The atheist meaning is simple: an atheist is someone who has no belief in any god or gods. Atheism is the name for that position, the absence of belief in a deity.
Behind that short atheism definition there is plenty of variety. Some atheists simply lack belief, while others actively hold that no god exists. Many people also mix up atheist and agnostic. Read on to see the meaning of atheist in everyday speech, shows how the word is used, traces it back to Greek, and describes the different ways people understand it, without arguing for or against belief.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Atheism: lack of belief in any god. Atheist: a person who holds that viewPart of speech
Nouns; adjective atheistic or atheistPronunciation
atheist: AY-thee-ist; atheism: AY-thee-iz-uhmOrigin
Atheist from the 1570s, via French from Greek atheos, without godOpposite
theism, belief in a god or godsOften confused with
Register
Neutral; common in philosophy, surveys and daily talk
The atheist meaning, plainly put
To define atheist in one line: someone who holds no belief in God or in any gods. The prefix a- means without, and theist means a believer in a god, so an atheist is literally a non-theist.
Writers often split the idea into two shades:
- Lack of belief (sometimes called weak or negative atheism). The person is not convinced that any god exists, but does not claim to know there is none.
- Denial of belief (sometimes called strong or positive atheism). The person holds that no god exists.
Both are called atheism in everyday English. Atheism on its own is not a religion with set rituals or scriptures; it is an answer to one question.
Atheist, agnostic, theist and more
| Term | Basic idea |
|---|---|
| Theist | Believes in a god or gods |
| Atheist | Has no belief in any deity |
| Agnostic | Holds that it is unknown, or perhaps unknowable, whether a god exists |
| Deist | Believes a creator exists but does not act in the world |
| Humanist | Builds ethics around human reason and welfare, usually without religion |
| Secular | Not connected to religion, used for states, schools or attitudes |
Belief and knowledge are different questions, so some people describe themselves as both: an agnostic atheist does not believe in a god and also does not claim certainty. Others prefer just one label.
Atheism definition through history
Doubt about gods is very old. Thinkers in ancient Greece questioned the gods of their cities, and the Greek word atheos, without god, was sometimes used as a charge against people thought to reject the official gods, including early Christians who would not honor Roman deities. Ancient India also had schools of thought that rejected gods and the afterlife.
Some traditions often called religions, including forms of Buddhism and Jainism, do not center on a creator god at all, which is why scholars sometimes call them nontheistic. In English, atheist appears in the 1570s from French, and atheism appears around the same period. For a long time both words were strong accusations, not neutral labels; today they are widely used as plain self-descriptions.
Using the words in sentences
- My roommate is an atheist, but she still loves the music at her grandmother's church.
- The survey found that people describing themselves as atheists were a small but growing group.
- He grew up in a religious home and became an atheist in college.
- The debate club held a respectful discussion between a priest and an atheist philosopher.
- Atheism is legal in many countries, while in some places open unbelief can still carry social or legal risk.
Common misunderstandings
- Atheist does not mean anti-religion. Some atheists criticize religion; many do not, and some take part in cultural traditions.
- Atheist does not mean without morals. Atheists draw on ethics from reason, empathy, law and culture. See our page on ethics.
- Atheist is not the same as agnostic. Atheism answers what you believe; agnosticism answers what you think can be known.
- Atheistic is the adjective. You can say an atheistic worldview, or use atheist as an adjective: atheist groups.
Why people describe it differently
Religious believers and atheists sometimes define the terms in ways that suit their own arguments. Some believers see atheism as a positive claim that needs proof; many atheists see it as simply not accepting a claim. Philosophers use both definitions depending on the question. A fair reading is that the label spans many views that share one point: no belief in a god. Nearby ideas sit in the faith and belief hub, among them nihilism and deity.
Frequently asked questions
What is the definition of atheist?
An atheist is someone who rejects, or simply lacks, belief in a god or gods. Some atheists simply lack belief, while others hold that no god exists.
How is an atheist different from an agnostic?
Atheists lack belief in a god, while agnostics say nobody knows, or perhaps nobody can know, if a god exists. Because one is about belief and the other about knowledge, some people are both.
Is atheism a religion?
Atheism by itself is not a religion, since it has no shared rituals, scriptures or rules. It is a position on one question. Some atheists join humanist or ethical groups, which have their own practices.
Where does the word atheist come from?
It comes from Greek atheos, meaning without god, and reached English through French in the 1570s.
How do you pronounce atheist?
Say AY-thee-ist, three syllables. Atheism is AY-thee-iz-uhm.
Can an atheist celebrate religious holidays?
Many do, treating holidays as cultural or family occasions rather than acts of worship. It is a personal choice.