Atheism and religion

Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities.

In general, formulations of Jewish principles of faith require a belief in God (represented by Judaism's paramount prayer, the Shema).

Within these movements it is often recognized that it is possible for a Jew to strictly practice Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist.

These included the writings of rabbis such as Isaac Mayer Wise, Kaufmann Kohler, Emil G. Hirsch, Joseph Krauskopf, Aaron Hahn, and J. Leonard Levy, with the result that a distinctly panentheistic character of US Reform Jewish theology was observable, which many would have viewed as atheistic or espousing atheistic tendencies.

The approach taken varies between Christian denominations, and Christian ministers may intelligently distinguish an individual's claims of atheism from other nominal states of personal perspective, such as plain disbelief, an adherence to science, a misunderstanding of the nature of religious belief, or a disdain for organized religion in general.

To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.

"[7]In May 2013, Pope Francis said that atheists may be able to enter Heaven, because the redemptive embrace of Jesus applies to everyone who does good, regardless of their beliefs.

His book The Gospel of Christian Atheism (1967) proclaims the highly unusual view that God has literally died, or self-annihilated.

In Islam, atheists are categorized as kafir (كافر), a term that is also used to describe polytheists (shirk), and that translates roughly as "denier" or "concealer".

If they repent, it will be best for them; but if they turn back [to their evil ways], God will punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter.

Religious attitudes have grown more conservative since the 1980s, compared to the preceding decades when secular socialism was politically dominant.

Quantitative research is lacking, but he believes the European trend mirrors the American: data from the General Social Survey in the United States show that 32 percent of those raised Muslim no longer embrace Islam in adulthood, and 18 percent hold no religious identification.

[17] Studies show that about half of the 4.2 million persons from Muslim background in Germany no longer embrace Islam in adulthood.

Cārvāka (also Charvaka) was a materialist and atheist school of thought in India, which is now known principally from fragments cited by its Astika and Buddhist opponents.

The proper aim of a Cārvākan, according to these sources, was to live a prosperous, happy, productive life in this world (cf Epicureanism).

[25] Buddhism is often described as non-theistic, since Buddhist authorities and canonical texts do not affirm, and sometimes deny, the following: All canonical Buddhist texts that mention the subject accept the existence (as distinct from the authority) of a great number of spiritual beings, including the Vedic deities.

However, Confucian writings do have numerous references to Tian (Heaven), which denotes a transcendent power, with a personal connotation.

Religious forms of Taoism do believe in a variety of cosmological beings, which are analogies to the cosmic forces within the universe.

'[27] The UU also accepts Christians, and many other religions who believe in a higher being, but it is not restricted - the UUA says that 'Unitarian Universalists are agnostic, theist, atheist, and everything in between.

Countries with state religions range from those with extremely tolerant laws, like the United Kingdom, to those where the police enforce daily prayer, like Saudi Arabia.

This system was inherited by and is still in use to various degrees in various Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and Greece (for religious minorities).

For example, blue laws in some Christian countries have enforced certain observances of the Sabbath on Sunday, for example by banning alcohol sales or forcing businesses to close.

[34] British subjects have a long history of religious upheaval from the time when Henry VIII of England ordered the English Reformation.

[35] British "religious atheists" are numerous and might include George Fox and, notably Jeremy Bentham, whose body is displayed in the South Cloister of University College London.