Mark I. Vuletic

Last updated 21 March 2008

Here is how I define atheism: atheism is the belief that there is no god. Now for the fine print:

i. The most common misperception people have about atheism is that atheism is certainty that there is no god. Although those who profess certainty that there is no god do indeed qualify as atheists, they are only a subset of atheists. Most atheists believe there is no god without professing certainty about the matter. How can one be an atheist and still admit the possibility of being mistaken? In exactly the same way that a person can be a believer and still harbor doubts.

ii. There is a kind of person, called a noncognitivist, who doesn't actually believe that there is no god, yet still qualifies as an atheist. Such an atheist argues that the word god is meaningless, so to profess belief that there is, or is not, a god is to utter literal nonsense (what would it mean to say that you believe that there is, or is not, a blawdjaskid?). Noncognitivists are relatively few and far between these days, so I think it best simply to understand them as a qualification to the definition I offered.

iii. Among those who defend atheism by name, there are many who argue that atheism should be understood not as the belief that there is no god, but as lack of belief that there is a god. I think the real motivation here is to try explicitly to incorporate noncognitivists under the name of atheism. The problem is that such a definition also ends up incorporating agnostics (those who just have no idea whether or not there is a god), most of whom do not consider themselves atheists. I think it better to define atheism narrowly and then qualify it with noncognitivism, than to define it so broadly that it encompasses agnostics against their will.

iv. Some people try to split the difference by calling those who believe that there is no god strong or positive atheists, and those who merely lack a belief in god weak or negative atheists. I think this distinction creates more problems than it solves. I prefer to reserve the title of atheist for those who believe that there is no god (and noncognitivists), and the more generic term nonbeliever as the umbrella term for atheists and agnostics combined.

v. It should be pointed out that atheism is simply a stance on whether or not there is a god. Atheism does not require one to take any particular ethical or political stance, nor does it even require one to reject the transcendent or the supernatural in general. Atheism is not a worldview, but merely one element that may fit into many different worldviews.

vi. With this said, modern atheists who take an activist stance tend also to be naturalists and skeptics, rejecting entirely the supernatural and even the paranormal.