Atheism is the absence of belief in god or any other deity. The word comes from a meaning without, and theism, meaning belief in god or gods. Atheists don’t use god to explain the existence of the universe, and they usually believe that human beings can create suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of deities. Not all atheists are without religion, almost all Buddhists manage it, their beliefs are more of a tradition that focuses on spiritual improvement of their self, they do not believe in any actual gods. Most atheists are as moral or immoral as religious people; they just arrive at the decision of what is right or wrong without help from the idea of god.
Atheists have many different reasons for not believing in god. People are often atheist because they were raised that way. Either their families are not religious, or they live in a non-religious culture, and have never heard of religious ideas. Sometimes atheists are the way they are because religion doesn’t appeal to them, or it doesn’t seem relevant to their lives.
One argument from atheists is the “first cause argument” some religious people argue that since everything must have cause, then the universe must have had a cause, thus god must have caused it. But atheists reply “then what caused god?” and what caused the cause of god, etc. and if god didn’t need a cause, then maybe the universe didn’t need one either.
Another argument for the nonexistence of god is the “argument of evil”. Most religions say that their god is completely good, knows all, and is all-powerful. Yet there is so much evil happening in the world, this can only be possible if either, god is unwilling thus not completely good, does not know of the evil thus not all knowing, or unable to prevent evil thus not all-powerful. However, most religious people reply saying that god has a reason for not actively preventing evil. The early forms of the argument are derived from the “Epicurean Paradox” one of the writings from the Greek philosopher Epicurus. He stated: “Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” this argument has been favored by many atheists and skeptics.
Yet another argument is simply that science explains everything. For most of early human history god was the best and only explanation for the existence and nature of the universe. During the last few centuries however, scientists have made discoveries that are often much more logical, consistent, and better supported through evidence.
Many people believe that god only exists in the mind. Some psychologists think that religion comes from emotions, human beings believe in god because they need a father figure to protect them from the world, someone who gives their life a purpose, something to stop death from being the end, or to believe that they are important in the universe and that some part of the universe (god) cares for and respects them. These beliefs are strongly held, because they allow humans to deal with their most basic and powerful fears.
Many atheists (and even some theists) are considered secularists. Secularists support the separation of church and state, meaning that religion has no effect on national politics and vice versa. They oppose religions and religious people being granted special privileges because of their beliefs. They are not against people having a faith, but they oppose being treated specially because of it. They think that the protection already given by law, such as human right legislation, is sufficient to protect believers from assault or discrimination. Some secularists are stronger in their belief, and want religion to be regarded as a private matter for home and places of worship, and that the state should be blind to religion. Secularism draws many of its roots from ancient philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius and Epicurus.
Atheism is becoming more common as science reveals more about our universe, and people start questioning the validity of religion. Instead of the religious questioning scientists and their discoveries, now the scientists are questioning the religious and their beliefs.
