For some, faith centers around the belief that there is no God, or that no one can know for sure.
Atheism, or a belief in the denial of any God as a deity, is the fastest growing "religion" today, and it is increasing rapidly in the United States.
According to a 2005 USA Today/Gallup poll, 14.1 percent of Americans do not follow any organized religion. This percentage has almost doubled from only 8 percent in 1990.
There are now more Americans who say they are not affiliated with any organized religion than there are Episcopalians, Methodists and Lutherans combined.
As modern society continues to become more diverse, many feel the reasons for increasing non-theistic beliefs are rooted from younger generations being exposed to religions other than Christianity.
August Brunsman is an Ohio State University graduate and co-founder of the Secular Student Alliance. The SSA is an educational organization whose purpose is to educate high school and college students around the country about the value of scientific reason.
Originating out of Columbus in 2000, the SSA has over 160 branches at college campuses all across the country.
"The Secular Student Alliance envisions a future in which non-theistic students are respected voices in public discourse and vital partners in the secular movement's charge against irrationality and dogma," Brunsman said. "We're interested in making sure there is no stigma attached to positive, humanistic, secular world views [and] we want mutually respectful relationships between theists and non-theists."
Jonathan Miller, a University philosophy professor, said in order for someone to assert a belief in God, he or she first has to create a personal definition of knowledge and what it means to know someone or something exists.
"Your definition of God plays a more complex role than it seems at first," Miller said. "If you are defining atheism as someone who doesn't believe in God, the justified belief is knowledge ... One has to ask themselves how strong your belief has to be before someone can say 'I know something."
Many people who do not adhere to atheism consider themselves agnostic, which refers to people who do not know for sure whether or not God exists. Some agnostics believe people can never truly know.
The term agnostic was coined by biologist and avid non-theist, T.H. Huxley in 1876 at a meeting for the Metaphysics Society, an organization that ponders higher knowledge of what is beyond the physical state.
According to metaphysicssociety.com, Huxley said, "Agnosticism is not a creed but a method...do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable."
Senior Justin Sissler, a professed agnostic, said he feels culture plays a large roll in forming a society's religious beliefs. He said in Scandinavia, almost 98 percent of people are agnostic because their culture, environment and heritage encourage more cynicism and skepticism than the United States.
"The reason America is so extremely religious," Sissler said, "is because we were founded by puritans, and values that strong just don't disappear overnight."
Sissler said religious experiences can actually be explained by neuroscience. Religious experiences stimulate the temporal lobe, kind of like a seizure, he said, which makes people feel like they are encountering God.
"They often have this huge feeling of significance like they are God or they know God," he said. "Anytime anyone has a religious experience, that is what they are feeling."
Atheism, or a belief in the denial of any God as a deity, is the fastest growing "religion" today, and it is increasing rapidly in the United States.
According to a 2005 USA Today/Gallup poll, 14.1 percent of Americans do not follow any organized religion. This percentage has almost doubled from only 8 percent in 1990.
There are now more Americans who say they are not affiliated with any organized religion than there are Episcopalians, Methodists and Lutherans combined.
As modern society continues to become more diverse, many feel the reasons for increasing non-theistic beliefs are rooted from younger generations being exposed to religions other than Christianity.
August Brunsman is an Ohio State University graduate and co-founder of the Secular Student Alliance. The SSA is an educational organization whose purpose is to educate high school and college students around the country about the value of scientific reason.
Originating out of Columbus in 2000, the SSA has over 160 branches at college campuses all across the country.
"The Secular Student Alliance envisions a future in which non-theistic students are respected voices in public discourse and vital partners in the secular movement's charge against irrationality and dogma," Brunsman said. "We're interested in making sure there is no stigma attached to positive, humanistic, secular world views [and] we want mutually respectful relationships between theists and non-theists."
Jonathan Miller, a University philosophy professor, said in order for someone to assert a belief in God, he or she first has to create a personal definition of knowledge and what it means to know someone or something exists.
"Your definition of God plays a more complex role than it seems at first," Miller said. "If you are defining atheism as someone who doesn't believe in God, the justified belief is knowledge ... One has to ask themselves how strong your belief has to be before someone can say 'I know something."
Many people who do not adhere to atheism consider themselves agnostic, which refers to people who do not know for sure whether or not God exists. Some agnostics believe people can never truly know.
The term agnostic was coined by biologist and avid non-theist, T.H. Huxley in 1876 at a meeting for the Metaphysics Society, an organization that ponders higher knowledge of what is beyond the physical state.
According to metaphysicssociety.com, Huxley said, "Agnosticism is not a creed but a method...do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable."
Senior Justin Sissler, a professed agnostic, said he feels culture plays a large roll in forming a society's religious beliefs. He said in Scandinavia, almost 98 percent of people are agnostic because their culture, environment and heritage encourage more cynicism and skepticism than the United States.
"The reason America is so extremely religious," Sissler said, "is because we were founded by puritans, and values that strong just don't disappear overnight."
Sissler said religious experiences can actually be explained by neuroscience. Religious experiences stimulate the temporal lobe, kind of like a seizure, he said, which makes people feel like they are encountering God.
"They often have this huge feeling of significance like they are God or they know God," he said. "Anytime anyone has a religious experience, that is what they are feeling."
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Atheism is not a "belief that there is no god" or the "belief in the denial of any god as a deity" (whatever that means). Atheism is simply having no belief in gods. Atheists are without belief. Atheism is not a religion. It's just a description for a person who does not believe in the existence of gods. Why is this so hard for people to understand?