Will Atheism Become More Prominent Than Religion? Why? (Research Paper Sample)

Will Atheism Become More Prominent Than Religion? Why? Name Institution AffiliationAtheism and Religion Atheism is defined as the lack of belief in the existence of a supreme deity. Religion, on the other hand, is the strong belief in the existence of a supreme deity with supernatural origins, prayers, moral codes of conduct, rituals, and other modes of communications (Amarasingam, 2010). Religious believers are strongly convicted that atheism distinctly flouts the essential characteristics of a religion. Therefore, they consider it a mere erroneous opinion that is not tenable enough to be regarded as a religion. The unpredictability nature of the future makes it difficult to state explicitly which of the two practices will exceed each other. This paper draws on the existing knowledge of religion in an attempt to evaluate whether atheism will ultimately become more prominent than religion in the future. In the contemporary society, particularly in the more affluent nations, atheism is exponentially on the rise. Each day, the absolute numbers of nonbelievers and their relative proportions compared to the rest of the population continue to proliferate. According to a case study conducted by Gallup International, there was a five percent rise in the numbers of self-proclaimed atheists between 2007 and 2014. The same study also recorded a ten percent decrease in the number of religious believers in the same period (Nuwer, 2014). Despite these statistics, religious analysts deem it nearly an impossible feat that atheism will become more prominent than religion. Human beings instinctively desire to believe, and various societies and cultures throughout history established the inherent need of faith. According to physiologists, the human mind perpetually hungers for explanation and purpose. Religion offers this by assuring its believers of the existence of an afterlife with a better future. It asserts that life is not futile, which serves as a huge consolation to its followers. Furthermore, the conviction of the existence of an invisible force that controls life helps people find the strength to persevere in times of suffering and comfort in knowing that they are part of a bigger drive. As Hedges (2009) observes, self-proclaimed atheists unequivocally strengthen this fact as well when they chatter about ghosts, telepathy, reincarnation, astrology, and karma. These are superstitious beliefs that can be placed at the same level as religion since they too lack accurate explanations. Besides, atheists pride themselves on the increasing levels of enlightenment and literacy. They perceive themselves as free thinkers, a perception that is not enough to survive in a world where the future is always unpredictable. The pervasiveness of faith in a society helps foster cohesion, order, and togetherness among the people. The apprehension of supernatural punishment or the belief of a loving deity weaves a fabric through which a common societal goal is established. Consequently, this helps foster unity as people become more inclined to work together towards its achievement. Religion creates moral codes that govern the behavior of its believers by perpetuating the idea that breaching commandments from the supreme god will attract a severe wrath such a...