Landry 1

Sara Landry
J. Coco
English 1001, Sec 64
7 December 2015
Preface
Audience: Young adults who are beginning to question their faith and parents of those adults who
raised their children to be religious and dont understand why they have changed.
I think my biggest strength in this paper is how I incorporated my evidence from my sources. I
hope that it sounds good and coherent, I am worried that some of what I say may be repetitive,
but I couldnt think of what else to say.
My biggest weakest is trying to expand on new ideas. I feel that my ideas are what people
already think about when they think of atheism, but I am having difficulty coming up with other
points to bring up on the topic.
Atheism: Young Adults Latest Trend
Religion, the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a
personal God or gods, is one of the foundations on which the United States was built upon. So
why has this country been one of the largest countries seeing a decrease in religion importance
and the rise of atheism? As a society, citizens have many influences, whether it be from social
media, celebrities, music, movies, or television in which they shape their own values and beliefs.
Why are young adults, and society, as a whole, beginning to turn away from religion?
The entire concept of religion has changed from what people once thought it represented.
Dr. Gordon, an associate professor at Fuller Seminary, says that when Americans are asked,
Are you more religious? the answer may be that [they are] not religious or as religious or more
religious but [they are] spiritual (Morrison). Spiritual, or being spiritual, is typically associated
with faith, but it means relating to religion or religious beliefs. Which suggests that a person may
believe in a God or gods, but may not be fully participating in the religion, which is why many
teenagers are seen as moving away from the faith. According to a survey taking by Gallup

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International the number of people claiming to be religious fell from 77% to 68% between
2005 and 2011, while those who self-identified as atheist rose by 3% bringing the worlds
estimated proportion of adamant non-believers to 13% (Nuwer). This data, provided by Rachel
Nuwer, shows that atheism is constantly rising, and is becoming one of the largest groups in the
United States.
People are starting to move away from religion and toward atheism. Dr. John Wallace
writes that religious beliefs and behaviors are a function of a number of individual, family, and
community sociodemographic factors (Wallace).This shows how peoples values are influenced
by others. Dr. Meyers in her article, Even an Increasingly Godless America Doesnt Trust an
Atheist to Run the Country, shows that the latest Pew poll shows that [atheists are] the most
distrusted group in America, and Americans would be less likely to support a Godless
presidential candidate than an unfaithful or a pot-smoking one. Why do people distrust atheist
or non-believers? Is it because they are moving away from the norm or because this group is
bringing about new ways of thinking? Technology plays a major role in the growth of atheism,
and a reason why believers distrust them. Anyone from three years old to the elderly can access
and work technology. The internet, which is home to millions of ideas from Baptist, to Catholics,
to Atheist, allows millions of people to view these ideas and in turn form their own beliefs or
opinions, and many people tend to be in favor for atheists way of thinking and that is partially
why they are increasing throughout society (Meyers).
Many young adults are not only influenced by technology, but also by their peers.
Technology allows people to connect with each other, and allows children and young adults
access to more information in which they begin to form their own values earlier in life than once
before. Myers brings up that many people who thought they were alone in their god-fearing

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communities discovered that there is a thriving culture of free thought online, and acquired a new
confidence to come out and join in the conversation. The internet is a platform for children to
turn too to look for guidance when they feel alone. As Meyers said, they find many people
asking the same questions and they can gain confidence because they have supporters on what
may be a controversial issue. This is another reason why young people find atheism to be cool
because it is gaining popularity in the US not only in older generations, but it is also becoming
very familiar to the younger generations.
Not only is religion an issue nationwide, but many professors are starting to see conflicts
rising on college campuses between believers and nonbelievers. Ron Csillag in his article, A
Place for Atheism at a Catholic College? explains how professors are noting the privileges to
being Christian and disadvantages to being anything but that on American college campuses. A
course taught at the University of Toronto by Reverend Scott Lewis and three other scholars,
examines the increasing polarization between non-believers and people of faith, [the course] will
not be about confronting secularists or engaging in polemics (Csillag). This course will give
students a solid, respectful platform to discuss the difference between both beliefs, but also allow
them both to see the perspectives off each other.
However, there is privilege for those that are believers on college campuses, specifically
for Christian believers. Dr. Caryn Riswold, in her research documented in Teaching the College
'Nones': Christian Privilege and the Religion Professor, encourages teachers and scholars to
become allies with students who are not a part of this privilege group of students (139). She
says to be an ally to each and to all of these students means to equip them to navigate these
relationships and this environment effectively (139). She wants teachers to help students, of
different religious backgrounds, interact with each other of other and be able to openly discuss

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those backgrounds and understand their differences. Dr. Riswold also says that teachers, by
working in a field mostly consisting of young adults, get to see the change of values in their
students whether it be politically, culturally, or religiously.
Todays society is losing faith. This loss of faith is causing many young adults to
associate as atheists and causing many believers to become enraged. Atheist groups are
constantly rising, and are becoming among the largest groups in the United States, though people
who claim to be religious are still seen to have privilege, whether it is on school campuses or
work places. This advantage comes with the idea of atheism being bad, or unjust, and professors
are seeing this now more than ever before. Young adults their first years in college are really
starting to become their own. Meaning that they may not share the same values as their family or
friends and it can be a very confusing time for them. Many campuses are beginning to offer
various courses for believers and non-believers to take together in order to understand both sides,
in order to remove the tension, conflicts, and this privilege being seen because throughout this
time for young adults, they are beginning to form their own beliefs. In this increasing faithless
society, what are people going to look to for guidance, and hope? And without this hope, what is
to become of the world?

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Works Cited
Csillag, Ron. A Place for Atheism at a Catholic College?. Washington Post. N.p., 25 Jan 2015.
Web. 18 Nov 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com.
Meyers, PZ. Even an Increasingly Godless America Doesnt Trust an Atheist to Run the
Country. Time. N.p., 22 May 2014. Web. 18 Nov 2015. http://time.com.
Morrison, Patt. Is Atheism Gaining Popularity In America and Beyond?. 89.3 KPCC. Southern
Carolina Public Radio, 2015. Web. 17 Nov 2015. http://www.scpr.org.
Nuwer, Rachel. Atheism is on the rise around the world, so does that mean spirituality will soon
be a thing of the past?. BBC. BBC, 19 Dec 2014. Web. Nov 17 2015.
http://www.bbc.com.
Riswold, Caryn D. "Teaching The College 'Nones': Christian Privilege And The Religion
Professor." Teaching Theology & Religion 18.2 (2015): 133. Publisher Provided Full Text
Searching File. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Wallace, John M., Jr., et al. "Religion And U.S. Secondary School Students: Current Patterns,
Recent Trends, And Sociodemographic Correlates." Youth & Society 35.1 (2003): 98-125.
ERIC. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.