₦airaland Forum

Atheism at a Glance

Atheism 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.

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[b] "weak atheist"[/b] position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as "strong atheism."
For me am a weak atheist.

Regarding people who have never been exposed to the concept of 'god': Whether they are 'atheists' or not is a matter of debate. Since you're unlikely to meet anyone who has never encountered religion, it's not a very important debate...

It is important, however, to note the difference between the strong and weak atheist positions. "Weak atheism" is simple skepticism; disbelief in the existence of God. "Strong atheism" is an explicitly held belief that God does not exist. Please do not fall into the trap of assuming that all atheists are "strong atheists." There is a qualitative difference in the "strong" and "weak" positions; it's not just a matter of degree.

Some atheists believe in the nonexistence of all Gods; others limit their atheism to specific Gods, such as the Christian God, rather than making flat-out denials.

Reasons for non-belief

People are atheist for many reasons among them:

They find insufficient evidence to support any religion.

They think that religion is nonsencical.

They once had a religion and have lost faith in it.

They live in a non-religious culture.

Religion doesn't interest them.

cc: seun

Atheist criticisms of religion


THE BAD

Not all atheists are hostile to religion, but many do think that religion is bad. Here are some of their reasons:

Religion gets people to believe something untrue.

Religion makes people base the way they run their lives on a falsehood.

Religion stops people thinking in a rational and objective way.

Religion forces people to rely on outside authority, rather than becoming self-reliant.

Religion imposes irrational rules of good and bad behaviour.

Religion divides people, and is a cause of conflict and war.

The hierarchical structure of most religions is anti-democratic, and thus offends basic human rights.

Religion doesn't give equal treatment to women and gay people, and thus offends basic human rights.

Religion obstructs scientific research.

Religion wastes time and money.



THE GOOD

Most atheists willingly concede there are some good things about religion, such as:

Religious art and music

Religious charities and good works

Much religious wisdom and scripture

Human fellowship and togetherness

Reliions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world

The world is such a bad place that there can't be a God

Different reasons for being an atheist

*Intellectual*

Most atheists would offer some of the following arguments as their reason for deciding that God doesn't exist.

*Non-Intellectual*

Many people are atheists because of the way they were brought up or educated, or because they have simply adopted the beliefs of the culture in which they grew up. So someone raised in Communist China is likely to have no belief in God because the education system and culture make being an atheist the natural thing to do.

Other people are atheists because they just feel that atheism is right.

1. Reasons focussing on lack of evidence
2. Arguments for God aren't convincing
3. The problem of evil
4. Reasons to do with science and the history of thought
5. Reasons that treat God as meaningless
6. Reasons that treat God as a psychological factor
7. Reasons that treat God as a social function

You missed the Most important reason for atheism: anger.
Anger at God.

Amberon11:
The missed the Most important reason for atheism: anger.
Anger at God.

Oh shut up!

shut down!!

Ranchhoddas:
Oh shut up!