What is atheism? Why would anyone be an atheist? Why do people fear and dislike atheism? Simply put, atheism is the lack of belief in one or more gods. Certainly, atheists are each individuals and undoubtedly each of them prescribes many different philosophies on life, politics and morality, just as Christians do. However, while atheists may choose to come together collectively for any purpose, unlike Christianity, atheism is not a belief system. An individual who identifies as an atheist simply states that he or she does not believe in [the existence of] God or gods. Atheism, as its name suggests, is the opposite of theism which is the belief in at least one god; to include polytheism (belief in many or more gods) and monotheism (belief in only one god). For the majority of Americans, the term atheism (or referring to an individual as "atheist") has a negative connotation. This is not surprising since 76% of Americans identify as Christian and a core Christian ideology involves believing that non-Christians are doomed to hell after death. A poll conducted by the Princeton Religion Research Center (PRRC) estimates that 6 in 10 Americans “strongly agree that the only assurance of eternal life is personal faith in Jesus Christ.” To further support this belief, scriptures from John such as: John 14:6: "Jesus answered, 'No one comes to the Father except through me'" and John 3:18: "...whoever does not believe is already condemned .because he did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God” are two relevant examples that reinforce the Hell scenario for the Christian mind. Christian values ​​flow from absolute faith in the philosophy of Jesus and the application of that philosophy...... middle of article ...... attacking atheists and even committing violence against them, but atheists are the intolerant ones simply to make public their contempt for Christian doctrine and dogma? What kind of nation is America if blasphemy can be treated as worse than intolerance, discrimination, or violence? » Works cited Barry A. Kosmin, Egon Mayer. American Religious Identification Survey. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. 2001. PrintAdams, Robert M., Logan, George M. Thomas More, Utopia. Cambridge University Press. New York. 1975. Print. Martin, Michael. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. New York. 2007. ImpressionMayhew, Robert. Plato: Laws 10: Translated with an introduction and commentary. Oxford Press. New York. 2008. PrintCline, Austin. “About.com: Guide to Atheism”. About.com (a New York Times company). Internet. July 9 2010