Atheism (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what atheism is, the types of atheisms and their relationship with agnosticism. Also, practical and theoretical atheism.

What is atheism?

Atheism is the criticism or denial of all types of metaphysical, mystical or spiritual beliefs, that is, It is the denial of the existence of a God or divinities. It is considered the opposite thought to theism, as its name indicates.

Those who adhere to atheism are known as atheists. This term that comes from ancient Greek (to-“without”; theos“God”), and was used in its time in a derogatory way to refer to people who did not revere the pantheon of Greek Gods.

Later, it was also used with an almost dangerous connotation by Christianity. In fact, during the Middle Ages atheists were seen as sinners, heretics and untrustworthy. However, the term was greatly redefined with the emergence of freethought and scientific skepticism.

Thus it was possible for numerous thinkers of the 18th century Enlightenment to announce themselves as atheists. Even the French Revolution of 1789 was considered the bearer of an “unprecedented atheism,” because it opposed what until then was considered the natural order of things: the absolutist monarchy.

There are many arguments for and against atheism, and many ways to understand and practice it. Being an atheist is not always the same as being non-religious, nor is being an atheist the same as being agnostic.

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In any case, Atheists represent 2.3% of the world population (2007 data) and are mostly concentrated in East Asia: China (47%) and Japan (31%), as well as in Western Europe (14% on average).

Types of atheism

There are different ways of classifying and thinking about atheism, since there is no official or central institution that orders or configures this type of belief. Some authors propose thinking about it based on contrasting categories, such as:

Positive and negative atheism Also known as strong and weak atheism, they were proposed by philosophers such as the British Antony Flew (1923-2010) or the American Michael Martin (1932-2015), depending on the degree of vehemence with which the absence of God is assumed. Thus, we have:
- positive atheism It is the one who assumes an active and convinced position regarding the absence of God, assuming as a truth the proposition that “God does not exist.”
- Negative atheism The most common form of atheism does not consist so much in the belief or conviction that God does not exist, but rather in disbelief or disbelief in the possible existence of a God.
Implicit atheism and explicit atheism This other distinction was proposed by the American educator George H. Smith (1949), and is based on the position of the individual regarding his or her own belief. In this way, we have:
- Implicit atheism When the individual lacks theistic beliefs completely, without professing an open and conscious rejection of them. That is, in their mental order there is no concern about the existence of God, because his absence is naturally assumed.
- Explicit atheism When the individual has had the opportunity to think and reflect on the existence of God in a conscious and deliberate way, and has ended up assuming his absence as the most reasonable or true criterion.

Atheism, agnosticism and agnostic atheism

We should not confuse the concepts of atheism, that is, the denial of the existence of God, with that of agnosticism, which is something quite different.

Agnostics do not deny the existence of God out of hand and of the divine, but they understand it as a matter foreign to human experience. That is to say, maintain that it is not knowable nor is it understandable by humanity, but rather it is on a different and inaccessible plane, and therefore it should not concern us.

However, there is also a variant of thought that constitutes a synthesis of the above, known as agnostic atheism or atheistic agnosticism. This synthesis serves to contrast theistic agnosticism, which claims to have no way to prove the existence of God, but believes in it.

So, agnostic atheism starts from the impossibility of proving the existence of God, and, using that as an argument, ensures its nonexistence.

Practical atheism and theoretical atheism

Another distinction between the aspects of atheism is that which proposes the existence of a practical or pragmatic atheism, and another theoretical one, which differ in:

Practical atheism This is the name given to a form of atheism that is implicit in action, that is, it is not so much a formal statement or part of a philosophical debate, but rather it is present in a way of living life that does not take into account at all the possible existence of a God.
Theoretical atheism Unlike the previous one, it is not a way of acting, but a way of thinking, that is, of reasoning and debating. In this way, it raises ontological arguments about the existence of God or gods, and combats theistic arguments on a discursive, reflective and knowledge level.