ATHEISM

ATHEISM
   originally used in Greece of all those who, whether they believed in a GOD or not, disbelieved in the official GODS of the State
   SOCRATES was the classic instance. In the Roman Empire the term was applied to CHRISTIANS but sometimes Christians, like POLYCARP, would turn the term against their persecutors. Until the expression "AGNOSTICISM" came into general use in the nineteenth century, the term "ATHEISM" was popularly used to describe those who thought the EXISTENCE of GOD an unprovable thesis.

Concise dictionary of Religion. 2012.

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  • Atheism — Atheism, as an explicit position, can be either the affirmation of the nonexistence of gods, [The Oxford American Dictionary defines atheist as a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or gods. New York: Avon Press, 1980.] or the… …   Wikipedia

  • Atheism — • That system of thought which is formally opposed to theism Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Atheism     Atheism     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Atheism — A the*ism, n. [Cf. F. ath[ e]isme. See {Atheist}.] 1. The disbelief or denial of the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being. [1913 Webster] Atheism is a ferocious system, that leaves nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • atheism — 1580s, from Fr. athéisme (16c.), from Gk. atheos without god (see ATHEIST (Cf. atheist)). A slightly earlier form is represented by atheonism (1530s) which is perhaps from It. atheo atheist. Ancient Gk. atheotes meant ungodliness …   Etymology dictionary

  • atheism — [n] belief that no God exists disbelief, doubt, freethinking, godlessness, heresy, iconoclasm, impiety, infidelity, irreligion, irreverence, nihilism, nonbelief, paganism, skepticism, unbelief; concept 689 Ant. belief, godliness, piety, religion …   New thesaurus

  • atheism —    Atheism is belief that there is no God. It is sometimes defined as lack of belief in God, but this would include agnostics, who are best kept separate.    See agnosticism; theism    Further reading: Berman 1987; Flew 1993; Le Poidevin 1996;… …   Christian Philosophy

  • atheism — ► NOUN ▪ the belief that God does not exist. DERIVATIVES atheist noun atheistic adjective atheistical adjective. ORIGIN from Greek a without + theos god …   English terms dictionary

  • atheism — [ā′thē iz΄əm] n. [MFr athéisme < Gr atheos, godless < a , without + theos, god: see THEO ] 1. the belief that there is no God, or denial that God or gods exist 2. godlessness atheistic adj. atheistical atheistically adv …   English World dictionary

  • atheism — /ay thee iz euhm/, n. 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God. 2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. [1580 90; < Gk áthe(os) godless + ISM] * * * Critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or divine beings.… …   Universalium

  • Atheism — Athéisme L’athéisme est une attitude[1] ou une doctrine[2] qui ne conçoit pas l’existence ou affirme l’inexistence de quelque dieu, divinité ou entité surnaturelle que ce soit, contrairement, par exemple, au déisme, au théisme et au panthéisme… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Atheism — a condition of being without theistic beliefs; an absence of belief in the existence of gods, thus contrasting with theism. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods and those who have no beliefs at all regarding the… …   Mini philosophy glossary

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