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Atheism, defined as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects theism. In its broadest definition, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, sometimes called nontheism. Although atheists are commonly assumed to be irreligious, some religions, such as Buddhism, have been characterized as atheistic.

Many self-described atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Other arguments for atheism are philosophical, social or historical. Although many self-described 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.

The term atheism originated as a pejorative epithet applied to any person or belief in conflict with established religion. With the spread of freethought, scientific skepticism, and criticism of religion, the term began to gather a more specific meaning and was sometimes used as a self-description by atheists.

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Definitions and distinctions

Rationale

The broadest demarcation with respect to atheistic rationale is between practical and theoretical atheism. The different forms of theoretical atheism each derive from a particular rationale or philosophical argument. In contrast, practical atheism requires no specific argument, and can include indifference to and ignorance of the idea of gods.

Practical atheism

In practical, or pragmatic, atheism, also known as apatheism, individuals live as if there are no gods and explain natural phenomena without resorting to the divine. The existence of gods is not denied, but may be designated unnecessary or useless; gods neither provide purpose to life, nor influence everyday life, according to this view. A form of practical atheism with implications for the scientific community is methodological naturalism—the "tacit adoption or assumption of philosophical naturalism within scientific method with or without fully accepting or believing it."

Practical atheism can take various forms:

• Absence of religious motivation—belief in gods does not motivate moral action, religious action, or any other form of action;
• Active exclusion of the problem of gods and religion from intellectual pursuit and practical action;
• Indifference—the absence of any interest in the problems of gods and religion; or
• Ignorance—the complete absence of the idea of gods from one's life.

Historically, practical atheism has been associated with moral failure, willful ignorance and impiety. Those considered practical atheists were said to behave as though God, ethics and social responsibility did not exist; they abandoned duty and embraced hedonism. According to the French Catholic philosopher Étienne Borne, "Practical atheism is not the denial of the existence of God, but complete godlessness of action; it is a moral evil, implying not the denial of the absolute validity of the moral law but simply rebellion against that law."

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History

Although the term atheism originated in 16th-century France, ideas that would be recognized today as atheistic are documented from classical antiquity and the Vedic period.

Early Indic religion

Atheistic schools are found in Hinduism, which is otherwise a very theistic religion. The thoroughly materialistic and anti-religious philosophical Carvaka School that originated in India around 6th century BCE is probably the most explicitly atheistic school of philosophy in India. This branch of Indian philosophy is classified as a heterodox system and is not considered part of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism, but it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism. Chatterjee and Datta explain that our understanding of Carvaka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and that it is not a living tradition:

"Though materialism in some form or other has always been present in India, and occasional references are found in the Vedas, the Buddhistic literature, the Epics, as well as in the later philosophical works we do not find any systematic work on materialism, nor any organised school of followers as the other philosophical schools possess. But almost every work of the other schools states, for reputation, the materialistic views. Our knowledge of Indian materialism is chiefly based on these."

Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as atheistic include Classical Samkhya and Purva Mimamsa. The rejection of a personal, creator God is also seen in Jainism and Buddhism in India.

Classical antiquity

Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct world-view until the late Enlightenment. The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Diagoras is known as the "first atheist", and strongly criticized religion and mysticism. Critias viewed religion as a human invention used to frighten people into following moral order. Atomists such as Leucippus and Democritus explained the world in a purely materialistic way, without reference to the spiritual or mystical. Other pre-Socratic philosophers with atheistic views included Prodicus, Protagoras, and Theodorus.

Another atomic materialist, Epicurus, disputed many religious doctrines, including the existence of an afterlife or a personal deity; he considered the soul purely material and mortal. While Epicureanism did not rule out the existence of gods, he believed that if they did exist, they were unconcerned with humanity.

Following in the footsteps of materialists like Epicurus, the Roman poet Lucretius agreed that, if there were gods, they were unconcerned with humanity, and unable to affect the natural world. For this reason, he believed humanity should have no fear of the supernatural. In De rerum natura ("On the nature of things"), he expounds his Epicurean views of the cosmos, atoms, the soul, mortality, and religion.

One of the greatest Roman philosophers to affirm skeptical inquiry was Sextus Empiricus. He held that one should suspend judgment about virtually all beliefs—a form of skepticism known as Pyrrhonism. He held the view that nothing was inherently evil, and that ataraxia ("peace of mind") is attainable by withholding one's judgment. His relatively large volume of surviving works had a lasting influence on later philosophers.

The Greek philosopher Socrates was called an atheist for impiety on the basis that he inspired questioning of the state gods. Although he disputed the accusation that he was a "complete atheist", he was ultimately sentenced to death.

The meaning of "atheist" changed over the course of classical antiquity. The early Christians were labeled atheists by non-Christians because of their disbelief in pagan gods. During the Roman Empire, Christians were executed for their rejection of the Roman gods in general and Emperor-worship in particular. When Christianity became the state religion of Rome under Theodosius in 381, heresy became a punishable offense.

Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance

The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages; metaphysics, religion and theology were the dominant interests. There were, however, movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God, including differing views of the nature, transcendence, and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as Johannes Scotus Eriugena, David of Dinant, Amalric of Bena, and the Brethren of the Free Spirit maintained Christian viewpoints with pantheistic tendencies. Nicholas of Cusa held to a form of fideism he called docta ignorantia ("learned ignorance"), asserting that God is beyond human categorization, and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. William of Ockham inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his nominalistic limitation of human knowledge to singular objects, and asserted that the divine essence could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham, such as John of Mirecourt and Nicholas of Autrecourt furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and Martin Luther.

The Renaissance did much to expand the scope of freethought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci sought experimentation as a means of explanation, and opposed arguments from religious authority. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included Niccolò Machiavelli, Bonaventure des Périers, and François Rabelais.

Early Modern Period

The Renaissance and Reformation era witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor, as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders, confraternities, and popular devotions in the Catholic world, and the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the Calvinists. This era of interconfessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of theological and philosophical speculation, much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical worldview.

Criticism of Christianity became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and England, where there appears to have been a religious malaise, according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers, such as Thomas Hobbes, espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences. In the late 17th century, Deism came to be openly espoused by English intellectuals such as John Toland, and practically all of the philosophes of eighteenth century France or England held some form of deism. Despite their ridicule of Christianity, many deists held atheism in scorn. The first openly atheistic thinkers, such as Baron d'Holbach, appeared in the late 18th century, when expressing disbelief in God became a less dangerous position. David Hume was the most systematic exponent of Enlightenment thought, developing a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism, undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology.

The French Revolution took atheism outside the salons and into the public sphere. Attempts to enforce the Civil Constitution of the Clergy led to anti-clerical violence and the expulsion of many clergy from France. The chaotic political events in revolutionary Paris eventually enabled the more radical Jacobins to seize power in 1793, ushering in the Reign of Terror. At its climax, the more militant atheists attempted to forcibly de-Christianize France, replacing religion with a Cult of Reason. These persecutions ended with the Thermidorian Reaction, but some of the secularizing measures of this period remained a permanent legacy of French politics.

The Napoleonic era institutionalized the secularization of French society, and exported the revolution to northern Italy, in the hopes of creating pliable republics. In the nineteenth century, many atheists and other anti-religious thinkers devoted their efforts to political and social revolution, facilitating the upheavals of 1848, the Risorgimento in Italy, and the growth of an international socialist movement.

In the latter half of the 19th century, atheism rose to prominence under the influence of rationalistic and freethinking philosophers. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including Ludwig Feuerbach, Arthur Schopenhauer, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

The 20th Century

Atheism in the 20th century, particularly in the form of practical atheism, advanced in many societies. Atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as existentialism, Objectivism, secular humanism, nihilism, logical positivism, Marxism, feminism, and the general scientific and rationalist movement.

Logical positivism and scientism paved the way for neopositivism, analytical philosophy, structuralism, and naturalism. Neopositivism and analytical philosophy discarded classical rationalism and metaphysics in favor of strict empiricism and epistemological nominalism. Proponents such as Bertrand Russell emphatically rejected the existence of God. In his early work, Ludwig Wittgenstein attempted to separate metaphysical and supernatural language from rational discourse. A. J. Ayer asserted the unverifiability and meaninglessness of religious statements, citing his adherence to the empirical sciences. Relatedly, the applied structuralism of Lévi-Strauss sourced religious language to the human subconscious in denying its transcendental meaning. J. N. Findlay and J. J. C. Smart argued that the existence of God is not logically necessary. Naturalists and materialistic monists such as John Dewey considered the natural world to be the basis of everything, denying the existence of God or immortality.

The 20th century also saw the political advancement of atheism, spurred on by interpretation of the works of Marx and Engels. Following the 1917 Revolution, communists in Russia made war against followers of religion. The Soviet Union and other communist states promoted state atheism and opposed religion, often by violent means.

Other leaders like E. V. Ramasami Naicker, well known as Periyar, a prominent atheist leader of India, fought against Hinduism and Brahmins for discriminating and dividing people in the name of caste and religion. This was highlighted in 1956, when he made Hindu god Rama to wear a garland made of slippers and made antitheistic statements, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." Today even when Brahmins hate him, people from the depressed classes consider him as a great leader.

In 1966, TIME Magazine asked "Is God Dead?" in response to the Death of God theological movement, citing the estimation that nearly one in two people in the world lived under an antireligious power, and millions more, in Africa, Asia and South America, seemed to lack knowledge of the Christian God. The following year, the Albanian government under Enver Hoxha announced the closure of all religious institutions in the country, declaring Albania the world's first atheist state. These regimes enhanced the negative associations of atheism, especially where anti-communist sentiment was strong in the USA, despite the fact that many prominent atheists, such as Ayn Rand, were anti-communist. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of actively antireligious regimes has reduced considerably. In 2006, Timothy Shah of the Pew Forum noted "a worldwide trend across all major religious groups, in which God-based and faith-based movements in general are experiencing increasing confidence and influence vis-à-vis secular movements and ideologies." Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman consider this a myth, and suggest that the actual situation is more complex and nuanced.

Demographics

It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in the world. Different people interpret "atheist" and related terms differently, and it can be hard to draw boundaries between atheism, non-religious beliefs, and non-theistic religious and spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, atheists may not report themselves as such, to prevent suffering from social stigma, discrimination, and persecution in certain regions.

A 2005 survey published in Encyclopædia Britannica states that the non-religious make up about 11.9% of the world's population, and atheists around 2.3%. This figure does not include those who follow atheistic religions such as some forms of Buddhism.

According to a study by Paul Bell, published in the UK Mensa Magazine in 2002, there is an inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence. Analyzing 43 studies carried out since 1927, Bell found that all but four reported such a connection, and he concluded that "the higher one's intelligence or education level, the less one is likely to be religious or hold 'beliefs' of any kind." A letter published in Nature in 1998 reported a survey suggesting that belief in a personal God or afterlife was at an all time low among the members of the National Academy of Science, only 7.0% of which believed in a personal God as compared to more than 85% of the US general population.

A November–December 2006 poll published in the Financial Times gives rates for the USA and five European countries; this poll shows that Americans are more likely than Europeans to believe in any form of God or Supreme Being (73%). Of the European adults surveyed, Italians are the most likely to express this belief (62%) and, in contrast, the French are the least likely (27%). In France, 32% declared themselves to be atheists, with an additional 32% declaring themselves agnostic.

Atheism, religion and morality

References

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2. Nielsen, Kai. "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-04-28. "...a more adequate characterization of atheism consists in the more complex claim that to be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for on how God is being conceived."
3. religioustolerance.org's short article on Definitions of the term "Atheism" suggests that there is no consensus on the definition of the term. Simon Blackburn summarizes the situation in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: "Atheism. Either the lack of belief in a god, or the belief that there is none." Most dictionaries (see the OneLook query for "atheism") first list one of the more narrow definitions.
4. Cline, Austin (2005). "Buddhism and Atheism". about.com. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
5. Kedar, Nath Tiwari (1997). Comparative Religion. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. p. 50. ISBN 8120802934. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
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7. Fales, Evan. "Naturalism and Physicalism", in Martin 2007, pp. 122–131.
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10. Zdybicka 2005, p. 20.
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12. Zdybicka 2005, p. 21.
13. Borne, Étienne (1961). Atheism. New York: Hawthorn Books. ISBN 0-415-04727-7.
14. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore. A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. (Princeton University Press: 1957, Twelfth Princeton Paperback printing 1989) pp. 227–249. ISBN 0-691-01958-4.
15. Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Eighth Reprint Edition. (University of Calcutta: 1984). p. 55.
16. Joshi, L.R. (1966). "A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism". Philosophy East and West. 16 (3/4): 189–206.
17. Baggini 2003, pp. 73–74. "Atheism had its origins in Ancient Greece but did not emerge as an overt and avowed belief system until late in the Enlightenment."
18. Solmsen, Friedrich (1942). Plato's Theology. Cornell University Press. p 25.
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21. • On the Nature of Things by Lucretius at Project Gutenberg Book I, "Substance is Eternal". Translated by W.E. Leonard. 1997. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
22. ^ Stein, Gordon (Ed.) (1980). "The History of Freethought and Atheism". An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism. New York: Prometheus. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
23. "Atheism". The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
24. Brickhouse, Thomas C. (2004). Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates. Routledge. pp. p. 112. ISBN 0415156815. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) In particular, he argues that the claim he is a complete atheist contradicts the other part of the indictment, that he introduced "new divinities".
25. "Atheism", Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, fetched April 2007.
26. Maycock, A. L. and Ronald Knox (2003). Inquisition from Its Establishment to the Great Schism: An Introductory Study. ISBN 0766172902.
27. Mathew (1997). "Atheism:Common arguments". Internet Infidels, Secular Web Library. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
28. Zdybicka 2005, p. 4
29. Zdybicka 2005, p. 4.
30. d'Holbach, P. H. T. (1770). The system of nature. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
31. Ray, Matthew Alun (2003). "Subjectivity and Irreligion: Atheism and Agnosticism in Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche". Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Retrieved 2007-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
32. Overall, Christine. "Feminism and Atheism," in Martin 2007, pp. 233–246.
33. Zdybicka 2005, p. 16.
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37. Michael, S. M. (1999). "Dalit Visions of a Just Society". In S. M. Michael (ed.) (ed.). Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. pp. 31–33. ISBN 1555876978. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
38. Hiorth, Finngeir (1996). "Atheism in South India". International Humanist and Ethical Union, International Humanist News. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
39. TIME Magazine cover online. 8 Apr 1966. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
40. "Toward a Hidden God". TIME Magazine online. 8 Apr 1966. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
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43. "Timothy Samuel Shah Explains 'Why God is Winning'". 2006-07-18. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
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    • 2.3% Atheists: Persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including the militantly antireligious (opposed to all religion).
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Notes

• Baggini, Julian (2003), Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-280424-3
• Martin, Michael, ed. (2007), The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-60367-6
• Smith, George H. (1979), Atheism: The Case Against God, Buffalo, New York: Prometheus, ISBN 0-87975-124-X
• Zdybicka, Zofia J. (2005), "Atheism" (PDF), in Maryniarczyk, Andrzej (ed.), Universal Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 1, Polish Thomas Aquinas Association, retrieved 2007-04-07

Further reading

• Berman, David (1990). A History of Atheism in Britain: From Hobbes to Russell. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-04727-7.
• Buckley, M. J. (1990). At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300048971.
• Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Bantam Press. ISBN 0593055489.
• Flew, Antony (2005). God and Philosophy. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1591023300.
• Flynn, Tom, ed. (2007). The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1591023912.
• Gaskin, J.C.A., ed. (1989), Varieties of Unbelief: From Epicurus to Sartre, New York: Macmillan, ISBN 0-02-340681-X
• Harbour, Daniel. An Intelligent Person's Guide to Atheism. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3229-9.
• Harris, Sam. Letter to a Christian Nation. Knopf (September 19, 2006). ISBN 978-0307265777.
• Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Twelve (May 1, 2007). ISBN 978-0446579803.
• Krueger, D. E. (1998). What is Atheism?: A Short Introduction. New York: Prometheus. ISBN 1-57392-214-5.
• Le Poidevin, R. (1996). Arguing for Atheism: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09338-4.
• Mackie, J. L. (1982). The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God. Oxford: Oxford UP. ISBN 019824682X
• Maritain, Jacques (1953). The Range of Reason. London: Geoffrey Bles. ISBN B0007DKP00. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
• Martin, Michael (1990). Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-943-0.
• Martin, Michael & Monnier, R., eds. (2003). The impossibility of God. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 1591021200
• Martin, Michael & Monnier, R., eds. (2006). The improbability of God. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 1591023815
• McTaggart, John & McTaggart, Ellis (1930). Some Dogmas of Religion. London: Edward Arnold & Co., new edition.
• Mills, David (2004). Atheist Universe: Why God Didn't Have a Thing to Do with It. Xlibris. ISBN 1-4134-3481-9.
• Nielsen, Kai (1985). Philosophy and Atheism. New York: Prometheus. ISBN ISBN 0-87975-289-0.
• Nielsen, Kai (2001). Naturalism and Religion. New York: Prometheus. ISBN 1573928534.
• Oppy, Graham (2006). Arguing about Gods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521863864.
• Robinson, Richard (1964). An Atheist's Values. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198241917.
• Sharpe, R.A. (1997). The Moral Case Against Religious Belief. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-334-02680-6.
• Stenger, Victor J. (2007). God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 1591024811
• Thrower, James (1971). A Short History of Western Atheism. London: Pemberton. ISBN 0-301-71101-1.

External links

• Open Directory: Atheism—includes links to organizations and websites.
• Religion & Ethics—Atheism at bbc.co.uk.
• Secular Web library—library of both historical and modern writings, probably the most comprehensive online resource for freely available material on atheism.
• Positive atheism: Great Historical Writings—historical writing sorted by authors, contains a few items not in the Secular web library.
• Infography about Atheism
• Lion of Judah: Answering atheists—large directory of apologetic websites.
• About Atheism—part of the About.com family of websites

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