Atheism in Five Minutes - Teemu Taira
6. How Should Atheism Be Measured?
Atheism in Five Minutes - Teemu Taira
Ryan Cragun [+]
University of Tampa
Ryan T. Cragun, Ryan T. Cragun is a professor of sociology at The University of Tampa. His research focuses on Mormonism and the nonreligious and has been published in various
scholarly journals. He is also the author of several books.
Description
Knowing how to measure atheism requires a clear understanding of atheism. Atheism is the absence of belief in a god, gods, or higher powers. Questions to measure atheism can measure whether someone believes in a specific god, in any gods, or in any higher powers. Additional questions may attempt to capture confidence in one's atheism or whether or not one believes that it is possible to develop knowledge about a god, which would measure agnosticism. Finally, asking whether people have heard about specific gods and reject the existence of gods or simply have not heard about a god would allow for a measure of positive or negative atheism.