Being and Atheist in a Religious Family Religion & Theology Essay (Essay Sample)

Being and Atheist in a Religious Family
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Being and Atheist in a Religious Family
Answering the question as to whether an Atheist can successfully live in a Christian family requires a comprehensive analysis of the tenets of atheism versus those of theism. As defined by Markos (2018), atheism is the disbelief in the existence of any form of deity and subsequent skepticism about the abilities and qualities associated to deities. On the other hand, religion defines the belief in a God or gods with superhuman qualities and the capacity to control the universe and its inhabitants. While religion credits the creation of the universe to God, atheists believe in the scientific theories that they consider relatively empirical. For theists, the source of morality is religion, which defines how people should behave in the society. On the other hand, atheism draws its code of conduct from logic. While the two may disagree on the existence of deities, the tenets defining the societal behavior of adherents appeal to universal virtues of mutual human coexistence.
Atheists consider the concepts of deities to be myths. In an analysis by Pearcey (2015), these concepts are viewed to be divided into two realms of the natural and supernatural sections. While atheists accept the first, they deny the presence of the second one because of lack of empirical evidence. As an atheist living with Christians, it may be challenging for the former to freely express their thoughts in public as the others may be opposed to them. However, it is worth noting that the logic defining morality for atheism is based on universal rules of human coexistence. These rules allow people to fend for themselves, abhor laziness, prevent individuals from harming others, and provide for everyone’s freedom of expression.