Facts about Atheism
Atheism has been a label given to a broad range of perspectives including pantheism and agnosticism, primarily by monotheists or religious authorities.
Some people are atheists at least partly because of growing up in an environment where atheism is relatively common, such as those who are raised by atheist parents.
Explicit atheism, meanwhile, is defined by a conscious rejection of theistic belief and is sometimes called "antitheism."
Practical atheism was said to be caused by moral failure, hypocrisy, or willful ignorance.
Despite these considerations, for others atheist has always been the preferred title, and several types of atheism have been identified by writers.
The terms implicit and explicit atheism were coined by George H. Smith in 1979 for purposes of understanding atheism more narrowly.
The most radical and socially affective form of materialistic atheism in contemporary society is Marxism and its extensions.
Both theists and weak atheists alike criticize the assertiveness of strong atheism, questioning whether or not one can assert the positive knowledge that something does not exist.
During the period of communist ascendancy, militant atheism enjoyed the full apparatus of the state, making it possible to attack religion and believers by every means imaginable with impunity.
Specifically, they argue that theism and strong atheism are equally untenable, on the grounds that asserting or denying the existence of deities requires a faith-claim.
The overall popularity of atheism in the nineteenth century led Nietzsche to coin the aphorism "God is dead."
By the twentieth century, along with the spread of rationalism and secular humanism, atheism had become more widespread, particularly among scientists.
Similarly, Julian Baggini argues that atheism must be understood not as a denial of religion, but instead as an affirmation of and commitment to the one world of nature.
During the Age of Enlightenment, atheism became the philosophical position of a growing minority, headed by the openly atheistic works of d'Holbach.
Atheism often buttresses its case on science, yet many modern scientists, far from being atheists, have argued that science is not incompatible with theism.
Nonetheless, some strains of atheism have still originated from within the Judaic faith.
The first attempts to define or develop a typology annotating the varieties of atheism occurred in religious apologetics, which typically depicted atheism as a licentious belief system.
Atheism is a belief that is held for a variety of reasons.
One of the most common arguments against the existence of the Christian God is the problem of evil, which Christian apologist William Lane Craig has referred to as "atheism's killer argument."
Strong atheism may be based on arguments that the concept of a deity is self-contradictory and therefore impossible (positive ignosticism), or that one or more attributes of a deity are incompatible with worldly realities.
Regardless of the attempts made by atheists to defend their philosophical stance and alleviate negative misunderstandings of their beliefs, atheism is still viewed rather negatively by the general public.
That anyone might reason their way to atheism was thought to be impossible.
In Arabic, "atheism" is generally translated ilhad (?????), which also means "heresy."
On the other hand, “strong atheism,” also known as “hard atheism” or “positive atheism,” is the positive assertion that no deities exist.
Due to the extremely pessimistic tone of this notion, and the theological difficulties that arise with the claim that God can somehow cease to exist, Rubinstein's atheism was largely rejected.
Materialistic atheism challenges any position, policy, institution, and movement that is based upon the assumption of the existence of a deity and spiritual dimension.
Some people are led to atheism by unpleasant experiences with their inherited traditions.
Many people living in the West have the impression that atheism is on the rise around the world, and that the belief in God is being replaced with a more secular-oriented worldview.
Throughout human history, atheists and atheism have received much criticism, opposition, and persecution, chiefly from theistic sources.
On the other hand, speculative atheism, which involves philosophical contemplation of the nonexistence of god(s), was often denied by theists throughout history.
Another line of criticism has frequently associated atheism with immorality and evil, often characterizing it as a willful and malicious repudiation of divinity.
A form of atheism known as "ignosticism," asserts that the question of whether or not deities exist is inherently meaningless.
Christianity, as a theistic and proselytizing religion, views atheism as sinful.
Implicit atheism is defined by Smith as the lack of theistic belief without conscious rejection of it.
Atheism (from Greek: a + theos + ismos "not believing in god") refers in its broadest sense to a denial of theism (the belief in the existence of a single deity or deities).
Many of these respondents associated atheism with immorality, including criminal behavior, extreme materialism, and elitism.
Regardless, a diversity of atheist opinion has been recognized at least since Plato, and common distinctions have been established between practical atheism and contemplative or speculative atheism.
The oldest known variation of Western-style, philosophical atheism is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus around 300 B.C.E.
Throughout human history, atheists and atheism have received much criticism, opposition, and persecution, chiefly from theistic sources.