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Atheist

    Atheist Editor's Picks

    • How to Understand an Atheist

      Many people get angry and try to force God on a person when they hear that one express that they are an Atheist. That helps no one. You will offend them and give them even more reason to believe that all religions are just full of hypocrites... given that you as the proclaimed "CHRISTIAN" are supposed to treat others as you... more »

    • How to Talk About Christianity With an Atheist

      Having an open and honest talk about Christianity with an atheist can be both a rewarding and frustrating experience. Some atheists are open minded and enjoy sharing thoughts back and forth. Some are very closed minded and uninterested in what you have to say. The same can be said for Christians. When you are mixing two very... more »

    • How to Lead a Thanksgiving Prayer

      The foremost theme of Thanksgiving, whether people remember it or not, is giving thanks. Gratitude is a glorious trait to have every day and it can especially be indulged on Thanksgivng. For starters, you may be gathered with family around a feast-filled table. You can lead a Thanksgiving prayer and remind everyone to be grateful with... more »

    • How to Use Match.com To Find Love

      To many of us, one of life's biggest challenges is finding that special someone. You're tired of the bar scene and those blind dates never really work out. So what do you do? How about Match.com? Once you get over the stigma that may come with internet dating, you'll discover that it's actually a great place to painless narrow down... more »

    • How to Become an Atheist

      A person who doesn't believe in any gods or higher power of any kind is an atheist. This may seem simple, but becoming an atheist can be difficult. Atheists are routinely discriminated against by society. It takes courage for an atheist to let his lack of belief in religion or spirituality be known and face the prejudice and... more »

    Atheist Articles

    Wikipedia

    Atheism

    Atheism can be either the rejection of theism,Theism is used here in its most general sense, that is belief in one or more deities. This would then define atheism as the rejection of belief that any deities exist, regardless of whether the further conclusion is drawn that deities do not exist.

    *

    *

    or the position that deities do not exist.

    In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities.religioustolerance.orgs short article on suggests that there is no consensus on the definition of the term. Simon Blackburn summarizes the situation in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: "Atheism. Either the lack of belief in a god, or the belief that there is none." Most dictionaries (see the OneLook query for ) first list one of the more narrow definitions.

    * - entry by Vergilius Ferm

    The term atheism originated from the Greek (atheos), meaning "without gods", which was derogatorily applied to anyone thought to not believe in the accepted gods, or to believe in false gods, no gods, or doctrines that stood in conflict with established religions. With the spread of freethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of religion, application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to identify themselves as "atheist" appeared in the 18th century. Today, about 2.3% of the worlds population describes itself as atheist, while a further 11.9% is described as nontheist."Britannica demographics"/> Between 64% and 65% of Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or non-believers,Zuckerman/>US_State_Dept>However, data from the may contradict this figure, since 44% are reported as adherents of Shinto, a polytheistic religion, and information was not provided on the number of respondents identifying with multiple categories. (64% atheists/agnostics/non-believers, plus 44% Shintoists, adds up to more than 100%.)

    and to 48% in Russia.Zuckerman/> The percentage of such pe read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

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