Difference between revisions of "Atheism"

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Theists often ask atheists to defend their non-belief, which is silly; people are not normally required to explain their disbelief in [[wikipedia:Russell's teapot|things which cannot be proven either way]]. The only ''necessary'' response to "Why don't you believe in God?" is "[[arguments for the existence of God|Why should I?]]".
 
Theists often ask atheists to defend their non-belief, which is silly; people are not normally required to explain their disbelief in [[wikipedia:Russell's teapot|things which cannot be proven either way]]. The only ''necessary'' response to "Why don't you believe in God?" is "[[arguments for the existence of God|Why should I?]]".
  
There are, however, some good [[reasons God is not a good explanation|reasons not to depend on God as an explanation]] for natural phenomena, ''whether or not'' [[God]] actually exists.
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Whether or not [[God]] actually exists, however, answering that "[[God did it]]" does not actually explain anything.
 
===Related Pages===
 
===Related Pages===
 
* [[organized atheism]]
 
* [[organized atheism]]
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** [[atheist intolerance]]
 
** [[atheist intolerance]]
 
** [[atheist supremacy]]
 
** [[atheist supremacy]]
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** [[atheist religion]] (or [[atheism is a religion]])
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===Notes===
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An argument often used against atheism is that atheists have been among the worst perpetrators of atrocity, with the prime examples being [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Stalin]], and/or [[Pol Pot]]. The implication that Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot were atheists, however, is actually untrue; Hitler was a [[Adolf Hitler/religion|very vocal Catholic]], Stalin was born, raised, and educated in [[Russian Orthodox Catholicism]], and Pol Pot was born, raised and educated [[Catholic]]. (More sources needed.)
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
 
===Reference===
 
===Reference===
 
* {{wikipedia}}
 
* {{wikipedia}}
* {{conservapedia}} has a rather distorted view (no surprise); e.g. "Since atheism is denial of the existence of God or gods, it is important first to identify in which God and/or gods the atheist denies." The word atheism, by definition, means belief in ''no'' god(s).
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** ''see also: [[wikipedia:ignosticism|ignosticism]], [[wikipedia:theological noncognitivism|theological noncognitivism]]
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* {{conservapedia}} has a rather distorted view (no surprise); e.g. "Since atheism is denial of the existence of God or gods, it is important first to identify in which God and/or gods the atheist denies." The word "atheism" ''means'' belief in ''no'' god(s).
 
** This article is locked for editing, and therefore cannot be collaboratively corrected.
 
** This article is locked for editing, and therefore cannot be collaboratively corrected.
 
** [[conservapedia:Conservapedia:Public Awareness of the Atheism Article|Public Awareness of the Atheism Article]]: "Conservapedia wishes to increase public awareness of its atheism article to counter the many atheist websites targeting young people."
 
** [[conservapedia:Conservapedia:Public Awareness of the Atheism Article|Public Awareness of the Atheism Article]]: "Conservapedia wishes to increase public awareness of its atheism article to counter the many atheist websites targeting young people."
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** [[rational:Conservapedia:Atheism|Conservapedia:Atheism]]: A point-by-point discussion/refutation of Conservapedia's Atheism article
 
** [[rational:Conservapedia:Atheism|Conservapedia:Atheism]]: A point-by-point discussion/refutation of Conservapedia's Atheism article
 
** Conservapedia has [[Conservapedia/censorship|blocked]], via their spam filter, the posting of any mention of RationalWiki.
 
** Conservapedia has [[Conservapedia/censorship|blocked]], via their spam filter, the posting of any mention of RationalWiki.
* {{!in|lwwiki}} redirects to [[lwwiki:religion|religion]] (as of 2009-11-23)
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* {{!in|lwwiki}} redirects to [[lwwiki:religion|religion]] (as of 2009-11-23; confirmed 2010-07-13)
 
* {{dkosopedia}}
 
* {{dkosopedia}}
 
* {{!in|sourcewatch}}: no equivalent article (as of 2008-04-26)
 
* {{!in|sourcewatch}}: no equivalent article (as of 2008-04-26)
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==Related Concepts==
 
==Related Concepts==
* [[wikipedia:Deism|Deism]]
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* [[Deism]]
* [[wikipedia:Agnosticism|Agnosticism]]
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* [[Agnosticism]] ({{wikipedia|Agnosticism}})

Latest revision as of 18:28, 18 April 2014

About

Atheism is the belief that there is no such thing as a deity (most commonly referred to as "God"), or that the existence of such is unlikely enough that it can be ignored when making important decisions. Atheism is the opposite of theism, which holds that the existence of one or more deities (and, usually, the supposed views and intentions of that deity) is an important factor to consider in at least some major real-world decisions.

Atheism is compatible with agnosticism, the belief that it is not possible for humans to know whether any deities exist.

In practice, atheism equates to a rejection of dogma, especially where it is religious in nature, and an embrace of rationality as a guiding principle for making decisions based on real-world evidence.

Arguments and Opinions

Theists often ask atheists to defend their non-belief, which is silly; people are not normally required to explain their disbelief in things which cannot be proven either way. The only necessary response to "Why don't you believe in God?" is "Why should I?".

Whether or not God actually exists, however, answering that "God did it" does not actually explain anything.

Related Pages

Notes

An argument often used against atheism is that atheists have been among the worst perpetrators of atrocity, with the prime examples being Adolf Hitler, Stalin, and/or Pol Pot. The implication that Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot were atheists, however, is actually untrue; Hitler was a very vocal Catholic, Stalin was born, raised, and educated in Russian Orthodox Catholicism, and Pol Pot was born, raised and educated Catholic. (More sources needed.)

Links

Reference

Filed Links

Groups / Projects

Blogs

Documentaries

Facts

Opinion

Discussion

Related Articles

Related Concepts