"Few are agnostic about atheism and agnosticism; this eloquent, wide-ranging volume should appeal to many, as well as supporting recent academic interest in its subject." – Library Journal Explore the background and significance of atheism and agnosticism in modern society through 50 reference entries covering some of the most extraordinary people, events, and ideas of all time. This is the age of atheism and agnosticism. The number of people living without religious belief and practice is quickly and dramatically rising. Some experts call nonreligion, after Christianity and Islam, the third largest "religion" in the world today. Understanding the origins, history, variations, and impact of atheism and agnosticism is crucial to getting a grasp of the meaning of the present and gaining a glimpse of the future. This book provides a fair, comprehensive, and engaging survey of all aspects of contemporary atheism and agnosticism. An overview essay discusses the background and social and political contexts of unbelief, while a timeline highlights key events. Some 50 reference entries follow, with each providing fundamental, objective information about particular topics, events, and people, from Sigmund Freud to the Amsterdam Declaration, along with cross-references and suggestions for further reading. The volume closes with an annotated bibliography of the most important resources on atheism and agnosticism.

Table of Contents:
Series Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Overview Chronology Alphabetical List of Entries Agnosticism Amsterdam Declarations Atheism Atheism, New Atheism 2.0 Atheism and Agnosticism, African American Atheopaganism Atheophobia Beauvoir, Simone de Besant, Annie Bradlaugh, Charles Cady Stanton, Elizabeth Christianity, Atheism and Agnosticism in Christina, Greta Darrow, Clarence Darwin, Charles Dawkins, Richard Deism Dennett, Daniel C. Du Bois, W. E. B. Feminism, Atheism and Agnosticism and Feuerbach, Ludwig Flew, Antony Freud, Sigmund Friendly Atheist, The Goldman, Emma Harris, Sam Hirsi Ali, Ayaan Hitchens, Christopher Humanism Humanist Manifestos Humanist of the Year Hurston, Zora Neale Hutchinson, Sikivu Huxleys, The Ingersoll, Robert Green “In God We Trust” Islam, Atheism and Agnosticism in Jacoby, Susan Judaism, Atheism and Agnosticism in Kristeva, Julia Kurtz, Paul LGBTQ+ Persons, Atheist and Agnostic Marx, Karl Media, Atheism and Agnosticism and the Nietzsche, Friedrich Nones O’Hair, Madalyn Murray Organizations, Atheist and Agnostic Pinn, Anthony B. Proofs for God, Atheist and Agnostics Critiques of Rand, Ayn Reason Rally Rushdie, Salman Russell, Bertrand Sartre, Jean-Paul Singer, Peter Skepticon “Under God” Zuckerman, Phil Annotated Bibliography Index