atheism

noun athe·ism \ ˈā-thē-ˌi-zəm \

Definition of atheism

1 a :a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods

b :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 opposite is true in a country such as the Netherlands, where atheism is widespread.

— bryan walsh, Time, "Does Spirituality Make You Happy?," 7 Aug. 2017
But American liberals profess neither the passionate skepticism of David Hume nor the honest, urgent atheism of Nietzsche.

— elliot kaufman, National Review, "What Ever Happened to the New Atheists?," 28 July 2017
The Top 5 hates in South Carolina: Edward Snowden, Facebook birthday reminders, atheism, Bill De Blasio and pranks.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "New dating website uncovers what Carolinians absolutely hate... hate... HATE," 21 July 2017
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

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.

Origin and Etymology of atheism

Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek atheos godless, from a- + theos god

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1546

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Other Philosophy Terms

dialectic, dualism, epistemology, existentialism, metaphysics, ontology, sequitur, solipsism, transcendentalism

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See words that rhyme with atheism Spanish Central: Translation of atheism Nglish: Translation of atheism for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of atheism for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about atheism

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