Atheism:

Definitions of the term "Atheism"

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Overview:

Most of the North American public define an "Atheist" is a person who believes that no deity exists: neither a God, nor a Goddess, nor a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. This definition is reflected in American dictionaries -- not just because most publishers are Christian, but because it is the purpose of dictionaries to follow the public's word usage. Some individuals who consider themselves Atheists mesh well with that definition. But they may be in the minority. Many, perhaps most, Atheists simply have no belief about deity. For them, Atheism is not disbelief in a deity or deities; it is simply a lack of belief in any of them.

It is worth noting that most of the people of the world can be regarded as a type of Atheist. Of the Gods and Goddesses who have been worshiped down through the ages -- Athena, Baal, Bacchus, Bast, Brahman, Bridget, Diana, Eostre, Fergus, Freya, Horus, Isis, Marduk, Mithras, Nerrivik, Odin, Pluto, Quetzalcoatl, Ra, Shiva, Sophia, Thor, Vishnu, Vulcan, Zeus, and thousands of others, the vast majority of people believe in only a few. Most believe in a single deity -- the Trinity in Christianity, Allah in Islam, Yahweh in Judaism -- and thus deny the existence of the thousands of other deities. Such people can be considered Atheists towards these other Gods and Goddesses. In the same way, Roman Pagans considered Christians to be Atheists in the early years of the Church, because followers of Jesus denied the existence of all of the dozens of Roman deities.

Conflict over religious terms:

In the fields of medicine and engineering, precise definitions of terms are of paramount importance. Otherwise, misunderstandings can cause disasters. Bridges may fall down and patients can die from excessive or insufficient medication. However, the field of religion is very different. There are probably more religious terms with multiple, conflicting meanings than in any other area of human activity. We have detected at least 17 meanings to the term "Witch" -- mostly negative, and some mutually exclusive. There are at least eight meanings for the word "cult," and six for "Pagan."

There are also many different and mutually exclusive meanings to the term "Christian," among the over 1,000 religious groups in North America which consider themselves Christians:

All of these groups are correct, within their own definition of terms. But the meaning that they assign to "Christian" and "Christianity" radically contradict each other. There is no way to estimate the misunderstandings and hurt feelings generated by this confusion. More info.

This type of confusion extends to Atheism as well. There are many disagreements about the precise definition of the term "Atheist."

Some background information about "Atheist"

The problem:

Most adults in North America are Theists: they have a definite belief in one or more deities. Jews and Muslims generally believe in a male God who is viewed as a unity. Most Christians believe in a Trinity which is composed of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit -- three personalities who are simultaneously viewed as a single entity. Others believe in a Goddess, a pantheon of male Gods, a group of female Goddesses or an array of Gods and Goddesses.

But there are other possible beliefs concerning deity among some non-believers:

There is a general consensus that:

But there is no consensus on how to classify the other possible belief systems about deity/deities listed above. Some have suggested the use of modifiers, like:

"Atheist" according to most modern dictionaries:

Most dictionaries define an "Atheist" as a person who either passively believes that no God exists, and/or who actively asserts this belief. For example:

More inclusive definitions of "Atheist" from some sources:

Definitions according to some Atheists:

It is important to realize that most dictionaries attempt to reflect the general public usage of the terms that they define. Since the vast majority of adults in North America are theists -- that is they actively believe in at least one God and/or Goddess -- the dictionary definitions follow their beliefs. Dictionaries do not necessarily reflect the meaning by those who consider themselves to be Atheists.

The Atheism Web has collected some definitions of "Atheism" from authors who consider themselves to be Atheists: ₅

Other definitions include:

References used:

1. "Webster's New World Dictionary; 3rd college edition," Page 86
2. "One Look® dictionaries: Search dictionary web sites for words and phrases," at: http://www.wordwizard.com/indexresources.htm
3. The Barnes & Noble Encyclopedia," (1993), Page 81.
4. The World Almanac and Book of Facts (2001), Page 692.
5. "More on definitions on atheism," at: http://www.infidels.org/news/
6. Dan Barker, "Losing Faith in Faith: From preacher to Atheist," Freedom From Religion Foundation, (1992), Page 99. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
7. Antony G.N. Flew, "God, Freedom and Immortality: A Critical Analysis," Prometheus Books, (1984), Page 14 Read reviews or order this book
8. Michael Martin, "Atheism: A Philosophical Justification," Temple University Press, (1992), Page 463. Read reviews or order this book
9. Gordon Stein, Ed, "An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism," Prometheus Books, (1980), Page 3. Read reviews or order this book
10. Al Case. "What is atheism?," 2think.org at: http://www.2think.org/hii/atheism.shtml
11. George Smith, "Atheism: The case against God," Prometheus Books (1989), Page 7. Read reviews or order this book
12. Dean W. Austin, "My Reasons for Being an Atheist," at: http://www.galah.org/myreasons.html