Ateizam (hrv. bezboštvo ili bezvjerstvo) u širem je smislu odsutnost vjerovanja u postojanje božanstava,[1] a u užem smislu je odbijanje vjerovanja u postojanje božanstava,[2] odnosno specifično stajalište prema kojemu ona ne postoje.[3] Suprotnost je teizmu,[4][5] koji je u većini slučajeva zasnovan na vjerovanju u postojanje najmanje jednog božanstva.[5][6]
Riječ ateizam izvedena je iz grčkog izraza ἄθεος (atheos), koji znači "bez Boga",[7] a koji se primjenjivao s negativnom konotacijom za one za koje se vjerovalo da su odbacili bogove koje štuje veći dio društva. Širenjem slobodoumlja, skeptičnosti te povećanja kritike religije, uporaba termina se suzila. Prvi pojedinci koji su se deklarirali ateistima pojavili su se u 18. stoljeću.[8]
Po pitanju natprirodnih pojava ateisti teže skeptičnosti potkrepljujući svoje uvjerenje nedostatkom empirijskih dokaza. Ponudili su nekoliko racionalnih objašnjenja za nevjerovanje u bilo kakva božanstva. To uključuje problem zla, argument nedosljednih otkrivenja te argument nevjerovanja. Iako su neki ateisti prihvatili sekularne filozofije,[9][10] ne postoji određena ideologija ili obrazac ponašanja prema kojem se ravnaju svi ateisti.[11]
Iako je ateizam najčešće povezan s ireligijom, on ne isključuje duhovnost.[12][13] Nadalje, ateizam se pojavljuje u određenim religijama i duhovnim vjerovanjima poput džainizma, budizma, hinduizma te u neopoganskim pokretima[14] poput Wicce.[15] Džainizam, te neki oblici budizma ne zalažu su za vjerovanje u bogove,[16] dok hinduizam drži ateizam valjanim stavom, ali i duhovno teškim za slijediti.[17]
Budući da koncepti ateizma variraju, nije moguće odrediti točan broj ateista u svijetu.[18] Prema procjeni Pew Research Centera, 2015. godine 16 % svjetskog stanovništva pripadalo je skupini nereligioznih osoba, u koju spadaju ateisti, ali i agnostici i drugi.[19] Prema jednoj procjeni, 200-240 milijuna stanovnika svijeta izražavaju se kao ateisti.[20] Prema drugoj procjeni, postotak samoproglašenih ateista najveći je u zapadnim zemljama unutar kojih opet postoje varijacije u postocima: Sjedinjene Države (4 %), Italija (7 %), Španjolska (11 %), Velika Britanija (17 %), Njemačka (20 %) i Francuska (32 %).[21] WIN-Gallup International navodi da, prema njihovom istraživanju, 13 % svjetskog stanovništva su ateisti.[22]
(a) the belief that there is no God; (b) Some philosophers have been called "atheistic" because they have not held to a belief in a personal God. Atheism in this sense means "not theistic". The former meaning of the term is a literal rendering. The latter meaning is a less rigorous use of the term though widely current in the history of thought
Atheism, in general, the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings.... Instead of saying that an atheist is someone who believes that it is false or probably false that there is a God, a more adequate characterization of atheism consists in the more complex claim that to be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for the following reasons (which reason is stressed depends on how God is being conceived)...
On our definition, an 'atheist' is a person who rejects belief in God, regardless of whether or not his reason for the rejection is the claim that 'God exists' expresses a false proposition. People frequently adopt an attitude of rejection toward a position for reasons other than that it is a false proposition. It is common among contemporary philosophers, and indeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries, to reject positions on the ground that they are meaningless. Sometimes, too, a theory is rejected on such grounds as that it is sterile or redundant or capricious, and there are many other considerations which in certain contexts are generally agreed to constitute good grounds for rejecting an assertion.CS1 održavanje: nepreporučeni parametar - origyear (pomoć) (stranica 175. u izdanju iz 1967.)
As commonly understood, atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. So an atheist is someone who disbelieves in God, whereas a theist is someone who believes in God. Another meaning of "atheism" is simply nonbelief in the existence of God, rather than positive belief in the nonexistence of God. …an atheist, in the broader sense of the term, is someone who disbelieves in every form of deity, not just the God of traditional Western theology.
Belief in a deity, or deities, as opposed to atheism
belief in the existence of a god or gods
Now Ecklund returns with more analysis from her study—and this time, she finds that a significant number of scientists who don’t believe in God at all nevertheless affirm a personal spiritual sense. According to a new paper co-authored with fellow sociologist Elizabeth Long and published in the journal Sociology of Religion, of the 60 percent of scientists who describe themselves as either atheist or agnostic, a startling 22 percent of the atheist scientists say they have a spirituality. What’s more, these atheist scientists see their spirituality as more congruent with science than with religion.
While Rees says he has no religious beliefs, the John Templeton Foundation feels the “big questions” raised by his work on the emergence of the cosmos, the size of physical reality, and the idea of the multiverse are, according to a statement released by the Foundation, “reshaping the philosophical and theological considerations that strike at the core of life.” Yet many can’t help wondering: Can you be an atheist and still affirm life’s spiritual dimension? According to research by Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, the answer is yes.
Although Neo-Pagans share common commitments to nature and spirit there is a diversity of beliefs and practices. Some are atheists, others are polytheists (several gods exists), some are pantheists (all is God) and others are panentheists (all is in God).
There is no universal worldview that all Neo-Pagans/Wiccans hold. One online information source indicates that depending on how the term God is defined, Neo-Pagans might be classified as monotheists, duotheists (two gods), ploytheists, pantheists, or atheists.
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oznaka; nije zadan tekst za izvor Harris