The problem of evil is used to formulate one very common positive argument for atheism with respect to the Judeo-Christian God, although it is also very common to say that, given (as atheists insist) that traditional arguments for God's existence are uniformly bad, it is simply parsimonious? to exclude God from one's notion of what the universe contains (from one's ontology). In other words, if one believes that there are no good arguments for the existence of God, Occam's Razor requires one to deny that God exists.
See the rationality of atheism for further discussion.
Atheism is generally unpopular in many societies, and hence a movement has grown up around the support and advocacy of atheism. Those engaged in this movement often draw a distinction between strong atheism and weak atheism, a distinction that is not often drawn by philosophers of religion.
"[Strong atheism]?" is the positive assertion (or belief) that a God (or some gods, or all gods) does not exist--i.e., a strong atheist may assert that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist, or that all Gods do not exist.
"[Weak atheism]?" is a belief that, while it is possible that God (or some gods, or all gods) exist, it is highly unlikely or at least unsupported. This belief is usually backed up by the Occam's Razor, as well as some empirical evidence. This view is more often described, by philosophers, as a variety of agnosticism rather than as atheism.
Furthermore, an atheist can be both a strong atheist with respect to the Judeo-Christian God and a weak atheist with respect to any other gods.
Marxism tends to be strong atheist. Karl Marx is often quoted as saying, "Religion is the opiate of the people," and believed it was merely a tool of the bourgoisie to oppress the proletariat. Communists in the Soviet Union and [Eastern Europe]? relentlessly indoctrinated the population to believe that there was no God, put to death most of the bishops and priests of the [Russian Orthodox Church]?, as well as persecuting Jews and Muslims living in the Soviet Union. China, today's largest remaining Communist country, continues suppress both Christians and practitioners of [Falun Gong]?. This active suppression of belief in God is sometimes described as "militant atheism".
The Greek prefix 'a' (meaning without and not) gives a simple definition of Atheism as someone who is without God, or someone who is simply not a theist?.
This definition is very different from the common dictionary definition of Atheism, which is usually described as someone who asserts that God does not exist. This Broad definition does not distinguish between Strong and Weak atheism, which is needed for a complete understanding:
"[Strong atheism]?" is the positive assertion (or belief) that a God (or some gods, or all gods) does not exist -- i.e., a strong atheist may assert that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist, or that all Gods do not exist.
"[Weak atheism]?" is used to describe someone who does not have a God-belief or someone who is not a theist.
Furthermore, an atheist can be both a strong atheist with respect to the Judeo-Christian God and a weak atheist with respect to any other gods.
Typically, in common English usage, "atheism" means the belief that the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible does not exist; it is possible to be an atheist with respect to any God (under any conception), however. Atheism is contrasted with both theism and with agnosticism.
See the rationality of atheism for further discussion. --- See also: secularism, philosophy of religion, the rationality of atheism, listing of noted atheists, agnosticism, naturalism?, theism, deism
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