I just want to make sure I am on the right track with this assignment. I have answered the questions about an article but I struggle with premises and conclusions. I just want to know if I have answered the questions appropriately.

Here is the article I reviewed:
HOMESEXUAL ACTIVISTS SHOULD SUPPORT ATHEISTS
There is a lot of media attention being given to the quest by homosexuals for the right to marry, but most of it overlooks a disturbing reality of the homosexual rights movement:

Freedom of religion is an explicitly stated right in the U.S. Constitution, but marriage is not. Yet many leaders of the homosexual rights movement do not publicly support atheists' rights. How many times have we heard the argument from homosexuals that they follow the word of God because they go to church, too? The obvious implication is that worshipping God means one has good moral character and leads an ethical life.

Leaders of the homosexual rights movement claim to be the victims of intolerable discrimination, but we do not endure anti-homosexual slogans on the money that we must use to conduct transactions. We do not endure anti-homosexual slogans in the Pledge of Allegiance. NBC does not insult homosexuals while apologizing to theists for excluding the phrase under God in its coverage of the U.S. Open. Atheists do endure a president who thumbs his nose at a federal court that declares a National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional, however.

The leaders of the homosexual rights movement make the argument for homosexual marriage based on the idea that it is the right thing to do in a committed relationship. This is not exactly compelling logic, but to the extent that it has any validity then it must also be the case that we should stop legally sanctioned discrimination against atheists because it, too, is the right thing to do.

If homosexual marriage is really about doing the right thing, then the leaders of the movement should publicly support atheists' rights, too. More than likely, though, they will not do this because it would undercut popular support for their quest.

They should be honest and admit that this is not at all about doing the right thing; it is primarily about giving the homosexual-rights movement what it wants. It is entirely about politics and has absolutely nothing to do with morality.
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1
Identify the principal issue presented by the source. That if we recognize marriage we should also support atheist’s rights.

2
Identify any examples of bias presented by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this. I feel he was being biased when he said, “How many times have we heard the argument from homosexuals that they follow the word of God because they go to church, too? The obvious implication is that worshipping God means one has good moral character and leads an ethical life.” He is implying that they are immoral so therefor cannot follow the word of God.

3
Identify any areas that are vague or ambiguous. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

4
Do you find the source credible? Explain your reasoning. I do not find the source to be credible because I do not feel that his comparison of homosexuals and Atheist to be accurate.

5
Identify and name any rhetorical devices used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this. I feel the author was using emotional associations by comparing how we treat Atheists and how we treat homosexuals. He is implying that since homosexuals are considered to be immoral in God’s eyes that they are the same as Atheists.

6
Identify and name any fallacies used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this. Group Thinking-The author is claiming since the leaders argue that supporting marriage is the right thing to do they should also support Atheists.

7
State one argument made by the author. They should be honest and admit that this is not at all about doing the right thing; it is primarily about giving the homosexual-rights movement what it wants. It is entirely about politics and has absolutely nothing to do with morality.

8
Identify the premises and conclusion of the argument. Premises-They should be honest and admit that this is not at all about doing the right thing; it is primarily about giving the homosexual-rights movement what it wants.

Conclusion-It is entirely about politics and has absolutely nothing to do with morality.

9
Is the author’s argument valid or invalid, sound or unsound, strong or weak? Explain how you determined this. I do not find it to be valid because I do not see a comparison between homosexuals and Atheists. Atheists openly oppose God, whereas some homosexuals do believe in God but not with everything written in the Bible. I believe his argument is weak because he does not provide any solid facts and uses his own opinion throughout the article.

10
Does the author use moral reasoning? If not, explain how you determined this. I believe that he based the article off of his own morals and not the morals of the public. Even though a large majority of the public may agree with him, it is not the moral reasoning of a majority.

I agree with your analysis.

Thank you Ms. Sue.

I know it's not supposed to be hard but I always second guess myself.

You're welcome, vc23.


You did a good job. I had to read the passage and your answers several times before I understood it. <g>

I just noticed that I missed question # 3. Did you feel that there was any areas that were vague or ambiguous?

I think the whole essay is vague and ambiguous. I don't think atheists consider the phrases "In God we trust" or "One nation, under God," as being anti-atheist. They express the point of view of the vast majority of Americans -- yet take nothing away from atheists.

Thanks.

It all starts to get jumbled up when I'm trying to decide fallacies, rhetorical devices, premises and conclusions.

1) The principal issue presented by the source is that if we recognize marriage, we should also support atheists' rights.

2) Bias is present in the article when the author implies that homosexuals who go to church cannot have good moral character and lead an ethical life.

3) There are no areas in the article that are vague or ambiguous.

4) The credibility of the source is questionable because the author's comparison of homosexuals and atheists is not accurate.

5) The author uses emotional associations by comparing how we treat atheists and how we treat homosexuals.

6) The fallacy used by the author is group thinking, as they claim that because leaders argue supporting marriage is the right thing to do, they should also support atheists.

7) One argument made by the author is that the homosexual-rights movement is primarily about politics and has nothing to do with morality.

8) The premises of the argument are that the homosexual-rights movement is not about doing the right thing but about giving them what they want. The conclusion is that it is entirely about politics and has nothing to do with morality.

9) The author's argument is not valid because there is no valid comparison between homosexuals and atheists. It is also weak because it lacks solid facts and relies heavily on the author's opinion.

10) The author does use moral reasoning, but it is based on their own morals rather than the morals of the public. Their argument is not representative of the majority.