Atheism Research Paper
Putting the words atheism and morality in the same sentence might raise an eyebrow or two. Many people believe that Atheists do not have morals because they do not believe in a god. I, however, disagree with that statement. Not researching the beliefs, or non-beliefs, of atheism causes assumptions and therefore people jump to conclusions about their views. Morals are choices that fall on each individual separately regardless of religion. First we must comprehend the reasoning behind atheism, and what it pertains to, in order to understand that there is a moral system despite a lack of religion.
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According to the Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary atheism is defined as a disbelief in the existence of deity. As a result, the possibility of the existence of god(s) or supernatural events is not entirely ruled out. A weak atheist requires strong, testable, explainable, and repeatable evidence before granting the possibility that there are no gods. A strong atheist holds that in all probability, no such evidence can or ever will be produced for him to believe in god. Not attending church or lack of faith in God will not cause a person to develop into an Atheist overnight. However, it is a state that a person individually goes through in order to decide if a certain religion or upbringing is right for them. Only your own thoughts and conclusions can bring forth your changing outlook on religious teachings.
Even though one may loose the desire for religious teachings that does not permit grounds for a moral breakdown in society. Not having a belief in religion does not mean that that person does not have values or morals in their life. Atheistic morals are derived from the same place as anyone religious or nonreligious. Namely, your culture, your parents, instinct, your own thinking and observations, and your own experiences are the main denominator in deciding what you believe to be right or wrong. In order to hold morals for yourself you must know what you believe to be right and wrong given what you have learned throughout your life and then by being true to yourself by being responsible for your actions. Your actions affect yourself and others, and their reactions affect you. Right and wrong are determined on a case-by-case basis everyday by individuals, without need of or reference to external moral codes. Everyone has the ability to reason and to contemplate his or her actions before hand. Religion may play a part in that thought process, if it is something you study and believe in, but it does not take a religious man to know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So believing God is the only explanation for people doing right in this world is ridiculous, in fact it is absurd to think that one can only learn good morality from the Christian Church.
Actually the Christian Church has very little support to back up their claims for being the reason people have morals. Throughout history the Christian Church has justified their backing of the Crusades, the Holocaust and other genocides, slavery, homophobia, child sacrifice, and has backed a dozen or so wars in the past century alone. So how then can the church claim to have and uphold such high morals and accuse those without religion as having no knowledge to define right from wrong because atheists do not want to believe in an organization that does such appalling things and follows a leader that allows it. Maybe the issue should not be the morals of Atheists, but the morals of people who blatantly are unethical and are the first to pass blame to take the heat off of themselves and their misconducts.
It is a popular belief to associate atheism with the complete absence of morality, as if a disbelief in god meant at the same time a disbelief in moral standards. Any examination into the beliefs of actual atheism in the matter of morals would prove this assumption wrong. Indeed, an atheist often possesses stronger moral standards than the most devout ‘so-called’ Christian believer.
The ability to do the right thing, to even know what the right thing is, will depend upon one's wisdom and knowledge. The extent to which one really knows the consequences of what is done, and the significance of what is represented when one does it, will determine the extent to which one can establish what is right or wrong in any given case.
According to the Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary atheism is defined as a disbelief in the existence of deity. As a result, the possibility of the existence of god(s) or supernatural events is not entirely ruled out. A weak atheist requires strong, testable, explainable, and repeatable evidence before granting the possibility that there are no gods. A strong atheist holds that in all probability, no such evidence can or ever will be produced for him to believe in god. Not attending church or lack of faith in God will not cause a person to develop into an Atheist overnight. However, it is a state that a person individually goes through in order to decide if a certain religion or upbringing is right for them. Only your own thoughts and conclusions can bring forth your changing outlook on religious teachings.
Even though one may loose the desire for religious teachings that does not permit grounds for a moral breakdown in society. Not having a belief in religion does not mean that that person does not have values or morals in their life. Atheistic morals are derived from the same place as anyone religious or nonreligious. Namely, your culture, your parents, instinct, your own thinking and observations, and your own experiences are the main denominator in deciding what you believe to be right or wrong. In order to hold morals for yourself you must know what you believe to be right and wrong given what you have learned throughout your life and then by being true to yourself by being responsible for your actions. Your actions affect yourself and others, and their reactions affect you. Right and wrong are determined on a case-by-case basis everyday by individuals, without need of or reference to external moral codes. Everyone has the ability to reason and to contemplate his or her actions before hand. Religion may play a part in that thought process, if it is something you study and believe in, but it does not take a religious man to know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So believing God is the only explanation for people doing right in this world is ridiculous, in fact it is absurd to think that one can only learn good morality from the Christian Church.
Actually the Christian Church has very little support to back up their claims for being the reason people have morals. Throughout history the Christian Church has justified their backing of the Crusades, the Holocaust and other genocides, slavery, homophobia, child sacrifice, and has backed a dozen or so wars in the past century alone. So how then can the church claim to have and uphold such high morals and accuse those without religion as having no knowledge to define right from wrong because atheists do not want to believe in an organization that does such appalling things and follows a leader that allows it. Maybe the issue should not be the morals of Atheists, but the morals of people who blatantly are unethical and are the first to pass blame to take the heat off of themselves and their misconducts.
It is a popular belief to associate atheism with the complete absence of morality, as if a disbelief in god meant at the same time a disbelief in moral standards. Any examination into the beliefs of actual atheism in the matter of morals would prove this assumption wrong. Indeed, an atheist often possesses stronger moral standards than the most devout ‘so-called’ Christian believer.
The ability to do the right thing, to even know what the right thing is, will depend upon one's wisdom and knowledge. The extent to which one really knows the consequences of what is done, and the significance of what is represented when one does it, will determine the extent to which one can establish what is right or wrong in any given case.
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Warning!!! All free online research papers, research paper samples and example research papers on Atheism topics are plagiarized and cannot be fully used in your high school, college or university education.
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___________________________________________________________Warning!!! All free online research papers, research paper samples and example research papers on Atheism topics are plagiarized and cannot be fully used in your high school, college or university education.
If you need a custom research paper, research proposal, essay, dissertation, thesis paper or term paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your research papers from scratch. Starting at $12/page you can order custom written papers online. We work with experienced PhD. and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! High quality and 100% non-plagiarized papers guaranteed!
