What does Atheism mean to you?
The current accepted western definition is "disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods".
Is this accurate?
How do you use the term? What its connotations for you?
Does "disbelief or lack of belief in any religion" work better?
What about another definition?
Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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Disbelief in religion
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Since 'religion' is literally the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, I think that calling atheism a lack of belief/worship in a superhuman being (or God) is a very fair definition. It also implies a lack of belonging to a religion. Edit: Also, as an atheist, it's not that I don't believe religion exists. So 'lack of belief in a religion' doesn't make much sense. xD Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
You are using the western definition of religion with the western definition of atheism. Since many westerners have began adopting non-western religions, you should notice that the second definition of religion does not require a god or superhuman controlling power. Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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Hmm. Ok, well from a personal standpoint, I see no problem in following a religion whilst lacking a belief in God. I was raised Jewish, and I might, someday, consider myself an atheist jew. I like a lot of Jewish teachings, and I can absolutely follow them while still keeping a lack of belief in the supernatural. Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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What would be a good term for people who do not believe in any religion? Areligious? Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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a-theism means a lack of theist beliefs. religions are what humans cobble together when they DO have theistic beliefs... more often than not, they also happen to SERVE those who created the religion (Scientology) more than they serve the ppl who follow it. seeing this, atheists tend to also be opposed to religion because of these facts about religion, but that has nothing to do with the ROOT of the meaning, which is that they do not believe in the existence of a god/gods. Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
Well, Scientology is not the best candidate for theism, since everyone is an omniscient God who helped to create the universe. seeing this, atheists tend to also be opposed to religion because of these facts about religion, but that has nothing to do with the ROOT of the meaning, which is that they do not believe in the existence of a god/gods. Non-westerners use the term as a disbelief or non-belief in deities and the supernatural, not just creation gods. It depends on where globalization takes us. Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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I don't even think there should be a name for it... there shouldn't be a name for a natural state of being like that, it just seems silly to me. (like corn-on-the-cob is stupid because.. It grows ON the cob! lol..) Nobody is born believing in a religion... they are taught (brainwashed..) by family, church, etc... Besides, theists deny many many gods, I only deny one more than them. Side: Disbelief in gods/supernatural
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This is from Firefox regarding the definition of religion the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. a particular system of faith and worship. a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. So within this definition of religion it is possible to pursue a supremely important belief that God or gods do not exist and therefore the means to disbelieve its own existence Side: Disbelief in religion
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I would say it means both a disbelief in religion and a disbelief in the supernatural. Religion is really just a philosophic practice that involves the supernatural. You have to believe in something supernatural to be religious in 99% of cases. Atheism is actively rejecting the potential supernatural element of reality; it follows naturally that any worship, practice, dogma, or religion founded on said rejected supernatural would also be rejected. Additionally, I dislike the "or a lack of belief" bit of Atheism definitions, since that is the definition of agnosticism, and it's best to avoid redundancy and wasting words. If you reject all or most of religion/the supernatural, you're an atheist. If you don't know, are undecided, lack a belief, or haven't thought about it, you're an agnostic. Side: Disbelief in religion
They should definitely remove the lack of belief from atheism. The language is changing due to the recent trend towards atheism/agnosticism/non-religious. It has become impossible to generalize everyone into neat little categories. Your definition is a more global one since not all religions have a creator being. Supernatural is still inadequately defined, but that is another debate :S Side: Disbelief in religion
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