What do atheists believe?

Atheist organizations say atheists share one thing: they lack a belief in gods. Some of them also claim that no God exists, and some do not. This page is that range, in their words. It is not the general question Does God exist?.

Key points

• American Atheists say an atheist “lacks a belief in gods,” and that atheism “is not an affirmative belief that there are not gods.”
• Atheist Alliance International says lacking belief “does not entail believing that no gods exist,” and that some people add that further claim and call it hard atheism.
• The Freedom From Religion Foundation says atheism is the “lack of belief” in god(s), and that lack of faith requires no faith.
• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy records both uses: a psychological lack of belief, and the proposition that God does not exist.
• In the Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study, 5% of Americans identify as atheist. That is a self-description, not a count of who lacks belief.
• Christians say the one God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is God. John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version says the Word was God. John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version records Thomas: “My LORD and my God.”

American Atheists

American Atheists, What is an atheist? gives this definition:

An atheist is someone who lacks a belief in gods.

American Atheists, What is an atheist?

We define “atheism” as the lack of belief in gods.

American Atheists, What is an atheist?

It is not an affirmative belief that there are not gods nor is it a statement about any other beliefs a person holds. It is simply the rejection of the assertion that there are gods.

American Atheists, What is an atheist?

Atheism is not a religion nor a belief system. It is the answer to one question: Do you believe in gods?

American Atheists, What is an atheist?

The only common thread that all atheists share is a lack of belief in gods.

American Atheists, What is an atheist?

On that page, the only shared tenet is the lack of belief. American Atheists also say agnosticism answers a different question. That comparison is What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?.

Atheist Alliance International

Atheist Alliance International, What is atheism? says atheism means ‘without a belief in a god or gods’ or the ‘lack of a belief in a god or gods,’ and then:

Lacking a belief in a god does not entail believing that no gods exist.

Atheist Alliance International, What is atheism?

It is not necessary for an atheist to claim that no gods exist, nevertheless, some do. People often call this position hard atheism. Hard atheism is atheism with the additional conviction that there are no gods anywhere either inside, or outside, of the universe.

Atheist Alliance International, What is atheism?

There is nothing you have to believe to be an atheist. Not believing in any god, is the only qualification required.

Atheist Alliance International, What is atheism?

The concession is in their own sentence: some atheists do claim that no gods exist. The organization does not require that claim.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Dan Barker, writing for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, What is a freethinker? on July 7, 1994:

Atheism is not a belief. It is the “lack of belief” in god(s). Lack of faith requires no faith.

Freedom From Religion Foundation, What is a freethinker?

How philosophers use the words

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Atheism and Agnosticism is a reference article, not an atheist confession. It distinguishes two senses. In the psychological sense, “atheism is the psychological state of lacking the belief that God exists.” In the sense it calls standard in philosophy, atheism is “the proposition that God does not exist.”

It quotes William Rowe: “Atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. It proposes positive disbelief rather than mere suspension of belief.” It also quotes the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy: “[Atheism is] the view that there are no gods. A widely used sense denotes merely not believing in god and is consistent with agnosticism [in the psychological sense]. A stricter sense denotes a belief that there is no god; this use has become standard.”

Bullivant and Flew, as that entry reports them, use “strong” and “weak,” or “positive” and “negative,” for those two adjectives. The encyclopedia is describing usage. It is not a creed those organizations signed.

How many people say they are atheists

The Pew Research Center, Religious identity (February 26, 2025) says:

About three-in-ten Americans (29%) are religiously unaffiliated, according to the 2023-24 RLS. This includes 5% who identify as atheist, 6% who say they are agnostic, and 19% who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.”

Those percentages are what people call themselves. They are not a measure of who lacks a belief in God. Pew also says the unaffiliated share was 16% in 2007 and 23% in 2014.

The Christian claim

Christians do not define God as one more object that failed a test. They confess one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they confess that Jesus is God.

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version, King James Version:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1 · King James Version

John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version, King James Version:

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.

John 20:28 · King James Version

Thomas is speaking to the risen Jesus. The sentence is the confession the church repeats. The Trinity is that confession in full. Does God exist? is the general question of God’s existence, with Romans 1:19–20^1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. ^1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:Romans 1:19–20 · King James Version.

Frequently asked questions

Do all atheists believe there is no God?

No. American Atheists and Atheist Alliance International say the shared position is a lack of belief. Both also say that some atheists go on to claim that no gods exist. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy calls the second use standard in philosophy.

Is atheism a religion?

American Atheists say it is not a religion and not a belief system. They say it answers one question: whether a person believes in gods.

What do agnostics believe?

That question is What is agnosticism?. Agnosticism is about knowledge. Atheism is about belief. A person can be both an agnostic and an atheist.

What do Christians say instead?

They say God exists, that Jesus is God, and that the Word who was with God was God, John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version.

Keep reading

• What do atheists argue against God?
• What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
• Does God exist?
• The Trinity