atheism

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noun athe·ism \ˈā-thē-ˌi-zəm\

Definition of atheism

1a : a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any godsb : a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods
2 archaic : godlessness especially in conduct : ungodliness, wickedness

Recent Examples of atheism from the Web

The controversy is based in a conservative and hard-line approach to the scientific theory that equates evolution with atheism, according to Mustafa Akyol a fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

— gul tuysuz, CNN, "Turkey to stop teaching evolution in high school", 23 June 2017
At around the same time, an atheism activist sought to place a banner advertising the Church of Satanology on a fence at Boca Raton High School.

— lois k. solomon, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Satanic request prompts Palm Beach County schools to restrict banners on fences", 7 June 2017
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2014 found Americans view Islam less favorably than other major religions and atheism.

— jeff karoub, The Seattle Times, "New Islamic institute prioritizes outreach, education", 21 May 2017
Many prominent figures in Russia expressed outrage at Sokolovsky’s conviction, seeing it as a condemnation of atheism.

— kim hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "Russian 'Pokemon Go' blogger convicted for playing in church", 11 May 2017
Maldives is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state where practicing other faiths and atheism are banned.

— bharatha mallawarachi, The Seattle Times, "Maldives police arrest 2 suspects in blogger’s murder", 3 May 2017
Keywords: religion; atheism; social desirability; stigma; Bayesian estimation How many atheists are there? 3 How many atheists are there?

— scott canon, kansascity, "26 percent of Americans are atheist? Researchers say the godless are undercounted", 1 May 2017
That unified force was a God too massive, too inhuman, to resist with the atheism in which I had been brought up.

— jia tolentino, The New Yorker, "The Writer Behind a Muslim Marvel Superhero on Her Faith in Comics", 29 Apr. 2017
The party espouses atheism, and Mao Zedong suppressed religion during the Cultural Revolution.

— hugo restall, WSJ, "China’s Great Awakening", 11 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'atheism'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.