When I started to research, the information I found was highly pertinent, but the access was restricted through a paywall. The sources behind a paywall included lots of excellent sociological studies and data of atheism, whereas the majority of the free information seemed rather dry. I’m not sure if I will be able to access these sources, but they would be extremely helpful. Upon further investigation, I did find good sources. I found information regarding the exploration of the existential function of religion among the religious, atheists, and agnostics; I found atheistic, agnostic, and religious older adults on well-being and coping behaviors; I found an interdisciplinary research journal on atheism, an article on “where do atheists come from,” atheism definitions, and empirical studies on atheism. My goals for the research were to clarify my understanding, however, I was happily surprised to find data the could lead to insight on to the derivation of emerging atheism. There are no holes or issues with any of the research–it is all highly objective.
Finding research on atheism wasn’t too hard, however, I do believe that its information is quite limited. I read that atheism was often a neglected area of sociological studies, given its difficulty to assembly the minority. My goal for synthesizing this information will be to develop a more cohesive understanding of atheists as a group, and learn about any key distinctions. My primary research will come into play well because I am hoping to look into the more subjective realm. I intend to compare the facts with the personal experience of students here at Chapman, which will lead to more realistic insight, given how I am exploring a subjective identity at heart. I limited my research to only academic articles and research, because I knew that many sources I would find from google searches would be subjective critiques.
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