by kamran

Created on: May 21, 2007

It has been a very controversial topic but the whole controversy boils down to the fact that people are not clear about the definitions of terms and whether atheism is religion or not depends purely on what set of definitions one is taking or accepting. So, I think it will be pertinent if we define the terms clearly that may help us understand the subject in hand and reach a conclusion with due justice.

Religion:
1. A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience [1]

Atheism:
1. The doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. Disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. [2]

Clearly there are distinctively different definitions/perceptions of atheism. For one it is belief in non-existence of GOD or gods as put by Rowe, William L, "Atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. It proposes positive disbelief rather than mere suspension of belief."[3]For others it is disbelief in existence of GOD or gods as suggested by Nielsen, Kai. "...a more adequate characterization of atheism consists in the more complex claim that to be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for [reasons that depend] on how God is being conceived." [4]

There is another set of definitions which distinguish different forms of theism as implicit and explicit. Where implicit atheism is absence of belief in existence or unconscious rejection of GOD, in that it takes newborn babies as atheists like d'Holbach and George H.Smith suggested, "All children are born Atheists; they have no idea of God" [5] and "The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child without the conceptual capacity to grasp the issues involved, but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist."[6] So implicit atheism would be "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it" and explicit atheism would be a conscious disbelief.

Another categorization is suggested as "strong" and "weak" atheism where explicit atheism is strong and all other forms of atheism, like implicit atheism or non-theism, are weak atheism,

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