What is Atheism ?
In a wider sense, atheism may be defined as a belief in the non-existence of Supreme authority of God, while in a narrower sense, it is the lack of belief that any metaphysical force exists rather than disbelief.
The word atheism is too vaguely defined and inferences are made on an individual basis because with evolution of society atheism took many faces.
Atheism can be distinguished from theism, as the latter reiterates the belief of the presence of Supreme authority. It is also distinguishable from agnosticism which leaves the question of whether there is God or not at all.
It is further to be noted that atheism cannot be misunderstood as religion as there are many religions who are atheistic namely, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and so on.
Despite the fact that atheism is not a religion, it is protected by the same constitutional rights through which the religious obligation of each religion is protected.
In the contemporary world, various faces of atheism have been identified and in specific context, atheism can be divided into four types, namely
- The nonreligious
This is the first type of atheism and it does not subscribe to any religion. The nonreligious people do not reject the existence of supreme authority or God.
- Emotional atheists
Under emotional atheism, the active rejection of God or the lack of belief in God incepts from negative emotions which a person feels.
- Social atheists
This group focuses on their spiritual or religious beliefs in personal moments and don’t harbour them in any social or cultural practices. They don’t feel happy in channelling their religious life publically.
- Antitheists
This group takes an active step against religion.
History of Atheism
Life which was not dependent on Supreme authority began around the 6th century B.C.E. in the east with the rise of Indian religions namely Jainism, Buddhism and various sects of Hinduism and in ancient China that of Taoism.
The English term ‘atheist’ was used at least as early as the 16th century and atheistic ideas and their influence have a longer history.
In the parts of Europe and Russia, philosophical thoughts pertaining to atheistic ideas appeared around 5th or 6th century B.C.E.
In The Story of Civilization, Will Durant had written that various pygmy tribes found in Africa were observed to have no identifiable cults or rites. There was absence of totems, deities and spirits. Also, their deeds were buried without any special ceremonies. They even appeared to lack simple superstitions, according to travellers’ reports.
It is pertinent to note that Albania declared itself the first Marxist-Atheist state.
Most atheistic countries of the world
As per the survey held, about 63% of the people around the globe held that they are religious. Of the total percentage, the most religious age group tended to be the young population.
China
In the group of atheistic countries, the first name to be mentioned is China. The inception of atheism is somewhat linked to ancient China. In China, approximately 68% of the population are convinced atheists, another 23% claim to be the non-religious and only 1% falling into the haven’t thought about it category.
Confucianism, which is one of China’s oldest and the most famous philosophical systems, is remarkable for its lack of a belief in a deity.
United States
pewresearch.org
The philosophical belief of atheism is increasingly growing in the United States in recent years. Approximately 43% of Americans identify themselves as atheists. Approximately 40% of American atheists are aged 18-29, and 37% of atheists are aged 30-49. This has been attributed to an increased exposure to diverse perspectives in multicultural societies, which dilutes the dominance of any one particular worldview.
Japan
In recent years, Japan heavily contributed towards atheistic beliefs. Around 39% of the Japanese people claim that they are convinced atheists. The Japanese religion has been centred around Shintoism which is based on ritual and mythology rather than on Supreme authority.
France
Despite having numerous cathedrals and churches, the population of France has been quite atheist in their religious beliefs. As per the recent survey, 55% of the total French population is atheistic while people who are theistic contain 63% of the Christians and 7.5% Muslims.
The French Revolution in 1789 overthrew Roman Catholicism as the state religion and a law was brought in in 1905 to actively separate church from the state.
Israel
The mind boggling fact is that among atheistic countries of the world, Israel has quite a reputation. As per the recent survey, 61% of the Israeli population is atheist. Of the people who do believe in God, 75.6% are Jews, 18.6% are Muslims and 2% are Christians.
The conception of Israel being a religious country has broken down over the fact of having a large population as atheists.
