Atheism at a glance

Atheism is the absence of belief in any gods or spiritual beings. The word "atheism" comes from a, meaning without, and theism meaning belief in god or gods.

• Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe.
• Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of gods or scriptures.

Reasons for non-belief

People are atheist for many reasons, among them:

• They find insufficient evidence to support any religion.
• They think that religion is nonsensical.
• They once had a religion and have lost faith in it.
• They live in a non-religious culture.
• Religion doesn't interest them.
• Religion doesn't seem relevant to their lives.
• Religions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world.
• The world is such a bad place that there can't be a God.