Concept
Nontheism
Overview
Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and non-religious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of God or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of gods and differs from atheism, or active disbelief in any gods. It has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions, such as atheism, agnosticism, apatheism, egotheism, ignosticism, ietsism, pantheism, deism, pandeism, skepticism, and transtheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology.
An early usage of the hyphenated term non-theism is attributed to George Holyoake in 1852. Within the scope of nontheistic agnosticism, philosopher Anthony Kenny distinguishes between agnostics who find the claim "God exists" uncertain and theological noncognitivists who consider all discussion of God to be meaningless. Some agnostics, however, are not nontheists but rather agnostic theists. Other related philosophical opinions about the existence of deities are ignosticism and skepticism. Because of the various definitions of the term God, a person could be an atheist in terms of certain conceptions of gods, while remaining agnostic in terms of others.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
This philosophical estimate of Materialism explains how it is that it has been brought as a charge against Positivism, and at the same time proves the deep injustice of the charge. Positivism, far from countenancing so dangerous an error, is, as we have seen, the only philosophy which can completely remove it. The error arises from certain tendencies which are in themselves legitimate, but which have been carried…
Auguste Comte, A General View of Positivism Or, Summary exposition of the System of Thought and Life
States what Nontheism is; the author is tied to Nontheism in the knowledge graph.
From this usage it has also come to pass that God Himself is called pious,[369] in which sense the Greeks never use εὐσεβεῖν, though εὐσέβεια is applied to works of charity by their common people also.
of Hippo Augustine, The City of God, Volume I
States what Nontheism is.
Beliefe Faith When a mans Discourse beginneth not at Definitions, it beginneth either at some other contemplation of his own, and then it is still called Opinion; Or it beginneth at some saying of another, of whose ability to know the truth, and of whose honesty in not deceiving, he doubteth not; and then the Discourse is not so much concerning the Thing, as the Person; And the Resolution is called BELEEFE, and…
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
States what Nontheism is.
Philosophers who discussed Nontheism
Related ideas
- George Holyoake
- Atheism
- Oxford English Dictionary
- Pantheism
- Skepticism
- Satanism
- Anthony Kenny
- Taoism
- Irreligion
- Buddhism
- Naturalism (philosophy)
- Deity
- Humanistic Judaism
- God
- Conceptions of God
- Existence of God
- Deism
- Agnosticism
- Theological noncognitivism
- Antitheism
- Transtheism
- Pema Chödrön
- Agnostic theism
- Nontheistic religion
Place in the tradition
Part of Outline of philosophy.
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