Apatheism ( a portmanteau of apathy and theism) is the philosophical view that one should be apathetic towards the existence or non-existence of god(s). It is more of an attitude rather than a belief, claim or belief system.[1][2]
An apatheist is someone who is not interested in accepting or rejecting any claims that gods exist or do not exist. An apatheist may thus decide to live as if there are no gods. The existence of god(s) is not rejected, but may be designated irrelevant.[3]
Scientist and philosopher Ian von Hegner has argued that apatheism is an alternative to positions such as theism, atheism, and agnosticism, with implications that have been overlooked in modern philosophical discussions.[4] Philosopher Trevor Hedberg has called apatheism uncharted territory in the philosophy of religion.[1]
One version considers the question of the existence or nonexistence of deities to be fundamentally irrelevant in every way that matters. This position should not be understood as a skeptical position in a manner similar to that of, for example, atheists or agnostics who question the existence of the gods or whether we can know about the gods.
The existence of gods is not put aside for moral or epistemic reasons for democratic or existential reasons, it is deemed unnecessary. This is a universalization of the fundamental democratic principle that there are no first- and second-class humans and that among other species or beings (including hypothetical gods or aliens elsewhere in the universe), human beings also are not second class. In this version the existence of the gods is thus not one of the so-called grand questions in life.[5]
The term apatheist is believed to have come into use in the early 2000s.[citation needed] Journalist Jonathan Rauch has claimed to be an apatheist.
An apatheist may not have any interest in the god debate just purely because of their lack of interest on the topic.
This apatheistic argument states that morals do not come from god and that if a god exists there would be no changes with regards to morality, therefore a god's existence or non-existence is irrelevant.
An apatheist would argue that if a deity or deities truly wanted people to believe in them, then said deity or deities could demonstrate their existence with miracles, and explain their plan(s) for humanity or the lack thereof. Being all-powerful, if they truly wanted humans to believe, they could send a divine sign not left up to interpretation. This is also a popular argument with antitheists; Matt Dillahunty makes it with great frequency.[citation needed]
Since they do not seem to care if humans believe or not, apatheists will not care until they show them a reason to, and perhaps not even if such an event occurred. Richard Dawkins has gone so far as to claim this position in interviews[6] (this is in essence the argument from nonbelief).
A view related to apatheism, apathetic agnosticism claims that no amount of debate can prove or disprove the existence of one or more deities, and if one or more deities exist, they do not appear to be concerned about the fate of humans. Therefore, their existence has little to no impact on personal human affairs and should be of little interest.[7][8] It can be summarized by the statement "I don't know and I don't care."
Here is the original post:
Apatheism - Wikipedia
- Cardinal Sarah Warns of Dangers of Practical Atheism Even Within Church - National Catholic Register - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- A journey from atheism in China to Catholicism in the United States - CatholicVote org - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- His Mom Passes And He's Sent To Live With His Very Religious Dad. Now He's Trying To Convert Him, But He Says ... - Twisted Sifter - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Cardinal Sarah warns against 'practical atheism' even within the Church - CatholicCitizens.org - Catholic Citizens of Illinois - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Cardinal Sarah says US can be 'place of spiritual renewal,' urges Catholics to reject 'practical atheism' - CatholicVote org - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- The trouble with political Christianity - UnHerd - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Richard Dawkins has some regrets - Washington Examiner - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- Keeping the faith: These religious groups are flourishing as atheism takes hold - The Age - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- Pew study paints a picture of the average US atheist - Aleteia - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- 'There's No Science Behind That': Actor Rob Schneider Passionately Checkmates 'Bleak' Worldview Within Atheism - CBN.com - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Atheists Find God at the Latin Mass: A Review of Mass of the Ages - CatholicCitizens.org - Catholic Citizens of Illinois - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Is atheism destroying the moral fabric of society? - Big Think - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- The Logic of Faith - Adventist Review - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- Change of plans - USC News & Events - University of South Carolina - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- 71 Years Later, The Weirdest Religion in Sci-Fi History Is Back - Inverse - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- Twitter taught Microsofts AI chatbot to be a racist asshole in less ... - January 2nd, 2023 [January 2nd, 2023]
- Al-Qaeda: Islamist Qatar Bringing 'Homosexuals,' 'Atheism' to Middle ... - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- His View: Fear not the atheist; they just might be right - Moscow-Pullman Daily News - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Vatican II and the Rise of Atheism - National Catholic Register - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Atheists who believe in ghosts - OnlySky - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Religion at the Chinese Communist Party Congress: Christians Told They Should Become More Marxist - Bitter Winter - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Rise And Fall Of Sexual Sanity In Western Civilization - The Federalist - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Duchess of York, Sarah Fergie Ferguson, is 63 - iHeart - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- On the short life and sudden death of Soviet atheism - OnlySky - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Darwin and the New Atheists - Discovery Institute - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Researchers to explore why atheism is growing across the world - Newswise - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Census Northern Ireland: Academic gives warning over figures showing rise in atheism - Belfast News Letter - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The Rise of the Evangelical Heretic - ChristianityToday.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Antitheism - Wikipedia - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Biden's global initiative to replace Christianity with atheism faces ... - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Researchers to explore why atheism is growing across the world - Brunel University News - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Functional atheism: Popular pastor delivers gut-check on what worry really reveals - The Christian Post - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Why did Britney Spears turn to atheism and Shia LaBeouf to faith? | Opinion - Deseret News - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Someone who seeks the truth finds God Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- On Religion: The faith questions that haunted the life of Gorbachev - GoDanRiver.com - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Atheism and Recovery What if I didn't have a mental illness? - Freethought Blogs - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Whatever Happened to Atheists? | Gene Veith - Patheos - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Four Very Short Introductions podcast episodes to get you thinking | OUPblog - OUPblog - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- BookLash: Are the cold, hard realities found within Bridge to Terabithia not for young, innocent minds? - The Wood Word - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- ABS to consult on religious classifications - The Mandarin - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- In defense of the Bible - iHeartRadio - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Mubarak Bala: Atheist Activism And Liberation From Religious Oppression In Nigeria By Leo Igwe - SaharaReporters.com - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Between Grace and Nature - The American Conservative - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Religious and spiritual practices may improve mental health in older adults - 2 Minute Medicine - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- If You Meet Richard Dawkins On The Road... - Daily Kos - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Why the World's Religions Are Dying a Slow Death - The National Interest Online - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Atheism still not always easy in the Netherlands - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Believing Is Bad for You: At the Museum of Russian Icons, Images of Atheism - The Boston Globe - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- If You Meet the Buddha on the Road... Kill Him. - Daily Kos - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Hart's Turn To Heterodoxy | Gerald McDermott - First Things - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- For natural theologians, proving God was beside the point - Aeon - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Patrick Berg, MD To Speak On The Origin Of Life At Los Alamos Faith & Science Forum Wednesday - Los Alamos Reporter - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Head of gold and feet of clay - Deccan Herald - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Letter to the editor: LGBTQ+ students represented in Mt. Lebanon - TribLIVE - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Supreme Court ruling leads to jokes about the Church of Satan - indy100 - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Inside Amber Heards childhood, journey to atheism and early acting career - HITC - Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Reason and Religion Go Hand in Hand Especially Paganism - Patheos - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Letter to the Editor: Find Out for Yourself What College Students Are Learning - Centralia Chronicle - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Meyer: Theistic Implications of the Multiverse - Discovery Institute - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Denton: How Science Leads the Charge to Theism - Discovery Institute - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- The Musician Who Gave Me the City and Stars, Vangelis, Is Dead - TheStranger.com - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Gospel in Art: If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you | ICN - Independent Catholic News - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Summer reading suggestions from Baylor Family authors - Baylor University - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Tired of the Media Promoting Atheism as Science? - Discovery Institute - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- The rise of 'apatheism' and what it means for Christians and the Gospel - The Christian Post - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Images Of Atheism: The Soviet Assault On ReligionAntiques And The Arts Weekly - Antiques and the Arts Online - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Imagine Theres No Svarga: Rediscovering Crvka, Indias 2,700-Year-Old Atheistic Tradition - Quillette - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Confucianism: Atheism or Religion? 2. In Search of Confucius - Bitter Winter - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Why Elon Musk's ambition to have Twitter authenticate all real humans will get people killed - Rest of World - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Floyd Dell's illustrious writing career started in Quincy - Herald-Whig - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Exorcisms: Giving Witness to the Resurrection - Relevant Radio - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- The Answer to Ayla's prayer - The Catholic Weekly - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Book Review: Can Scientists Be Religious? The Wire Science - The Wire Science - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times - Evangelical Focus - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Atheists, spurred by growing ranks, gather for first time since start of pandemic - Religion News Service - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Stephen Meyer: Totalitarian Dystopias and the God Hypothesis - Discovery Institute - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Suzanne Harrington: It's refreshing that no religion is acknowledged on the census - Irish Examiner - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- The trial of Anaxagoras: a soliloquy - TheArticle - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Faith, Science, and Francis Collins - The New Yorker - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- EDITORIAL: On Russia, the ANC shows its moral atheism - BusinessLIVE - March 4th, 2022 [March 4th, 2022]