What does nontheism mean?
Nontheism is a philosophical position that rejects theism, meaning it refuses to affirm belief in a god or gods and declines the claims of theistic religion. It is often treated as an umbrella term covering several forms of religious nonbelief. A person may be a nontheist because they deny that gods exist, because they regard religious claims as unsupported, or because they reject the authority and practices of organized religion without making a single conclusive metaphysical assertion. Nontheism therefore differs from a simple assertion that God does not exist, although some writers use it as a synonym for atheism. It also differs from agnosticism, which ordinarily centers on the absence of knowledge, and from secularism, which concerns the relationship between religion and public institutions. The word is especially useful when discussing ethical, philosophical, or political positions that challenge religious belief without requiring adherence to a particular alternative doctrine.
nounNontheism is a position that rejects theism, particularly belief in a god or gods and the claims of theistic religion. The term is sometimes used broadly for positions that do not affirm such beliefs, without necessarily claiming that gods definitively do not exist.
- The rejection of theism and the claims of theistic religion, often used as an umbrella term for positions that decline to affirm belief in a god or gods.
"Her critique of religious authority was grounded in a distinctly nontheist ethical framework."
"The survey was designed to distinguish nontheist criticism from criticism made within an explicitly religious framework."
"His book develops a nontheist account of morality that does not depend on divine command."
The plural is possible but uncommon, as the term is normally used as a mass noun for the position or category.
"The authors compared several forms of nontheism found across modern philosophical literature."
Nontheism rejects theistic claims without requiring every adherent to make the same metaphysical claim about whether God exists.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nontheism come from?
Nontheism combines the Latin-derived prefix non-, meaning “not,” with theism, which derives through Latin from Greek theos, “god.” The resulting term was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 2006 book The God Delusion to denote a broad rejection of theistic belief and the claims of religion. It belongs to the same English word family as theism, theist, theology, and monotheism.
Related word forms
How nontheism is actually used
The term was popularized by Richard Dawkins in 2006 and is still less familiar than “atheism” or “agnosticism.” Its scope varies: some writers use it as a broad synonym for atheism, while others reserve it for positions that reject theistic claims without specifying whether gods exist.
Easily confused with nontheism
Atheism ordinarily means a positive rejection of the existence of gods, whereas nontheism is often used more broadly as an umbrella term for rejecting theistic claims.
Agnosticism emphasizes the absence of knowledge about the existence of gods, while nontheism primarily concerns the rejection of theism and religious claims.
Secularism is the principle of separating government or public institutions from religious authority, whereas nontheism is a broader philosophical position that rejects theism.