If the Ten Commandments are the foundation of American law or government, where in the Constitution is the Seventh Commandment to be found? Where in the Constitution or indeed anywhere in modern U.S. law are Americans forbidden from committing adultery?

Read Article: The Seventh Commandment and American Law

There are many different ways in which religious theists try to establish some sort of equivalence between themselves and atheists regarding their approach to matters of truth. Atheist critics of theistic religion frequently focus on how religious theists believe the truth of claims which cannot be supported through sound logic or verifiable evidence, so one tactic of theists responding is to claim that atheists believe in some things in a similar manner. This is not quite true.

 

Read Article: Myth: Atheists Believe in Lots of Unprovable Things, Like Love and Beauty

The notion that there can be a "fundamentalist" atheism is nonsense because atheism isn't an ideology with dogmas that a person can be "fundamentalist" about. Nevertheless, the ideas and attitudes which critics identify under the label "fundamentalist atheism" do exist and do merit some attention.

The primary focus of critics seems to be the expression of a strong, unambiguous, and uncompromising rejection of the existence of gods. People who like to imagine themselves to be "moderate" and "tolerant" disapprove on principle of saying "gods don't exist, it's silly to believe in gods, and religions cause more harm than good."

Setting aside the fact that none of this is a "dogma" of atheism that a person can be "fundamentalist" about, these critics are wrong in their objection for another reason: such assertions are not quite parallel to or mirror images of theists asserting "God exists, it's wrong not to believe in God, and religion does much good." This means that there isn't actually a "middle ground" between them. Read More...

Almost half of all Americans know at least one atheist and more than half agree that atheists can be moral. Nevertheless, a majority of every demographic would refuse to vote for a political candidate simply because they are an atheist. This indicates that animus and bigotry towards atheists doesn't depend on people not personally knowing atheist and doesn't even derive solely from the belief that atheists can't be moral.

Read Article: Knowing and Discriminating Against Atheists