Antitheism

Antitheism (sometimes anti-theism) is a direct opposition to theism. The word has had a range of applications; in secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to belief in any deity, while in theistic ones, it sometimes refers to opposition to an actual god or gods. It is not to be confused with atheism, although the two are similar. Atheism is the denial or disbelief in theism and its deities, whereas antitheism directly opposes theism. That means an atheist may not be an antitheist if he/she denies the existence of a God, but still thinks that theism isn't harmful i.e. doesn't oppose it.

Opposition to theism

An antitheist is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "One opposed to belief in the existence of a God." The earliest citation given for this meaning is from 1833. What the Oxford definition may fail to make clear is that an antitheist is categorically opposed to belief in the existence of any god or gods, and not merely one in particular.

The concept allows a useful distinction to be made between the mere philosophical rejection of theism, atheism, and a position of antipathy or opposition towards such beliefs.

Militant atheism

Antitheism may be adopted as a label by those who take the view that theism is destructive. An alternative term for this stance is militant atheism.

Antitheism first found its practical expression on a large scale in revolutionary France, where in 1773, according to Michael Burleigh in response to organised resistance to "organised ... irreligion...an 'anti-clerical' and self-styled 'non-religious' state embarked on a programme of mass-murder" in which "a quarter of a million people perished".

An example of this view is demonstrated in Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001), Christopher Hitchens writes that "I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful."

However, Hitchens' use of the word seems to be as general anti-religious belief rather than exclusively as opposition to belief in deities. There is some support for this use, but it may be regarded as a misuse of the terminology by others, most of whom hold that antitheism is a subdivision within, or even a synonym of, atheism. For example, Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1996) defines antitheist simply as a "disbeliever in the existence of God". It is not listed at all in Webster's Third New International Dictionary through the 1976 addenda, nor in the online version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Opposition to God

Some sources, particularly religious ones, have defined antitheism as opposition to God, holiness or the divine rather than simply as opposition to belief in God, theism.

The Chambers Dictionary defines antitheism in three different ways: "doctrine antagonistic to theism; denial of the existence of a God; opposition to God." The first is closest to Hitchens' usage, which seems to be a generally anti-religious belief rather than an exclusively opposition to belief in deities. The second is synonymous with strong atheism. The third and first, on the other hand, need not be atheistic at all.

Earlier definitions of antitheism include that of the French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain (1953), for whom it is "an active struggle against everything that reminds us of God" (p.104), and that of Robert Flint (1877), Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. Flint's Baird Lecture for 1877 was entitled Anti-Theistic Theories. He used it as a very general umbrella term for all opposition to his own form of theism, which he defined as the "belief that the heavens and the earth and all that they contain owe their existence and continuance to the wisdom and will of a supreme, self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, righteous, and benevolent Being, who is distinct from, and independent of, what He has created." He wrote:

In dealing with theories which have nothing in common except that they are antagonistic to theism, it is necessary to have a general term to designate them. Anti-theism appears to be the appropriate word. It is, of course, much more comprehensive in meaning than the term atheism. It applies to all systems which are opposed to theism. It includes, therefore, atheism... But short of atheism there are anti-theistic theories. Polytheism is not atheism, for it does not deny that there is a Deity; but it is anti-theistic, since it denies that there is only one. Pantheism is not atheism, for it admits that there is a God; but it is anti-theism, for it denies that God is a being distinct from creation and possessed of such attributes as wisdom, and holiness, and love. Every theory which refuses to ascribe to God an attribute which is essential to a worthy conception of His character is anti-theistic. Only those theories which refuse to acknowledge that there is evidence even for the existence of a God are atheistic.

However, Flint also acknowledges that antitheism is typically understood differently than how he defines it. In particular, he notes that it has been used as a subdivision of atheism, descriptive of the view that theism has been disproven, rather than as the more general term that Flint prefers. He rejects non-theistic as an alternative, "not merely because of its hybrid origin and character, but also because it is far too comprehensive. Theories of physical and mental science are non-theistic, even when in no degree, directly or indirectly, antagonistic to theism."

It should be noted from Flint's examples above that while failure to agree with a belief does not necessarily indicate opposition to that belief, theists of the more dogmatic fundamentalist variety would claim that failing to believe as they do about God represents an anti-theistic viewpoint. Failure to conform to their attitude about God would be treasonous for denying that God has the attributes such people ascribe to him, and perhaps even evil. History is of course rife with examples of zealots who deem all who disagree with their view of God, or lack thereof, to be evil, frequently using this as justification for persecution and even genocide.

Opposition to God is frequently referred to as dystheism (which means "belief in a deity that is not benevolent") or misotheism (strictly speaking, this means "hatred of God"). Examples of belief systems founded on the principle of opposition to God include satanism and maltheism.

Other uses

Another use of the term antitheism was coined by Christopher New in a thought experiment published in 1993. In his article, he imagines what arguments for the existence of an evil God would look like: "Antitheists, like theists, would have believed in an omnipotent, omniscient, eternal creator; but whereas theists in fact believe that the supreme being is also perfectly good, antitheists would have believed that he was perfectly evil." In normal usage, such believers would be called dystheists, or simply theists – the concept of theism is not restricted to benevolent deities.

See also

• Antireligion

References

• Hitchens, Christopher (2001). Letters to a Young Contrarian (ISBN 0-465-03032-7). New York: Basic Books.
• Maritain, Jacques (1953). The Range of Reason. London: Geoffrey Bles. Electronic Text
  • Note: Chapter 8, The Meaning of Contemporary Atheism (p.103-117, Electronic Text) is reprinted from Review of Politics, Vol. 11 (3) July 1949, p. 267-280 Electronic Text. A version also appears The Listener, Vol. 43 No.1102, 9 March 1950. pp.427-429,432.