C) Issues relating to the rejection of religion

Rejection of belief in deities

• 2 key movements in the 18th century that made an impact on challenging belief in God
• 1. Age of enlightenment- encouraged individuals to think for themselves
• 2. French revolution of 1789- mobilised intellectuals who saw the Church as an outmoded institution
• By this point, atheism had taken on the meaning of denial in the existence of God or the disregard of God when living one's life
• During the 20th century, increased travel meant people were becoming aware of other religions and many felt there were too many contradictions between them to sustain belief
• It was argued that which religion you follow depends on where you were born and has little to do with truth

The differences between agnosticism and atheism

• Agnosticism is based on the concept that we have no knowledge if God exists or not, so we cannot make a decision 
• Various shades of atheism; Flew introduced 'weak' and 'strong' atheism in his book 'The presumptions of atheism'
• Weak atheism: atheist does not make the positive claim that God does not exist. 
• Strong atheism: atheist asserts that he knows God does not exist
• New atheism: the belief that religion is a threat to the survival of the human race

The rise of new atheism (antitheism)

• 9/11 saw a powerful attack…