Religion has always been a sensitive subject.

Communities have been known to

defend their religion no matter what the cost. Verbal abuse and war are commonplaces
in religion, contrary to the peaceful image that most attempt to portray. Even with the
negatives of religion, why is atheism still a taboo subject? Atheism is the disbelief in the
existence of a god or gods. To the uniformed, atheism can be linked to the lack of a
moral conscience, violence and even Satanism. These misconceptions can stem from
the fear of new ideas. Religion is a comfortable familiarity that provides hope after
death. Even though religion is deeply rooted in most communities, as society becomes
more open and accepting, there is now a rise of atheism and a decline in the belief of a
god. This disbelief has been on the rise since 1990. This is a major shift in history, and it
is the first time religion has continued to decline around the World (Waldman 1).
Atheism is gaining a foothold around the world due to the increase in the quality of life,
social factors, and advancements in science and technology.
To start off, statistics show that as the quality of life gets better, the need for a
god in one's life decreases. The Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal
Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism study states that countries with better
living conditions tend to be secular, and pro-evolution (Collins 1). Similarly, The
University of Arizona and Washington State University ran two studies comparing the
average of the importance of God and the quality of life and found a negative correlation
(Rees 1). Why is the quality of life so important for the belief in a deity? Some of the
factors that pertain to this correlation are low crime rates, low unemployment and
poverty percentages, and better education. While looking at the topic of education, it is
easy to piece together that the more educated a person is, the likelihood of him
believing in a god is much less. If one is not presented with the facts of evolution or
scientific opposing arguments to God, he will not question religion as the explanation to
the universe. Likewise, countries with the lowest poverty rates tend to be less religious.
In 2009 Gallup surveyed 114 countries on their religiosity, and found that there is a very
high correlation between the richest countries and low belief in a god (Crabtree 1). The
wealthier a community is, there is a lower importance for religion in their lives. It can be
inferred through these factors that as people experience a better quality of life, there is
less of a concern to turn to religion to be happier. If one is already experiencing
satisfactory life conditions, there is no need to pray for a better life, use God as a means
of explanation, and for the comfort that religion can provide in one's life.
For Americans, the quality of life was great in the 90's when society saw the first
jump in atheists. When Dow Jones crashed in 1987, American was faced with an
economic recession until the early 1990's. The economy recovered very well and the
90's were prosperous years for America with a low unemployment rate of 5.6%. The
1990's were also generally peaceful years. There were no major wars or violence
connected to America. This quality of life is the first factor explaining why society saw
the percentage of atheists rise in 1990. The nonreligious accounted for 8% of the
population (ARIS Table 1). This total jumped up 5% from surveys taken in years before
1990.
Furthermore, social factors and the media have a huge impact on the trends in
society. Even religion cannot escape these ties. Evidence in contemporary
controversies prove that nowadays society continues to become more socially liberal.
Communities are starting to accept views that were once completely off limits and even
punishable by death including gay marriage and abortion. Gallup publishes an ongoing
poll on how society continually becomes more open regarding marriage. The
acceptance of gay marriage has risen almost 30% within the last twenty years (Marriage
Table 1). Similarly, the percentage of the nation's adults that approve of interracial
marriages has risen almost 40% within the past twenty years (Marriage Table 3).
Studies also show that for the first time ever over half of Americans favor legalizing
marijuana, another trend that has been rising with the openness of society (For Graph
1). Social factors tend to be connected. Generally, communities will become more
liberal as a whole, as opposed to one trend at a time. This is proven through the liberal
opinions on different disputes. When interviewed on American Politics, Chris Cochrane,
a professor of Toronto, explained the tolerance in this simple way. He stated "When the
law changes on issues like gay marriage, for example, and people find that society
hasn't fallen apart, you do see a shift of public opinion that moves in supporting those
policies" (CBC 1). As society becomes less conservative, there is a new overall
tolerance within controversies such as religion, abortion, marriage, and legalization.
With this atheism is continually rising. Nonreligious now accounts for 16% of the
population, as compared to theists (Adherents 1).
The social factors in 1990 played a large role in this increase of nonbelievers. In
the early 90's society was coming off of a conservative presidency with Republican
candidate George Bush. Bill Clinton was elected 1992. Along with this win, citizens were
seeking a more liberal society as a backlash to the previous traditionalist term. The 90's
were a time of grunge style and alternative rock music. Religion and the conservative
lifestyle were not popular. Some prominent artists of the 90's were Nirvana, Alice in
Chains, and The Offspring. As society used these bands as role models and trend
setters, religiosity could not increase. These artists did not express an importance on
religion in their music or lives, and society as such followed. In fact, Kurt Cobain is
known for his confusion of religion and hate of Christianity (Sarachik 1). Additionally,
Alice in Chains was famous for their stab at religion with their album The Devil Put
Dinosaurs Here (Kielty 1). This lash at Christianity criticized the belief that dinosaur
fossils were placed on Earth simply so people would question God. These controversies
really depopularized religion and made way for liberal atheists to rise.
Moreover, science and technology is the biggest opposing factor to religion. Part
of the definition of faith is believing without proof. The basis of religious faith asks one to
follow blindly without proof. Information is constantly being questioned. Science
provides answers backed by facts and evidence, as opposed to the blindness of
religion. Since society is becoming more liberal, people are suddenly willing to question
faith. Science is a more appealing route, as it can provide proof to back its theories.
Creationism cannot survive against evolution. How can one say the Earth is only 6,000
years old, when there are rocks dating back 3.7 billion years? There are fossils records
that prove limbs developed from fish fins, whales used to walk on land, birds are
dinosaurs, and that ear bones developed from reptilian jaw bones. If science and
religion attempt to mix, it has to be said that people actually roamed the Earth with
dinosaurs. This idea is obviously foolish; science does not leave any room for religion.
Scientists consistently find more evidence to prove evolution. In 2009 a paleontologist
discovered Ardi, the Ardipithecus ramidus, taking us one step closer to finding the
missing link between mammals and humans. Science will be the downfall of religion.
Along with science, there is an undeniable relationship between religion and
intelligence. Last year, the findings were released for a series of 63 scientific studies
over 80 years. The results caused religion to take a big hit. The studies found that
atheists tend to be more intelligent and have higher IQs than the religious (Bates 1).
There is a "reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity" and the
research ultimately concluded "the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not
anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who
know better" (Bates 1). The research also found that even the more intelligent a child
is, the more likely they are to shun the church (Bates 2). By looking at these studies,
one can conclude that as more science is discovered, the more one can learn and this
will lead to higher intelligence. Children with high IQs that are educated in these
scientific discoveries will doubt religion. With higher intelligence in society, religion will
continually seem more and more irrational. With all these new advancements, people
are finding it a lot harder to believe that a deity can have control over the universe.
What is the consequence of the decline in religion? With all of these factors
adding to the increase of atheism, there is also an increase in the acceptance of not
believing in a god. Society is now seeing that people are starting to become comfortable
enough to speak out about atheism. In 2007, Pete Stark became the first openly atheist
member of Congress (List 5.2). In 2012 Kyrsten Sinema was elected, and is the only
open atheist serving in Congress (List 5.2). In 2006, Richard Dawkins added The God
Delusion to Amazons best seller list, ranking second that year. It also placed on the
best sellers in New York. In the non-fiction novel, Dawkins relates god to a delusion and
persistently presents evidence to contradict the belief in a deity. Even the books for
dummies series has incorporated into the trend with "Atheism for Dummies."
Comedians, such as Jimmy Carr, are also using their careers to express their
nonreligious beliefs. Carr constantly makes jokes on the foolishness of religion,
specifically Christianity. He has spoken publicly about the good of atheism on multiple
occasions. There are even organizations dedicated to the civil rights of atheists. Two
prominent groups in America, American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion
Foundation, work to not only provide civil rights, but for the absolute separation of
church and state. They provide speakers around the country to educate citizens on
nontheism and the unfortunate consequences of religion. As Americans begin to feel
more comfortable, safer, and confident in questioning religion, one will progressively
find Atheists in a plethora of careers.
In conclusion, there is an ongoing paradigm shift in the decline of religion to the
rise of atheism. In just over twenty years, society has seen atheism gain a huge foothold
on society. There are studies happening and novels being written about the complete
extinction of religion. The percentage of nonbelievers will continue to rise. This change
is due to social factors, the quality of life, and new discoveries in science and
technology.

References

"Adherents.com Home Page." Major Religions Ranked by Size. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov.
2013.

"ARIS 2008 Report: Part IA - Belonging." - American Religious Identification Survey
2008. N.p., 2008. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Bates, Daniel. "Atheists 'have Higher IQs': Their Intelligence 'makes Them More Likely
to Dismiss Religion as Irrational and Unscientific'" Mail Online. N.p., 16 Aug. 2013. Web.
05 Nov. 2013.

CBC. "Is America Becoming More Liberal?" The Huffington Post. N.p., 07 Nov. 2013.
Web. 07 Nov. 2013.

Collins, Richard. "Secular Societies Enjoy Better Quality of Life." End Hereditary
Religion. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Crabtree, Steve. "Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations." Religiosity Highest in
World's Poorest Nations. N.p., 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Kielty, Martin. "Alice In Chains Lash Back at Religion." Classic Rock RSS. N.p., 10 Apr.
2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

"For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana." For First Time, Americans
Favor Legalizing Marijuana. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"List of Atheists in Politics and Law." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Oct. 2013.
Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"Marriage." Gallup.Com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Rees, Thomas. "Epiphenom: Non-religious Nations Have Higher Quality of Life."
Epiphenom. Epiphenom.fieldofscience.com, 13 May 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

"Richard Dawkins." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2013. Web. 05 Nov.
2013.

Sarachik, Justin. "Kurt Cobain: Born-Again Christian or Confused Life Struggling With
Faith, Drugs, and Sanity." Christian Post. N.p., 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Waldman, Paul. "Religious Belief Declining Very Slowly Around the World." The
American Prospect. N.p., 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.