Controversy on Atheism

Atheism is among the most controversial topics in society today. It isn't very often that Atheism will wind up on headlines in America today because people feel so uncomfortable talking about it and offending others, that they will just brush it under the rug. This is extremely perplexing due to the fact that one of our most basic rights as a citizen of the United States of America to have the freedom of religion. Sure, you can choose to practice Atheism, but you aren't allowed the same freedoms that other religions enjoy. For example, if you are an Atheist and are planning on running for public office, sorry! If you live in Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas then you are banned from ever running for office. Home of the brave? Maybe. Land of the free? Very funny.

According to the Pew Research Report, 6% of the United States population identify as either Atheist or Agnostic (a belief very similar to Atheism). Now while 6% does not sound like a very large percentage at all, one must keep in mind that there is a whopping 318.9 million people living in the United States. That means that there are 19,134,000 people living in the United States that are generally deemed lower than convicted felons.

For Atheists, there is really no telling what freedom they're going to be denied of on a daily basis. In 13 countries, any given person can, and will, face the death penalty if anybody finds out about their lack of beliefs. There are numerous cases of people (specifically teachers) losing their jobs over as little as a suspicion of being an Atheist. Seeing as Atheists can't even be trusted to hold a job, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that there have been many cases of judges ruling that Atheist parents don't get custody of their children. Believe it or not, Atheists have even been bared from volunteering for their community. That's right. They were told that because of their choice to not believe in a God, they were not fit to serve soup to the suffering members of the community. This is probably the least surprising out of all prior statements, but Atheists are also banned from joining the Boy Scouts of America whether child or adult.

It truly is a perplexing notion to think about, that even in our modern, "free" world, people don't truly have the choice to believe whatever they want. I'm sure that at some point in the near future, somebody will notice this injustice and correct it just as people have will all injustices in America's past. We eradicated slavery because it was wrong. We legalized homosexual marriage, because it was unfair to treat somebody differently just because of their sexual preferences. And we will surely right the wrongs we have made with treating people unfairly because of their religious beliefs. It is just unfortunate that it has taken so long for this topic to have light shed upon it; so many years after the constitution was published that gave people the right to believe in a religion, but not the choice to NOT believe in one.

Sources:

Images:

• http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/files/2012/05/SouthTexArkanMissTennPennLand_07.jpg
• https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2f/fa/27/2ffa27c396ec32a7a7e95a84dc0ef4bc.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Atheismsymbol_endorsed_by_AAI.svg
• http://files.sharenator.com/i_see_no_god-s1920x1200-95855-420.png

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlL0eL7Upac&list=PLfK5t0z3PcVD6teXhu9tc8I6MQ_KT-r42

Info:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_the_United_States
• https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+people+live+in+the+US&oq=how+many+people+live+in+the+US&aqs=chrome..69i57.4701j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/atheists-discrimination_n_4413593.html
• http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/custody.pdf