Atheism in America

• Název práce v češtině: Ateismus v Americe
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Atheism in America
• Klíčová slova: Amerika, ateismus, Nový ateismus, bible, Bůh, křesťanství, kreacionismus, populární kultura, Madalyn Murray O'Hairová, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett
• Klíčová slova anglicky: America, atheism, New Atheism, Bible, God, Christianity, Creationism, popular culture, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2013/2014
• Typ práce: diplomová práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Ústav anglofonních literatur a kultur (21-UALK)
• Vedoucí / školitel: David Lee Robbins, Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 19.03.2014
• Datum zadání: 19.03.2014
• Schválení administrátorem: zatím neschvalováno
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 03.01.2017
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 01.02.2017 09:00
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 20.12.2016
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 01.02.2017
• Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: odevzdaná pracovníkem v zastoupení a finalizovaná
• Oponenti: PhDr. Hana Ulmanová, Ph.D.

Zásady pro vypracování

It is approximated that around 80% of Americans believe in the Christian God and it is indisputable that religion is of an immense importance in everyday American life. Nevertheless, in recent years it has also been observed that the number of atheists in the country is slowly rising. The reasons of this – albeit slight as it pertains mostly to young generations – flux of people away from their faith may be manifold, and it is my intention in this thesis to not only try to trace these reasons but also to comment on the development of atheism in America – predominantly in the twentieth century and onwards – and on the social and political impact it has had on the country.
Following the introductory chapter in which I will introduce the topic and offer several possible readings of the poll numbers suggesting that the amount of non-believing youth has been skyrocketing in the recent years, I will provide a historical overview of the evolution of atheism in America. Some focus will be given to the variety of major legal disputes concerning atheism, Madalyn Murray O'Hair will be mentioned, and the arrival and significance of New Atheism and the so-called Four Horsemen will be foreshadowed.
In the following chapter certain atheists' reservations to the authorship, content, and interpretation of the Bible will be discussed as well as the popular argument that because the Bible contains passages of morally questionable value all religion must therefore be bad.
The next two chapters will focus on the relationship between religion, science, and politics. To be more precise, in Chapter IV I will discuss the argument that religion is inherently unscientific and even detrimental to the development of science. Since we are dealing with the US, stem-cell research and creationism being taught at schools will be mentioned. In Chapter V, then, I will take a closer look at the – in fact unconstitutional – mixing of religion and politics which has been manifesting itself in America in the form of anti-abortion laws, LGBT rights debates, or politicians having to profess their belief in God if they want to be elected to any major position in the government.
In Chapter VI I will move to the twenty-first century in which the birth of a much more radical form of atheism called New Atheism seems to coincide with greater proliferation of atheist thought in popular culture than ever before. In this chapter I will not only discuss the basic tenets of the leading figures of New Atheism – Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris – but I will also shed some light on the rhetoric of atheist personalities from popular culture such as Bill Maher or Seth MacFarlane, and the potential effect all of these people, their shows, and media in general might have on the rising numbers of atheists among the American youth.
In the concluding chapter I will try to tie all of these threads together and consider what kind of future awaits America with regard to the issue of belief.

Seznam odborné literatury

Books:
Barton, John, and John Muddiman, eds. The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Blackie, John Stuart. The Natural History of Atheism. New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Company, 1878.
Brownson, O. A. An Essay in Refutation of Atheism. Henry F. Brownson, ed. Detroit: Thorndike Nourse, 1882.
Coogan, Michael D. ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 2010.
Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion.Richmond: Black Swan, 2006.
Dennett, Daniel. Breaking the Spell.London: Penguin Books, 2007.
Douthat, Ross. Bad Religion. New York: Free Press, 2012.
Harris, Sam. The End of Faith. New York: Free Press, 2006.
Hitchens, Christopher. God is not Great. London: Atlantic Books, 2007.
Hitchens, Christopher. The Missionary Position. New York: Twelve, 2012.
Maher, Bill. The New Rules. New York: Rodale, 2005.
Maher, Bill. The New New Rules. New York: Plume, 2011.
Putna, Martin C. Obrazy z kulturních dějin americké religiozity. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2010.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America.London: Penguin Classics, 2003.

Articles:
Bascom, John. "Atheism in Colleges." The North American Review 132.290 (1881): 32-40.
Bolce, Louis, and Gerald de Malo. “Religious Outlook, Culture War Politics, and Antipathy Toward Christian Fundamentalists.“ The Public Opinion Quarterly 63.1 (1999): 29-61.
Bolce, Louis, and Gerald de Malo. “The Anti-Christian Fundamentalist Factor in Contemporary Politics.“ The Public Opinion Quarterly 63.4 (1999): 508-542.
Crimmins, James E. "Bentham on Religion: Atheism and the Secular Society." Journal of the History of Ideas 47.1 (1986): 95-110.
Fish, Carl Russell. "American Democracy." Minnesota History Bulletin 3.5 (1920): 251-272.
Force, James E. "The Origins of Modern Atheism." Journal of the History of Ideas 50.1 (1989): 153-162.
Gieryn, Thomas F., George M. Bevins, and Stephen C. Zehr. "Professionalization of American Scientists: Public Science in the Creation/Evolution Trials." American Sociological Review 50.3 (1985): 392-409.
Jungck, John R. "A Blind Watchmaker Model of Human Evolution." BioScience 56.11 (2006): 940-941.
Owen, J. Judd. "The Struggle Between 'Religion and Nonreligion': Jefferson, Backus, and the Dissonance of America’s Founding Principles." The American Political Science Review 101.3 (2007): 493-503.
"The Legality of Atheism." Harvard Law Review 31.2 (1917): 289-293.
Walsh, Joseph J. "On Christian Atheism." Vigiliae Christianae 45.3 (1991): 255-277.