Is being Atheist "cool" nowadays?

[Grace Stapleton]

I have noticed that more and more of the people that I know are calling themselves atheists. Or a lot of teenagers will say “I’m supposed to be –insert religion here- but I don’t believe in it.” Why do teenagers do this? In biology, they teach us theories on how science thinks the earth was created. Religions have different theories on how they think it was created so is it leading to confusion? Do teenagers just surrender and give up on everything they believe in? I also think many teenagers don’t practice their religion like they should. Yeah sure, they go to church, but how many retain all of the information that they tell you?

My thought is, teenagers just go with the flow. Someone else says they’re atheist so they conform and go along with it. Teens are trying to discover who they are so their views and beliefs are changing. Since many don’t know what they believe, they think that not believing anything is the easy way out. I will say though, some teenagers probably are actually atheist but others are merely going through a phase.

So what are your religious views? Why do you think teenagers are calling themselves atheist?

[Steven Dodgen]

Having faith in a certain religion can somewhat shape you.  Kids who regularly go to church and take part in church activities are usually the nicest people in high school. They know there values and priorities and they know what is right and what is wrong.  Atheists are scared cowards who have nothing to turn in their times of hardship so they lash out at people who haev faith in a certain religion.

[Jon McCoy]

I believe that going through   Adolescence is a roller-coaster of emotional and spiritual beliefs. I believe that some are truly aethiest and some others just put it as a title, while they are deciding what they believe. No matter what, I believe we can't pressure them and tell them what they believe isn't right or that they're pretending because religion is a very essential thing in many lives!

[victor petrov]

im egnostic which means that i dont belive in god but i belive theres something of a higher power then us. but atheisism is when u dont belive in anything and i think that that would be kinda scary lol

[haena y.]

Like the blog states, most teens that call themselves atheists, I believe, are going through a phase. As we grow and fill ourselves with knowledge we start to doubt and question. Religion is based on faith and sometimes it is hard to say, "I believe in ___" when there is no solid proof. In other's perspective, they may have hard times coping with the whole idea of religion, some may really believe there is no supreme being, or are just influenced by what others say. I grew up in a Christian household and I agree that sometimes it is hard to really believe and have faith in my religion. Atheist or not people have to understand and be considerate of what other believe and think because we all have different beliefs and various opinions.

-haena yun

[Alex Costigan]

For the most part, society views people's cares and things they old valueble as signs of weakness. So by saying they are atheist, they think they seem cooler and less-caring.

[Won Jun Choi]

I totally agree with you, I thought almost everyone around me seemed to believe in God. What happened? I always thought it was rare to find people who didn't believe in God, but there seem to be so many of you on this board who don't. I am a Christian, and I think that it gives you hope and peace inside of you. But I also think that couple of religions are having trouble reaching out to those who does not know God, because teens are so focused on their peer and their friends all the time. So I hope that kids that does not know God can open the eyes of their heart that are blinded.

[Kristina Lopez]

I agree, teens just go with the flow. They want to fit in and if the cool or popular kid is Atheist, then they want to be too. With religion also comes guide lines, and rules are not necessarily easy to follow. Most teens want to rebel and not feel guilty for it, or they want to feel "cool" for breaking rules. If nothing is telling you not to, then you won't have to feel guilty. The idea of God, in Catholicism, is that he is constantly looking over you and he knows what you are doing. This can scare some teen and by not believing that, no one will know what you did. I also think that science has become so advanced that almost everything can be proved with science. The belief in a god is no longer necessary and people choose to take the easy road and not believe anything.

[Lauren Andersen]

Taking on the responsibility of a religion is huge. Once you declare yourself a certain religion, people expect you to reflect all the aspects of that religion in your behavior. Being expected to perfectly follow the religion is a sterotypical thought of new followers of religion. I think the pressure that comes with religion is too much for teens to handle, so instead they proclaim themselves as atheists. I also think a lot of judgement is put onto people proclaim a certain religion. How many times have you thought, "Oh, he/she is a Christian. That means they're a goody-two-shoes who doesn't know how to have fun." Most teens don't want to be assoicated with the negative sterotypes that come with following a religion. I think this is another reason why teens proclaim themselves as atheists.

[Aricela Marquez]

I agree with your view point, but in all honesty I don't think it just stops at teens. Adults as well. It is easy to say you are so and so religion, but it would go back to the old saying/question... you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? I feel that sometimes Adults force religion on us teens to give us a sense of rule. Don't get me wrong my mother raised me on catholic values, but she isn't a high in catholic. Actually, I don't think there should be any level of practice label on anyone. Religion in my opinion is there for hope and faith, not to judge or to tell you are believing the wrong way. I respect those who take their faith to such high appreciation, but I am not one of them. Sure I am a Catholic, but I will not lie and say I walk the walk.

[JohnPaulus V Arcangel]

They want to avoid obligation.
I recently observed comments teenagers made while watching this program on tv that debated weather Islam is a religion of peace. During the heat of the debate that's when all these teenagers so blatantly stated out loud "HA this is why I'm atheist". They think they know everything about a religion. Catholics preying on little boys, Islams preying on little girls, Jews being rich and greedy. All such offensive stereotypes. What Atheists fail to see is how much harm atheism has done compared to all the religions of the world combined. Atheism has killed nearly over 100 million people in the past 100 years. Stalin killed 20-60 million people. Mao Zedong killed nearly 70-90 million people. Sure blame communism, but communism believes in no God. Despite how dramatic media makes everything seem, religion, on a larger scale has done more good than bad.

Let me make it clear in case it wasn't. I am judging atheists, but I didn't state anything bad about them here. I just stated what they have done, and its your opinion that makes my statement a good or bad thing.