Atheism is the doctrine or belief that there is no god. In contrast, the word agnostic refers to a person who neither believes nor disbelieves in a god or religious doctrine. Agnostics assert that it's impossible to know how the universe was created and whether or not divine beings exist.
Generally atheism is a denial of God or of the gods, and if religion is defined in terms of belief in spiritual beings, then atheism is the rejection of all religious belief.
Broadly speaking, atheists can come in three varieties: the nonreligious, the nonbelievers, and the agnostic.
Nontheism has been applied and plays significant roles in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While many approaches to religion exclude nontheism by definition, some inclusive definitions of religion show how religious practice and belief do not depend on the presence of a god or gods.
disbelieving, sceptical, skeptical, unbelieving. denying or questioning the tenets of especially a religion. distrustful. having or showing distrust. Antonyms: credulous.
irreligious. adjective. formal opposing religion, or having no religious beliefs.
Christian atheism is a form of Christianity that does not accept the literal existence of God but may be rooted in the teachings, narratives, symbols, or communities associated with Jesus. Christian atheism takes many forms: Some include an ethics system.
Relative to its own populations, Zuckerman ranks the top 5 countries with the highest possible ranges of agnostics and atheists: Sweden (46-85%), Vietnam (81%), Denmark (43-80%), Norway (31-72%), and Japan (64-65%).
It is a rather common misconception to think that religion has to do with god, or gods and supernatural beings or a supernatural or spiritual dimension or greater reality. None of that is absolutely necessary because there are religions that are without those elements.
However, 68% of all the unaffiliated expressed belief in God and out of the whole US population, only 2.4% self identified as "atheist".
Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment. Born on the Nepali side of the present day Nepal-India border, Siddhartha Gautama was a prince around the fifth century B.C.E.
For atheists, holiday celebrations can range from nonexistent to the full family affair. Some folks have started celebrating “Newtonmas,” named in honor of English scientist Isaac Newton, who was born December 25 by the Julian calendar in use in England at the time.
Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods.
Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
The Japanese religious tradition is made up of several major components, including Shinto, Japan's earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Christianity has been only a minor movement in Japan.
1. Hinduism (15th-5th centuries BC) Varanasi, India A Hindu sadhu boating on the Ganges River is a major pilgrimage site for Hindus. Hinduism is generally believed to be the oldest religion in the world and originated more than 4,000 years ago.
He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews. He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues. He preached from Jewish text, from the Bible.
Some high level Buddhists have drawn analogies between Jesus and Buddhism, e.g. in 2001 the Dalai Lama stated that "Jesus Christ also lived previous lives", and added that "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that." Thich ...
2 The literal definition of “atheist” is “a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods,” according to Merriam-Webster. And the vast majority of U.S. atheists fit this description: 81% say they do not believe in God or a higher power or in a spiritual force of any kind.
Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices.
Most Buddhists, especially western Buddhists, don't spend much time worrying about whether gods exist or not - it's just not an important question. Buddhism is essentially about living one's life so as to gain enlightenment; there may or may not be some gods or spirits around, but they're not of any real importance.
“There are growing numbers of atheists/agnostics in countries across the world,” said Dr Lanman. “Our recently completed 'Understanding Unbelief' programme looked beyond the stereotypes and helped to document some of the world's rich diversity in atheism and agnosticism.