Atheism is on the rise in the US, a new poll has shown. Before the poll, conducted by WIN-Gallup International and involving 50,000 people from 57 countries and five continents, the figure hovered around 1%. That figure has now risen to 5%. The number of those who say they are actively religious has also dropped, from 73 percent in 2005 to 60 percent. The poll shows that religion is in decline globally, but it’s an interesting statistic from a country which has retained religion as a central part of its identity.
According to Ryan Cragun, a University of Tampa sociologist of religion, this does not necessarily show a rise in atheism but, rather, a rise in those willing to identify themselves as atheists: ‘people are feeling less inclined to identify as religious to comply with what it means to be a good person in the U.S’.
So, to the concept of what it means to be ‘good’. It’s something that Alom Shaha, the author of The Young Atheist’s Handbook: Lessons for living a good life without God has first-hand experience of.
Growing up in a strict Muslim community in south-east London, Alom learnt that religion was not to be questioned. Reciting the Qur'an without understanding what it meant was simply a part of life; so, too, was obeying the imam and enduring beatings when he failed to attend the local mosque. Shaha was more drawn to science and its power to illuminate. As a teen, he lived between two worlds: the home controlled by his authoritarian father, and a school alive with books and ideas. In a charming blend of memoir, philosophy, and science, Shaha explores the questions about faith and the afterlife that we all ponder.
This is a book for anyone who wonders what they should believe and how they should live. It’s for those who may need the facts and the ideas, as well as the courage, to break free from inherited beliefs.
And with the rise of atheism, it's more important than ever that we have people like Alom, who are brave enough to go against that which they have always been taught is right, and to show that it is possible to live a compassionate, fulfilling and meaningful life without God.