Atheism
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
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 no more true for atheists than for other groups. Immorality can happen among any group of people, whether or not they follow a religion.
Atheists typically form moral views from the society they grow up in and their own personal beliefs, but do not claim their morality comes from a religion. Also, some atheists organize groups that do have codified moral beliefs, such as secular humanism or the brights movement. Both of these groups have specific beliefs that members in the group share.
Other atheists get their views from other philosophies. For instance, anarchists and Marxists have moral views that come from rational thought instead of spirituality.
[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. However, atheism is becoming more common in countries without a state religion. In some countries such as Britain, 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.
