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Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious [1] and non-religious [2] attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of God or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of gods and differs from atheism , or active disbelief in any gods.
"Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion."
Historically, the words religious and spiritual have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion. [1] However, religion is a highly contested term with scholars such as Russell McCutcheon arguing that the term "religion" is used as a way to name a "seemingly distinct domain of diverse items of human activity and production". [6]
Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices.It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationalism, secularism, and non-religious spirituality.
Also called "strong atheism". Explicit atheism – "the absence of theistic belief due to a conscious rejection of it". [9] Negative atheism – refers to any type of non-theism other than positive atheism, wherein a person does not believe in the existence of any deity, but without asserting there to be none. [8] Also called "weak atheism".
Positive atheism, also called strong atheism and hard atheism, is the form of atheism that additionally asserts that no deities exist. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The terms "negative atheism" and "positive atheism" were used by Antony Flew in 1976 [ 1 ] and have appeared in George H. Smith 's [ 4 ] and Michael Martin 's writings since 1990.
In the words of R.C. Zaehner, "it is perfectly possible to be a good Hindu whether one's personal views incline toward monism, monotheism, polytheism, or even atheism." [13] He goes on to say that it is a religion that neither depends on the existence or non-existence of God or Gods. [14]
The following is a list of fictional atheists and agnostics limited to notable characters who have, either through self-admission within canon works or through admission of the character creator(s), been associated with a disbelief in a supreme deity or follow an agnostic approach toward religious matters.