Atheism

Atheism, in its broadest sense, is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods, thus contrasting with theism. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods and those who have no beliefs at all regarding the existence of gods. However, narrower definitions often only qualify the former as atheism, the latter falling under the more general term nontheism.

Religious and spiritual views of atheism

Judaism

In general, formulations of Jewish principles of faith require a belief in God (represented by Judaism's paramount prayer, the Shema). In many modern movements in Judaism, rabbis have generally considered the behavior of a Jew to be the determining factor in whether or not one is considered an adherent of Judaism. Within these movements it is often recognized that it is possible for a Jew to strictly practise Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist, giving rise to the joke: "Q: What do you call a Jew who doesn't believe in God? A: A Jew." It is also worth noting that Reconstructionism does not require any belief in a deity, and that certain popular Reform prayer books, such as Gates of Prayer, offer some services without mention of God.

Related Topics:
Jewish principles of faith - Shema - Judaism - Reconstructionism - Reform

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Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk16-kook.htmhttp://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk17-kook.htm, first Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in pre-state Israel, held that atheists were not actually denying God: rather, they were denying one of man's many images of God. Since any man-made image of God can be considered an idol, Kook held that, in practice, one could consider atheists as helping true religion burn away false images of god, thus in the end serving the purpose of true monotheism.

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Some Jewish atheists reject Judaism, but wish to continue identifying themselves with the Jewish people and culture. See, for example, Levin (1995).

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Christianity

Islam

In Islam, atheists are categorized as kafir, a term that is also used to describe polytheists, and that translates roughly as "denier" or "concealer". The noun kafir carries connotations of blasphemy and disconnection from the Islamic community, and is widely used to describe non-Muslims in general. In Arabic, "atheism" is generally translated ilhad (إلحاد), although this also means "heresy".

Related Topics:
Islam - Kafir

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As the Sharia punishment for apostasy in Islam is death and such apostasy is also widely socially disapproved of, atheists (as well as converts from Islam to other religions) in Islamic countries and communities frequently conceal their non-belief. The surveys mentioned above that indicate 100% religious belief in certain Islamic countries should be interpreted in light of this fact.

Related Topics:
Sharia - Apostasy - Death

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Asian spirituality

It is difficult to categorize the Eastern thought systems in distinct terms of theism or atheism. Therefore, it should be noted that even the thoughts that would be characterized as atheistic in the western sense, often have some theistic tendencies, and vice versa.

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Carvaka (also Charvaka) was a materialist and atheist school of thought in India, which is now known principally from fragments cited by its Hindu and Buddhist opponents. The proper aim of a Carvakan, according to these sources, was to live a prosperous, happy, productive life in this world (cf Epicureanism). There is some evidence that the school persisted until at least 1578. Buddhism is often believed to be atheistic, since it opposed the gods and rituals of Vedic religion. However, Buddhist documents, such as Asvagosha's Buddhacarita, suggest a strong polytheistic tendency in Buddhism. Later expressions of Buddhism, especially among the Mahayana schools, also display many theistic characteristics in their descriptions of the cosmic Buddha, and the nature of the world. Other schools continue to consider themselves as fundamentally atheistic, in the strong sense of the term.

Related Topics:
Carvaka - Materialist - India - Hindu - Buddhist - 1578 - Vedic religion - Buddha

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Confucianism and Taoism are arguably atheistic in the sense that they do not explicitly affirm, or are founded upon a faith in, a higher being or beings. However, Confucian writings do have numerous references to 'Heaven,' which denotes a transcendent power, with a personal connotation. Neo-Confucian writings, such as that of Chu Hsi, are vague on whether their conception of the Great Ultimate is like a personal deity or not. Also, although the Western translation of the Tao as 'god' in some editions of the Tao te Ching is highly misleading, it is still a matter of debate whether the actual descriptions of the Tao by Lao Zi has theistic or atheistic undertones.

Related Topics:
Confucianism - Taoism - Chu Hsi - Tao - Tao te Ching - Lao Zi

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