atheism

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A non-belief in deities.

   “Near-synonyms: antireligiousness, irreligion, irreligiousness”

   “For atheism to be rationally justified it is only necessary that it be more probable than not or at least more probable than theism. Certainty is no more required in the case of atheism than it is in the case of scientific theories.”

2. (broadly, uncountable, usually)A non-belief in deities.

   “Near-synonyms: irreligion, irreligiousness, nonreligion, nonreligiousness”

   “The theory of Secularism is a form, not of dogmatic, but of skeptical, Atheism; it is dogmatic only in denying the sufficiency of the evidence for the being and perfections of God. It does not deny, it only does not believe, His existence.”

   “...but Atheism per se simply means, not denial, but rejection, in the sense of not accepting the Theistic theory of the universe which Mr. Lee has put forward tonight.”

3. (uncountable, usually)A non-belief in deities.

   “What can parents do, and mothers more especially, […] with regard to the atheism that is natural to all the children of men?”

   “Atheism, in its basic form, is not a belief; it is the absence of belief. An atheist is not primarily a person who believes that a god does not exist; rather, he does not believe in the existence of a god.”

4. (historical, rare, uncountable, usually)Absence of belief in a particular deity, pantheon, or religious doctrine (notwithstanding belief in other deities).

   “Domitilla, Flavia, niece of the emperor Domitian (81-96). She and her husband, Flavius Clemens (consul in 95 and cousin of Domitian), were probably Christians; charged with atheism and adoption of Jewish ways, they were punished (95) with death (Clemens) and exile (Domitilla).”

   “Sacrificial religion becomes redundant – which is why Christianity did indeed have a reputation in the ancient world for atheism: it rejected the key duty humans are thought to owe to the gods, namely sacrifice.”

5. (proscribed, sometimes, uncountable, usually)A rejection of all religions, even non-theistic ones.

   “Some worldviews are based in a belief in God; others are not. Buddhism, Taoism, atheism, Marxism, and existentialism are examples of worldviews that are nontheistic.”

   “Buddhism and atheism do agree on the view that there is no God. But Buddhism and atheist materialism totally disagree on the points such as “What is life?”, “Is there any Super natural?” etc.”

   “Another reason why the transition between Buddhism and atheism seemed so easy, was my personal discomfort with the theory of reincarnation.”