What has made atheism trendy?

Question

Growing up I was the only open atheist in a highschool of 800. Today 10% of the population claims to be atheist. What has culturally changed between now and then to encourage the belief in atheism?

You can suggest to me names like Hitchens and Dawkins but great and respectable thinkers have been atheists with few admirers throughout history.

People have always had the opportunity to use common sense and reasoning. Why start using it now against the fear of God?

And yes I believe atheism is trendy when many atheists still possess a fear in God (call it a lack of ability to reason clearly).

Answer 1

Disillussionment, probably.

Answer 2

I think 2 things are converging.

1. The world is a safer place for atheists today then it was 20+ years ago. If you lived in the country in the 70s or 80s and proclaimed yourself an atheist, you were just as likely to get a beating as if you announced you were Gay. The world is more accepting of different lifestyles and beliefs because of modern entertainment, and because of the internet.

In the past we didn't have access to so many differing opinions and cultures, but now with TV and the internet, we are able to see that people are people, whether they are Christians, Hindus, Zulus or Atheists. This is creating a more tolerant society.

2. 9/11 showed many of us that faith based religion is not just a silly belief, but something that can cause people to kill us. That was a real wake up call for Atheists like myself, who used to be satisfied keeping my beliefs private and quiet. Now I feel like I have a duty to my kids and society to point out that Faith can be a very dangerous thing when left unchecked.

Other people who were not active believers were forced to examine their belief system because of terrorism, and many found that there was no truth there anymore, so abandoned their indoctrination for reason.

I don't see Atheism as being largely trendy, but more accepted.

Answer 3

If you mean in the US I don't think it is trendy - quite the contrary unfortunately. US poll say around 14% say they have "no religion", rather than "atheist" as such. Over 90% of Americans believe in God, compared to far less in Europe. I think Europe is the exception to the rule - here in Europe religion is in decline - especially in the West. In Europe, where most people are Catholics, I would argue that scandals in the Church combined with secularist-tendencies sprining from the French Revolution of 1789 are the reason for this decline. Also, a lot of Europeans, when thinking of religion, think of the problems it has spawned - sectarianism, wars e.g. Middle East, persecution e.g. Inquisition, anti-Catholic laws in Ireland, bein anti-science e.g. Galileo under house-arrest for saying the world was round.

Answer 4

Atheism asserts a belief that God does not exist. For atheists, it is not a trendy thing. Perhaps our society is more open to accept divergent views. That is a very good thing.

Personally, I respect the perspective of "A Guide for the Perplexed" by E.F. Schumacher. He asserts that we should not limit our truth to the very narrow field of those things that can be proven with absolute certainty. Materialism is so depressing!

Answer 5

Atheism isn't "trendy". A trend is something someone follows simply because everyone else is doing it. I think more people are just opening their minds more and realizing that the answers don't lie in a 2000 year old book.

In fact atheists are far from trendy. We're non-conformists... freethinkers.

Answer 6

More and more people are
fed up with the Clutter of Religion just to keep a Bunch of Priests in Business.

Answer 7

Decode this lyrics " Bettermen"
Must be the ATM.
Had been up dated most of the time.
But the pocket seem to be empty all the time.
Since science and mathematics not included.
Luke 9.55-56
What do you think?

Answer 8

It's not a trend. It's the truth. But what can we expect from people who believe in fairy tales?

Answer 9

common sense, and reality.