The Daily Circuit

Faith and Public Life

Atheism in America

10:15 AM, May 10, 2012

LISTEN

We've been looking at issues pertaining to faith and public life this week, but today we are going to look at issues surrounding a lack of faith. Between 1.5 and 4 percent of Americans admit to so-called "hard atheism," the conviction that no higher power exists. But a much larger share of the American public--19 percent--spurns organized religion in favor of a non-defined skepticism about faith.

This group is growing faster than any religious faith in the U.S. About two-thirds of these Americans say they are former believers; 24 percent are lapsed Catholics and 29 percent once identified with other Christian denominations. What are the major issues facing non-believers, and where do they fit in a society of theists?

Greta Christina, blogger and author of "Why Are You Atheists So Angry?" will join The Daily Circuit Thursday.

"Most atheists I've known do have some anger about some of the specific ways that religion plays out in the world but the atheist movement is very diverse," she said. "One of the things we differ most about is how we view religion. Many atheists would be perfectly happy to co-exist with religion as long as religion was happy to co-exist with us. Other atheists have a more confrontational attitude toward religion. They think that there are qualities in the very nature of religion that make peaceful coexistence unlikely or impossible."

Teresa MacBain, former senior pastor at Lake Jackson United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Fla., will also join the discussion.

Join the conversation on Facebook

VIDEO: Teresa MacBain at the American Atheists Conference

VIDEO: Interview with Greta Christina

comments powered by Disqus
Listen Now

MPR News Radio

Hourly Newscast
On Air On the Media®

The Daily Circuit Blog

Politics & Government:

Three perspectives on bridging the marriage opinion gap

Now that Gov. Mark Dayton has signed the same-sex marriage bill into law, we asked the participants on this week’s Roundtable for advice on how to bridge gaps between Minnesotans who support same-sex marriage and those who oppose it. Jim Wallis, author of “On God’s Side,” thinks we are on the cusp of a nationwide Read more

Arts & Culture:

Temple Grandin helps explain the autistic brain and inspire those who have one

Kerri Miller offers a look inside the thoughts of an autism pioneer. Read more