Changes

Atheism, in common usage, means "lack of belief in God or any gods".  In practice, Atheists discounts supernatural phenomena such as the afterlife, divine revelation, ghosts as well as God.

Atheism, in common usage, means "lack of belief in [[God]] or any [[gods]]".  In practice, Atheists discounts supernatural phenomena such as the afterlife, divine revelation, ghosts as well as God.

Atheism is popularly divided into Strong and Weak Atheism:  Strong Atheism can be defined as a dogma in itself: The assertion that there absolutely is no God, despite the fact that the existence of the supernatural cannot be disproven. Some people calling themselves Atheists acknowledge that God can not be disproven, and while this does not suggest that there *is* a god (no more than the fact that we cannot disprove leprechauns suggests that they exist) it would nonetheless be unscientific to declare a God or godlike being impossible. These people are actually Agnostics.

Atheism is popularly divided into Strong and Weak Atheism:  Strong Atheism can be defined as a dogma in itself: The assertion that there absolutely is no God, despite the fact that the existence of the supernatural cannot be disproven. Some people calling themselves Atheists acknowledge that God can not be disproven, and while this does not suggest that there *is* a god (no more than the fact that we cannot disprove leprechauns suggests that they exist) it would nonetheless be unscientific to declare a God or godlike being impossible. These people are actually Agnostics.

Atheism is closely tied with Secular Humanism. Popularly-known Atheists and Secular Humanists include [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Sam Harris]].  Other famous atheists include [[Pol Pot]] and [[Josef Stalin|Stalin]].

Atheism is closely tied with Secular Humanism. Popularly-known Atheists and Secular Humanists include [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Sam Harris]].  Other famous atheists include [[Pol Pot]] and [[Stalin]].

== Atheist morality ==

== Atheist morality ==

The atheist rejection of a god or gods and consequent rejection of religiously based moral codes creates a logical problem for atheists wishing to assert a moral code of their own.  Without divine approval for one moral code over all others it becomes logically difficult to argue that one code is superior to all others.  One form of response is illustrated in the following quote from [[Albert Einstein]]:

The atheist rejection of a god or gods and consequent rejection of religiously based moral codes creates a logical problem for atheists wishing to assert a moral code of their own.  Without divine approval for one moral code over all others it becomes logically difficult to argue that one code is superior to all others.  One form of response is illustrated in the following quote from [[Albert Einstein]]:

:“A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.  Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

:“A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.  Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

The materialist Epicurus (341-270 BC) pointed out the difficulty created by evil:

The materialist Epicurus (341-270 BC) pointed out the difficulty created by evil:

:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.  

:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.  

Atheism and agnosticism are logically distinct concepts.  Whilst atheist reject the existence of a god or gods, agnostics do not do so.  [[Richard Dawkins]] has contrasted the two positions as follows:

Atheism and agnosticism are logically distinct concepts.  Whilst atheist reject the existence of a god or gods, agnostics do not do so.  [[Richard Dawkins]] has contrasted the two positions as follows:

:“There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden.  There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”.

:“There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden.  There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”.

==References==

==References==

<references/>

<references/>