Atheism, in its broadest sense, is the absence of theism (the belief in the existence of deities, and most commonly of God). This encompasses both people who assert that there are no gods and those who make no claim about whether gods exist or not. Narrower definitions of atheism, however, typically label as atheists only those people who affirmatively assert the nonexistence of gods, classifying other nonbelievers as agnostics or simply non-theists.

Although many of those who identify themselves as atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding evidence for spiritual or supernatural claims, citing a lack of evidence of deities' existence, conscious atheism is inspired by a variety of rationales, ranging from the personal to the philosophical to the social to the historical. Additionally, while there is a tendency among self-described atheists toward secular philosophies such as humanism, naturalism and materialism, there is no single ideology that all atheists adhere to, nor does atheism have any institutionalized rituals or behaviors.

Although atheism is often equated with irreligiosity in Western culture, not all atheists are necessarily irreligious or nonspiritual. Some formal religious beliefs, such as several forms of Buddhism, have been described as atheistic due to their lack of any participating deities, these beliefs are not generally identified as such by adherents. Atheism is also sometimes erroneously equated with antitheism (opposition to theism) or antireligion (opposition to religion), despite many atheists not holding such views.

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Councilman under fire for atheism - http://su.pr/2tMncI
richardlaksana (Richard Laksana) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:19:22 -0000
Councilman under fire for atheism - http://su.pr/2tMncI
Irenaeus was shroomed out of his murderous gourd #atheist #atheism
HrothgirOD (Hrothgir Ó Dómhnaill) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:18:29 -0000
Irenaeus was shroomed out of his murderous gourd #atheist #atheism
Christmas Pagan Origins - http://www.essortment.com/all/christmaspagan_rece.htm #atheism #solstice #christmas
MaxPow3r11 (Jeff Hathaway) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:16:13 -0000
Christmas Pagan Origins - http://www.essortment.com/all/christmaspagan_rece.htm #atheism #solstice #christmas
Open Thread: We Need A Little Christmas - http://galink.us/xapf1/ #atheism
GlobalAtheist (Global Atheist) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:15:01 -0000
Open Thread: We Need A Little Christmas - http://galink.us/xapf1/ #atheism
@scottkentjones @PolycarpTCOJC #Spam_For_Jesus #Liars_for_Jesus #atheist #atheism
HrothgirOD (Hrothgir Ó Dómhnaill) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:13:56 -0000
@scottkentjones @PolycarpTCOJC #Spam_For_Jesus #Liars_for_Jesus #atheist #atheism
@PolycarpTCOJC RT @PolycarpTCOJC The Virgin Birth and Irenaeus - http://tinyurl.com/yd79thu #atheist #atheism
scottkentjones (Scott Jones) Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:10:25 -0000
@PolycarpTCOJC RT @PolycarpTCOJC The Virgin Birth and Irenaeus - http://tinyurl.com/yd79thu #atheist #atheism

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