Introduction

Atheism is the philosophical position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects
theism. In its broadest definition, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, sometimes called
nontheism. Although atheists are commonly assumed to be irreligious, some religions, such as
Buddhism, have been characterized as atheistic. Many self-described atheists share common
skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the
existence of deities. Other arguments for atheism are philosophical, social or historical. Although
many self-described atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as Humanism, rationalism,
and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere. The term
atheism originated as a pejorative epithet applied to any person or belief in conflict with
established religion. With the spread of freethought, scientific skepticism, and criticism of
religion, the term began to gather a more specific meaning and was sometimes used as a self-
description by atheists.

Atheism, defined most narrowly, is the position that there are no deities. More broadly defined, it
is the rejection of belief in the existence of any deities, with or without an assertion that no
deities exist. The broadest definition classifies atheism as the absence of belief that any deities
exist.

Etymology
The term atheism originated from the Greek (atheos), meaning "without gods", which was
applied with a negative connotation to those thought to reject the gods worshiped by the larger
society. With the spread of freethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of
religion, application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to identify themselves
as "atheist" appeared in the 18th century. Today, about 2.3% of the world's population describes
itself as atheist, while a further 11.9% is described as nontheist. Between 64% and 65% of
Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or non-believers,and to 48% in Russia. The
percentage of such persons in European Union member states ranges as low as single digits in
Italy and some other countries, and up to 85% in Sweden.

In early Ancient Greek, the adjective atheos meant "godless". The word began to indicate more-
intentional, active godlessness in the 5th century BCE, acquiring definitions of "severing
relations with the gods" or "denying the gods" instead of the earlier meaning of "impious".
Modern translations of classical texts sometimes render atheos as "atheistic". As an abstract
noun, there was also "atheism". Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin atheos. The
term found frequent use in the debate between early Christians and Hellenists, with each side
attributing it, in the pejorative sense, to the other.
In English, the term atheism was derived from the French athéisme in about 1587.The term
atheist (from Fr. athée), in the sense of "one who denies or disbelieves the existence of God",
predates atheism in English, being first attested in about 1571. Atheist as a label of practical
godlessness was used at least as early as 1577. Related words emerged later: deist in 1621, theist
in 1662; theism in 1678; and deism in 1682. Deism and theism changed meanings slightly
around 1700, due to the influence of atheism; deism was originally used as a synonym for today's
theism, but came to denote a separate philosophical doctrine.

Karen Armstrong writes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist'
was still reserved exclusively for polemic ... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have
dreamed of calling himself an atheist." Atheism was first used to describe a self-avowed belief in
late 18th-century Europe, specifically denoting disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god. In
the 20th century, globalization contributed to the expansion of the term to refer to disbelief in all
deities, though it remains common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in
God".

History
Atheists tend to lean towards skepticism regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical
evidence. Common rationales for not believing in any deity include the problem of evil, the
argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief.

In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be exclusively irreligious or unspiritual.

However, religious and spiritual belief systems such as forms of Buddhism that do not advocate
belief in gods, have also been described as atheistic

There are many accounts of the history of atheism, but they disagree substantially over its
beginnings and its main protagonists.

Existence of God
Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers,
theologians, scientists, and others. In philosophical terminology, "existence-of-God" arguments
concern schools of thought on the epistemology of the ontology of God.

The debate concerning the existence of God raises many philosophical issues. A basic problem is
that there is no universally accepted definition of God or existence. Some definitions of God's
existence are so non-specific that it is certain that something exists that meets the definition; in
stark contrast, there are suggestions that other definitions are self-contradictory. A wide variety
of arguments exist which can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective.
Although rarely studied scientifically the question of the existence of God is subject to lively
debate both in philosophy — the philosophy of religion being almost entirely devoted to the
question — and in popular culture.

Atheism and Meaning

Religious belief has traditionally provided human beings with a reason to think that their
individual lives have a purpose, and that the existence of humanity as such has a purpose.
Atheism, on the contrary, has generally taught that both individual human beings and
(eventually) humanity as a whole have no purpose in the universe, and that they will be
definitively annihilated in the course of time (human beings after their short spans of life,
humanity - at latest - when the earth finally becomes uninhabitable). In the light of this prima
facie deeply depressing prospect, the question of life's meaning or purpose within atheism has
posed a peculiarly difficult challenge to atheists since the origins of modern atheism in the
seventeenth century.

Religious believers have traditionally not been slow to point out that atheism must lead to
despair, since it deprives humans of the hope that injustices in this life will be corrected in the
next, and frustrates what would appear to be their natural desire to live forever. It also frustrates
humans' hope that reality is fundamentally good rather than bad or indifferent with respect to
them, and deprives them of any genuine motivation to act in the world.

Demographics of Atheism
The imperfect data which exists suggests that between 500 million and 750 million humans
currently do not believe in God.

It is difficult to make reliable estimates about the prevalence of atheism in the contemporary
world. As Phil Zuckerman points out in his recent presentation of the findings of up to date
surveys concerning rates of nonbelief in God in various countries worldwide (Atheism:
Contemporary Numbers and Patterns, 2007), attempting to work out what percentage of a given
society believes in God is beset with methodological difficulties. These include low response
rates to surveys, non-random samples of populations, adverse political/cultural climates and
terminological problems. Nevertheless, according to Zuckerman's estimates, the imperfect data
which exists suggests that between 500 million and 750 million humans currently do not believe
in God.

Surveys show that the nations with the highest degree of atheism 'include most of the nations of
Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Israel', whereas 'it is virtually
nonexistent in most of Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia'.

There have been various attempts to explain this unequal distribution. As Zuckerman notes,
Norris and Inglehart, often regarded as offering the leading explanation, have argued that high
levels of atheism in a society are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as
low poverty rates and strong gender equality. Societies with adequate food distribution, good
public health care, and accessible housing generally show a waning of religiosity, while societies
where there is inadequate food and shelter and life is less secure show much higher levels of
religious belief. With the exception of Vietnam (81% nonbelievers in God) and Ireland (4%-5%
nonbelievers in God) Norris and Inglehart maintain that the results of the available surveys
corroborate their theory.

North America would seem to constitute something of an exception here. According to Norris
and Inglehart's own estimates, only 6 percent of those in the US do not believe in God, although
it is an advanced industrialised nation. However, they argue that the high degree of religious
belief in the US can nevertheless be accounted for by the theory, since it is 'one of the most
unequal postindustrial societies', with many sectors of US society being exposed to a high degree
of economic insecurity, threat of unemployment, fear of sudden illness without adequate health
care provision, and vulnerability to crime. (It is doubtful how adequate an explanation this is if
taken on its own: the exceptionality of the US case may be better explained by taking into
account a variety of historical, cultural, economic, political and sociological factors).

With respect to future trends, it is difficult to give a simple answer to the question of whether
worldwide atheism is growing or declining. Worldwide atheism is in decline, but as Zuckerman
also points out this has partly at least been attributed to the fact that 'highly religious nations have
the highest birth rates in the world, and highly irreligious nations have the lowest' ones. On the
other hand, surveys also seem to show that within specific advanced industrialised nations,
namely, 'Canada, Australia, and various European countries', loss of belief in God has continued.

Criticism
Criticism of atheism is based on a variety of arguments, including assessments of its validity, the
consequences of not believing, its impact on morality, and the dogmatism and actions of those
who are atheists.

Atheism, religion
Some belief systems that are considered religions, such as forms of Buddhism that do not
advocate belief in gods, have been described as atheistic. Although some atheists tend toward
secular philosophies such as humanism, rationalism, and naturalism, there is no one ideology or
set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.
There Is No God

This negation must be understood solely to affect a creative Deity. The hypothesis of a pervading
Spirit co-eternal with the universe remains unshaken.

A close examination of the validity of the proofs adduced to support any proposition is the only
secure way of attaining truth, on the advantages of which it is unnecessary to descant: our
knowledge of the existence, of a Deity is a subject of such importance that it cannot be too
minutely investigated; in consequence of this conviction we proceed briefly and impartially to
examine the proofs which have been adduced. It is necessary first to consider the nature of belief.

Conclusion
The positives and negatives are largely defined by the individual, not the stance. For example, a
popular “pro” for atheism is that it is supposed to motivate you to make the most of the one life
you have. Of course, a theist might well be motivated to make the most of this present life
because there’s actually something at stake. It is the person who finds the motivation in a stance,
not the stance that gives motivation to the individual. You will usually find that an ethical person
will be ethical if they are religious or not, and you will find that an unreasonable person is
unreasonable if they are atheist or not.

“I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.”