atheism
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
16th century French athéisme, from athée (“atheist”), a loan from Ancient Greek ἄθεος (átheos, “godless”), from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + θεός (theos, “deity, god”). First English attestation dates to 1587 (OED).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
atheism (plural atheisms)
- (narrowly) Belief that no deities exist (sometimes, excluding other religious beliefs).
- 2002, Martin, Michael, “Should atheists be agnostics?”, The Philosophers' Magazine, number 19, ISSN 1354-814X, page 18:
- 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.
- 2002, Martin, Michael, “Should atheists be agnostics?”, The Philosophers' Magazine, number 19, ISSN 1354-814X, page 18:
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (broadly) Rejection of belief that any deities exist (with or without a belief that no deities exist).
- 1857, Buchanan, James, Modern Atheism: under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws[1], Boston: Gould and Lincoln, page 365:
- 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.
- 1896, Foote, George William, “First Night”, in Theism or Athiesm: Which is the more reasonable?[2], London: R. Forder, page 17:
- ...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.
- 1857, Buchanan, James, Modern Atheism: under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws[1], Boston: Gould and Lincoln, page 365:
- (very broadly) Absence of belief that any deities exist (including absence of the concept of deities).
- 1829, Wesley, John, Sermons, on Several Occasions, volume 2, edition 10th, page 373:
- What can parents do, and mothers more especially, […] with regard to the atheism that is natural to all the children of men?
- 1979, Smith, George H., Atheism: The Case Against God, Buffalo, New York: Prometheus, LCC BL2747.3.S6 1979, ISBN 978-0879751241, LCCN 79002726, page 7:
- 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.
- 1829, Wesley, John, Sermons, on Several Occasions, volume 2, edition 10th, page 373:
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (loosely, rare) Absence of belief in a particular deity, pantheon, or religious doctrine (notwithstanding belief in other deities).
- 1995, McBrien, Richard P. editor, The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism[3], HarperCollins, ISBN 9780060653385, keyword Domitilla, Flavia, page 431:
- 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).
- 2010, Thompson, Ross, Buddhist Christianity: A Passionate Openness[4], O-Books, ISBN 978-1846943362, page 260:
- 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.
- 1995, McBrien, Richard P. editor, The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism[3], HarperCollins, ISBN 9780060653385, keyword Domitilla, Flavia, page 431:
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (archaic, pejorative) Disregard for moral obligation; wickedness.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Quotations
For more examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
[edit] Usage notes
The term atheism may refer either to:
- (rejection of belief): an explicit rejection of belief, with or without a denial that any deities exist (explicit atheism),
- (absence of belief): an absence of belief in the existence of any deities (weak atheism or soft atheism),
- (affirmative belief): an explicit belief that no gods exist (strong atheism or hard atheism).
[edit] See also
[edit] Translations
absence of belief in the existence of God or gods
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[edit] References
- “atheism” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
- Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc. (31 August 2006).
- Encyclopædia Britannica, Kai Neilsen (2011), keyword ATHEISM
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Paul Edwards (1967, 2005), keyword ATHEISM
- Michael Martin, ATHEISM, A Philosophical Justification
- George H. Smith, The Scope of Atheism, in Atheism: The Case Against God (1979)
