Atheism (Bookshelf)

Atheism is the disbelief in the existence of any deities. It is commonly defined as the positive denial of theism (i.e., the assertion that deities do not exist), or the deliberate rejection of theism (i.e., the refusal to believe in the existence of deities). However, others—including most atheistic philosophers and groups—define atheism as the simple absence of belief in deities (cf. nontheism), thereby designating many agnostics, and people who have never heard of gods, such as newborn children, as atheists as well. In recent years, some atheists have adopted the terms strong and weak atheism to clarify whether they consider their stance a positive belief that no gods exist (strong atheism), or the mere absence of belief that gods exist (weak atheism).

—Excerpted from Atheism on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.