so many famous authors, scientists, and celebrities
are atheists. Although not all my questions were answered fully, I was able to grasp a way of
thinking that I went far beyond my expectations.

I learned many new things while doing this extended inquiry project. I now have a better
understanding of why an atheist believes there is no God. Seeing the way an atheist thinks helped
me have a better perspective of an atheist. For a long time I used to just judge someone because
they were atheist. Now I have a better concept on why a person can say there is no God. It helped
me learn you can never just judge someone because of their beliefs. Everyone has as story
behind why they are the way they are. Understanding what they go through helped me accept
them in a way I didnt think was possible. Even though I do not agree with what they believe and
how they view God, I definitely have a more open mind to atheism.
Now that I have a better hold of what atheism is, I feel like I will have an easier time
talking to atheists. Going through this literacy I was able to see that I had to learn a totally new
way of thinking rather than already knowing my beliefs. I feel like I will be able to have a
conversation with an atheist in a way where I will have a better concept of how they see things.
Although I didnt answer all my questions completely, I feel like I have more questions that I
want answered based on the research I have found. I would love to sit down with Dawkins or an
atheist like him so that I can learn more about why he thinks the way he does. Going forward
with this information, I have found that I have far more questions that I want answered.
Based on all of my research, I was able to conclude that atheism is something that is
simple to understand. I used to think of atheism as something so complex. Atheists arent all
what I thought them out to be. They have a moral way of thinking things which isnt completely
wrong. But I still dont understand why someone can just be moral if they dont believe in God.
For me as a Christian I do right because of what the Bible says. So after doing this project my
main question to the end of all of this is If God does not exist then why do we act the way we
act and think the way we think?

Work Cited Page

1. Buckley, Michael J. Denying and Disclosing God: The Ambiguous Progress of Modern
Atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 2004. Print.
2. Joshi, S. T. The Unbelievers: The Evolution of Modern Atheism. Amherst, N.Y.:
Prometheus, 2011. Print.
3. Nielsen, Kai. Philosophy & Atheism: In Defense of Atheism. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus,
1985. Print.
4. Pasquini, John J. Atheist Persona: Causes and Consequences. U of America, 2014. Print.
5. Robinson, B.A,. "Atheism: Belief in No God, or No Belief in God. (There Is a
Difference)." Atheism:. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
6.