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| | ====Usage notes==== | | ====Usage notes==== |
| - | * The term {{term||atheism}} may refer either to: | + | The term {{term||atheism}} may refer either to: |
| - | ** {{sense|rejection of belief}} the explicit rejection of belief in the existence of any deities ({{term|explicit weak atheism}}), | + | * {{sense|rejection of belief}} a conscious rejection of the proposition that any deities exist ({{term||explicit atheism}}), |
| - | ** {{sense|absence of belief}} the mere absence of any explicit belief about God or gods ({{term|implicit weak atheism}}), or | + | * {{sense|absence of belief}} an absence of belief in the existence of any deities ({{term||weak atheism}} or {{term||soft atheism}}, or to theologians, {{term||practical atheism}}), or |
| - | ** {{sense|gnostic atheism}} an explicit belief that God or gods do not exist ({{term|explicit strong atheism}}). | + | * {{sense|strong atheism}} an explicit belief that no gods exist ({{term||strong atheism}} or {{term||hard atheism}}, or to theologians, {{term||theoretical atheism}}). |
| - | * The first two senses do not necessitate the latter: that is, taking the position that it is false that deities exist. Some speakers do not distinguish between these senses; others use {{term||atheism}} to mean "explicit strong atheism" and {{term|agnosticism}} or {{term|nontheism}} to mean "weak atheism". (Similar distinctions may be drawn for related terms, such as {{term|atheist}}.) The distinction between {{term|strong atheism}} and {{term|weak atheism}} tends to be made primarily by {{term|atheists}} themselves. | |
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| | ====Derived terms==== | | ====Derived terms==== |
