“Atheism” seems to be one of those terms that is vaguely understood by society, and more times than not, misunderstood by society. Many times atheism is linked to morality, usually the viewpoint that the atheist lacks any moral compass at all.  Other times, atheism is used as a rebellious title to give the perception of individuality or freedom.    While there are immoral atheists, and there are people who claim to be atheists for dubious reasons, what it means to be an atheist is often unclear to the general public.  Is atheism immoral, or lacking in any moral content?  Is atheism a religious view?  Are there different types of atheism?  These are some of the more thoughtful questions, and as such I will try, as a person whom has been deemed a strong-atheist (negative atheist) to clear these question up as best I can.  But first, what does it mean to be an atheist?

           The term “atheism” is literally defined as “without theism”.  Another way of defining “atheism which is very similar to the literal definition, is to base the definition on its Greek roots.  In Greek, “a” means without, a negation of; and “theism” means “theos” or “god”.   The Stanford Encyclopedia defines atheism as “the negation of theism, the denial of the existence of God.”[1], but just as there are many different reasons that people are theists, there are many different reasons, some more justifed than others, for claiming that one is an atheist.

            Generally speaking, “[a]theism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This absence of belief generally comes about either through deliberate choice, or from an inherent inability to believe religious teachings which seem literally incredible. It is not a lack of belief born out of simple ignorance of religious teachings.”[2]  Many arguments have been brought against atheism with regards to its point-of-view concerning a creator, or a God.  But many times these arguments are too narrow in scope, and start from theistic assumptions, such as those that claim that atheists are by nature immoral.  By definition, atheism is in no way linked to morality whatsoever. So, a clearer, more usable definition of the word is needed.

George H. Smith, in 1979, wrote an extensive book on atheism called Atheism:A Case Against God.  He maintains that “[a]n atheist is not primarily a person who believes that god does not exist; rather he does not believe in the existence of god.”[3]  The difference is that of disbelief, and lack of a belief all together. The difference is that of what is called strong, and weak atheism.  “Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: they actively believe that particular gods, or all gods, do not exist. Just lacking belief in Gods is often referred to as the "weak atheist" position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as "strong atheism".[4]

If one is a “weak” atheist, that person is skeptical about the existence of God.  They, perhaps, have come to the conclusion that there is no god, but will not state explicitly that there is no god.  If one is a “strong” atheist, that person has concluded for what ever reason (many times based on evidentialism) that god, or gods, do not exist.  It is important as well to realize that “[s]ome atheists believe in the non-existence of all Gods; others limit their atheism to specific Gods, such as the Christian God, rather than making flat-out denials.”[5]  Disbelieving in God is not the same as believing that God does not exist.  Disbelief in a proposition means that one does not believe it to be true. Not believing that something is true is not equivalent to believing that it is false; one may simply have no idea whether it is true or not. Which brings us to agnosticism.[6]

Atheism differs from person to person, according to their personal points-of-view.  However, at its core, atheism is the disbelief or lack of belief in a god, or gods. A person cannot be a Christian and an atheist at the same time, but there are some that claim that religions, such as Buddhism, are atheistic by nature.  These differences are sometimes called “broad and narrow” atheism.[7]  For example, it is possible for an atheist to believe that the human race was created by aliens, or by an asteroid carrying a life form.  It is not possible, however, for an atheist to accept as truth, the creation by a deity such as the Christian, Jewish, or Islamic God.  Such persons are theists.

Atheism differs from agnosticism, a term coined by T. H. Huxley in 1869.  Agnosticism, according to Huxley entails following “your reason as far as it can carry you without other considerations.  And negatively, in matters of the intellect, do not pretend the conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.”[8]  Generally speaking, atheism can be divided into two camps: strong and weak.  A strong atheistic view is a view that is void of, and does not consider the reality of a God at all.  It is conclusive.  A weak atheistic view is a view that simply disbelieves, or is at least skeptical about the existence of God.  Furthermore, atheism can be construed as narrow or broad.  Broad atheism is a strong or weak viewpoint concerning all ideas of god (or gods), while narrow atheism is a strong or weak viewpoint concerning a particular god (or gods). This differs from agnosticism in that agnosticism is a weak form of weak atheism.

Many times atheism is linked with one or another political, philosophical, or even religious view.  While atheists can be communists, skeptics, or rationalists, it is not necessary nor sufficient for an atheist to be any of these.  Some atheists are politically conservative or libertarian (such as Ayn Rand), and some are much more liberal in their world view (such as Karl Marx).  Atheism is devoid of any one political view.  Like morality, atheism is in no way defined politically.  Some claim that atheism is a religious view.  However, by definition, it is void of religious points of view either through skeptical concerns, or outright denial of truth concerning religious view. Atheism is an epistemological and/or a metaphysical viewpoint concerning the existence of gods or God.  As such, it is not a religion in any sense of the word.  Atheism is a lack of theism, and as such is devoid of any religious connotations.

An atheist is a person who has consciously made the decision to be skeptical of (weak atheism) or conclude that there is no (strong atheism), god or Gods (narrow or broad).  Atheism as a world view can entail any number of ethical viewpoints, but does not necessarily contain any one ethical viewpoint.[9]  To claim that atheism is unethical and immoral is to be ignorant of what atheism is in the first place.  Atheism has been used by many to portray rebellion and anger, but like any other world view, this portrayal, more times than not, is simply a façade.  Any worldview ought to have clear and rational thinking as its foundation rather than emotional and naïve reaction as its basis.  Atheism has been portrayed, mostly in the western world as being immoral and reactionary. While there are immoral atheists, there are also immoral Religionists.

  Furthermore, atheism by definition is not a religion. Rather, it is a point of view that is void of any religion.  There are religions that are considered to be atheistic, but atheism itself is not sufficient to be considered a religion itself.  Atheism can be linked to any number of world views including logical positivism, rationalism, skepticism, and any other number of “ism’s”, but alone does not entail any one or more of these views.

What Does it Mean to Be an Atheist?