1. something believed specif. a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
2. conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon esp. when based on examination of evidence

1. mental rejection of something as untrue

1. incredulity or skepticism esp. in matters of religious faith

1. a) belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
   b) firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust

1. a) the condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association
   b) the condition of being aware of something
   c) the condition of apprehending truth or fact
   d) the condition of having information or of being learned

1. the state of being the case; fact
2. a judgment, proposition, or idea that is accepted as true
3. the property of being in accord with reality

• DISBELIEF constitutes belief that an idea is false; in matters of religion disbelief equates to so-called "strong" atheism.
• UNBELIEF is a lack of belief in either the truth or falsehood of an idea; in religious matters, unbelief equates to so-called "weak" atheism, and in popular usage is also identified (inaccurately) as agnosticism. Agnosticism is simply the view that knowledge of the existence or non-existence of gods is impossible; agnosticism has to do with knowledge, not with belief (or disbelief or unbelief).
• KNOWLEDGE is not always true. Children know Santa Claus exists because they have seen him at the shopping mall, and medieval Europeans knew the earth was the center of the universe because Aristotle said it was.
• The second definition of TRUTH allows that some things held to be true (e.g., philosophical or religious Truth) might not necessarily be in accord with reality; in other words, it is possible for Truth to be false.

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1. the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
2. a) a set of moral principles or values
   b) a theory or system of moral values
   c) the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group

1. a doctrine or system of moral conduct
2. conformity to ideals of right human conduct

1. a) the state of being neither moral nor immoral
   b) lack of moral sensibility
2. existence outside or beyond the moral order or a particular code of morals

1. conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles

• MORALITY implies rigid conformity to established codes or accepted notions of right and wrong.
• ETHICS examines more complex questions of rightness, fairness, or equity, as related to a concept of common good or benefit.
• As interpreted by some religions, morality is acceptance of and compliance with God's law. By this standard, anyone who rejects God but whose behavior is otherwise virtuous is nevertheless judged immoral.

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1. a discipline comprising as its core logic, aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology
2. a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means
3. a system of philosophical concepts

1. a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; esp. a philosophy that usu. rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason

• Although today HUMANISM is often identified with atheism, it originated among religious people and is still popular among liberal religious thinkers. Humanism is secular in the neutral sense that it does not rely on religion, but it is not inherently anti-religious, except toward religions which deny human worth and dignity.

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1. the service and worship of God or the supernatural
2. a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

1. belief in the existence of a god or gods; specif. belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of man and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world

1. a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe

1. a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe
2. the worship of all gods

1. the formation of opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority, esp. doubt or denial of religious dogma

1. indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations

1. the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable.

1. a) a disbelief [or unbelief] in the existence of deity
   b) the doctrine that there is no deity

• Some religions (e.g., Buddhism, Taoism) are technically atheistic, in that they reject THEISM while embracing other aspects of mysticism or supernaturalism.
• Although FREETHOUGHT is nowadays popularly associated with atheism, its original domain was deism; in practice it may be secular, religious, or indifferent.
• SECULARISM usually implies a passive indifference toward, or exclusion of, religious concerns; however, it can also include views actively rejecting religious belief, depending on context.
• For further clarification of the distinction between AGNOSTICISM and ATHEISM see the comparison of belief, disbelief, and unbelief.

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1. a) knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method
   b) such knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena

1. principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses

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1. an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms
2. a supernatural being or essence
3. temper or disposition of mind or outlook
4. the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person

1. the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life

• Secularists generally regard spirit as the product of life rather than the source of it. Some maintain a distinction, between SOUL as an incorporeal entity which supposedly continues to exist after death, and SPIRIT as the self-awareness and aesthetic sense, generated by, and wholly dependent upon, the electro-chemical processes in the living brain. It is in this context that secularists may profess a form of spirituality in life while still accepting its permanent cessation at death.

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1. the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another
2. abstract thought; speculation
3. a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena
4. a) a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation
   b) an unproved assumption; conjecture
   c) a body of theorems presenting a consise systematic view of a subject

• Scientific theory is held to rigid standards of compliance with factual evidence.
• Philosophical theory is often regarded as valid provided it is logically self-consistent, regardless of supporting or conflicting evidence.
• Other forms of theory (such as theological) are typically more relaxed, and may consist partly or wholly of speculation.

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