Philosophy
Atheism
Atheists generally do not believe that any god or gods exist.
01
Identity Card
- Name and etymology
- Greek atheos ("without god").
- Type
- Philosophical position on theism (not a religion).
- Founder or origin
- No founder; ancient roots (Charvaka in India, pre-Socratics in Greece).
- Date and place
- Ancient origins; modern form crystallized in Enlightenment Europe.
- Adherents
- ~7% explicitly atheist; ~16% non-religious globally (overlap with agnosticism).
02
Source of Authority
- Primary scripture
- No scripture; influential texts include works by Russell, Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris.
- Source of truth
- Reason, empirical evidence, scientific method.
- Authority structure
- None; loose intellectual networks.
03
Core Beliefs
- Core idea
- Atheists generally hold that available evidence is not enough to justify belief in a deity.
- View of God or ultimate reality
- Atheists generally reject belief in gods, or see gods as unnecessary to explain reality.
- View of humanity
- Many atheists understand humans as products of natural processes such as evolution, without assuming a supernatural soul.
- View of the world
- Material universe explained by science; no supernatural causation.
04
Practical Implications
- Purpose of life
- Atheists usually see life’s meaning as something humans create or discover for themselves.
- Ethics
- Varies — secular humanism, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, contractualism.
- Afterlife
- Most atheists do not expect a personal afterlife; they usually see consciousness as ending with death.
- Key practices
- No required practices; some join secular communities or rationalist groups.
05
Comparative Lenses
- Main branches
- Strong vs. weak atheism; antitheism; secular humanism.
- Relationship to others
- Often critical of organized religion; coexists with science.
- Common critiques
- Charged with scientism, lacking moral foundation, or aggressive tone.
- Modern adaptations
- "New Atheism" (2000s); growing in post-industrial societies.
Simple educational summaries. For religions, claims are attributed to scripture or major source texts where possible; where no scripture exists, wording describes what followers/supporters generally hold. References are starting points, not exhaustive academic citations.