Portal:Atheism

The Atheism Portal

Atheism is the philosophical position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects theism. In its broadest definition, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, sometimes called nontheism. Although atheists are commonly assumed to be irreligious, some religions, such as Buddhism, have been characterized as atheistic. Many self-described atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Other arguments for atheism are philosophical, social or historical. Although many self-described atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as Humanism, rationalism, and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere. The term atheism originated as a pejorative epithet applied to any person or belief in conflict with established religion. With the spread of freethought, scientific skepticism, and criticism of religion, the term began to gather a more specific meaning and was sometimes used as a self-description by atheists.

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Jihad Watch is a blog directed by American author Robert Spencer.^[1][2][3][4]

Jihad Watch was launched in October 2003. Jihad Watch also contributes to The Intelligence Summit, which tracks current jihadist activity worldwide.^[5] The project is affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, but is run independently by Spencer.^[6]

Opponents, who say that Spencer deliberately portrays Islam and Muslims in a negative light, have called it Islamophobic. Spencer has rejected the criticism.

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The Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU) is the goddess of a satiric parody religion aimed at theistic beliefs, which takes the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink. These attributes satirize the contradictions in properties that some attribute to a theistic deity; this makes her a rhetorical illustration used by atheists and other religious skeptics.

In this month

• 14 September 1611 - Play The Atheist's Tragedy entered into the Stationers' Register
• 15 September 2006 - Death of Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer Oriana Fallaci
• 19 September 1955 - Pastafarians celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19
• 20 September 2007 - American politician Pete Stark (pictured) reaffirms his atheism by making a public announcement in front of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University

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Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820, Barmen, Prussia – August 5, 1895, London, England) a 19th-century German social scientist and philosopher, developed communist theory alongside his better-known collaborator, Karl Marx, co-authoring The Communist Manifesto (1848). Engels also edited the second and third volumes of Das Kapital after Marx's death.

Did you know...

• ... that the Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth" features cameo appearances by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (pictured) and comedian Paul O'Grady?
• ...that around a third of New Zealanders claim no religious affiliation, including the leaders of both main political parties?
• ...that Hermann Klaatsch was one of the first scientists to advocate a clear division between religion and physical anthropology?

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Main project: WikiProject Atheism

Related WikiProjects: Religion • Mythology • Philosophy • Spirituality • Holidays • Alternative views  Rational skepticism • Countering systemic bias

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Topics

• Concepts: Religion · Nontheism · Antireligion · Antitheism · Agnosticism · Humanism · Metaphysical naturalism · Post-theism · Weak and strong atheism · Implicit and explicit atheism
• History: History of atheism · Enlightenment · Freethought
• Arguments: Against religion · For nontheism · Against god · Against atheism
• Demographics: Atheism · Irreligion · Famous atheists · State atheism · Discrimination · Persecution