what is atheism

Atheism is the absence of belief in the existence of deities. It is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. Atheism can be defined in different ways, depending on the range of phenomena being rejected. It may counter anything from the existence of a deity to the existence of any spiritual, supernatural, or transcendental concepts. Atheism is not a belief system or a religion. It is simply a lack of belief in gods. Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. The literal definition of "atheist" is "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods". The vast majority of U.S. atheists fit this description. However, some people who describe themselves as atheists also say they believe in some kind of higher power or spiritual force. Atheism is not the same as agnosticism, which is the view that the existence of God or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.