Its Own Level

So non-theism is "the absence of belief in god(s)." How does that differ from your definition of atheism, then? Sheesh, this is like pulling teeth...

Jobar

Truthie, I've called myself an atheist/pantheist ever since I came to II. I've written rather a lot about it-

Here
here
here
here
here
and here.
Oh, and this one is particularly good, I think.
Yet another.
And I'm rather pleased with this post, and you should read on down that thread to see where Richard Dawkins agrees with me that atheism and pantheism are not in philosophical conflict. (So too does Robert Ingersoll, a fact I learned just recently!)

WNCAtheists

"Non-theism is the absence of belief in god(s)"

"...atheism is nothing but the lack of belief in gods!"

There is no semantic difference between these two statements.

Atheism and non-theism are interchangeable.



Darrell

P.S. My apologies for not re-joining sooner, Ivan has given us in WNC quite a time.

P.S.S. Thank you as well, truthie, for finally providing the directions to the previously quoted section on the Secularity web-site.

truthie

You are welcome.

Anyway, the terms as similar but not identical.
Does interchangeable necessarily mean identical? Perhaps...coterminous.
Also, it depends on how people define atheism, supposedly, it is the lack if belief in god(s). However, it is more common to see the "disbelief in god(s)" definition expressed, not only via dictionaries but by atheists themselves.

Non-theism is like a small umbrella, and atheism and agnosticism belong to that umbrella.

T.

WNCAtheists

The only way hat the terms would be identical would be if they were exactly the same word. But, as far as meaning goes, they are the same. The two terms convey the exact same meaning.

As far as the definition of "atheist" being defined as "disbelief in god(s)":

There is nothing in this definition that necessarily strays from the definition of atheism previously presented. The usage of disbelief to mean "reject belief" simply requires that the possibility of belief has been presented to the rejecting party. You cannot reject that which you've never been presented with.

Darrell