Atheism

Atheism is a belief that there is no God.

The term originated from the Greek atheos was a derogatory term which literally meant without Gods.

With the advent of free thought, skeptical inquiry and criticism of religion the identification first appeared in the 18th century.

Today approximately 2.3% of the world’s population is self described as such.

Atheists tend towards skepticism regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence. Common rationales include the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from non belief.

Other arguments range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. Although some atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as humanism, rationalism, and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.

In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be exclusively irreligious or unspiritual. However, religious and spiritual belief systems such as forms of Buddhism that do not advocate belief in gods, have also been described as atheistic.

The atheist belief can be defined as weak/strong and implicit/explicit.

An implicit has not thought about belief in gods, and would be described as being implicitly without a belief in gods. An explicit atheist has made an assertion regarding belief in gods.

An explicit may eschew belief in gods (weak atheism), or further conclude that gods do not exist (strong atheism). (Relative sizes on diagram are not meant to indicate actual sizes in populations.)

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