Atheism
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atheism is the lack of belief in any deity (or god). A- is a Greek prefix meaning "without" and theos means "god", so when put together with the suffix -ism ("belief"), it means "belief without god." The opposite of atheism is theism.
[edit] Two kinds of atheism
There are usually said to be two kinds of atheism - weak atheism and strong atheism. Weak atheism is the belief that there is no reason for a god to exist. Someone who is a weak atheist does not believe in any god he or she knows about. He or she does not expect to believe in any god he or she hears about. Weak atheists are also open to the idea that there is some driving force that keeps the universe in motion but that force is not a divine being.
Strong atheism is the belief that there can be no such thing as a god. Some use arguments that it would not be possible for there ever to be a god. For example, some say that it is not possible for any being to know everything.
Atheism is not a body of belief in itself. It's just a lack of any belief in a deity.
[edit] Morality
Atheism does not have any one set of moral ideas. Because of this, some people argue that atheists do not have morals. While some people have no morals (understanding of right from wrong), this is not more true for atheists than for other groups. Immorality (not being able to understand right from wrong) can happen among any group, even if they do not believe that any gods exist.
Atheists typically make their moral views from the society they grow up in and their own personal beliefs, but do not say their morality comes from a religion. Some atheists organize groups that say what beliefs they have, such as secular humanism or the Brights movement. Both of these groups have beliefs that members in the group share.
Other atheists get their views from other philosophies.
[edit] Atheism in society
In many places, it is (or was) a crime to be an atheist. In Europe during the Middle Ages, atheists could be killed by burning. Many countries still have laws against atheism. But atheism is becoming more common in countries without a state religion. In some countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, there are laws that protect atheists' rights not to have a religion. This means that atheists have the same rights under the law as everyone else. Freedom of religion in international law and treaties includes the freedom not to have a religion. The communist country of China has made atheism their official belief.