Theism in the broad sense is the belief that one or more gods exist. But that brief definition embraces an immense variety! Belief in a personal god, in a transcendent, unknowable god, in an all-pervading god co-extensive with the universe, belief in a whole congress of gods - all of these and much more fit comfortably under the umbrella of theism.
Given the variety of beliefs within theism, it's no surprise that theistic worldviews also show a great variety. They include ascetic approaches that deny the flesh, and world affirming approaches that celebrate the delightful richness of all creation. They include very closed communities which either do not actively recruit members or even refuse to accept converts and others whose boundaries are very permeable. Some focus a great deal of attention on heaven or Paradise or other states while others have no concept of an afterlife at all. In short, about the only generalization you can make about a theist is that they believe in one or more gods.
The complement of theism is atheism, or not holding a belief in a god or gods. Since atheism is a negative stance, in this regard it is much simpler than theism. However under the large umbrella of atheism there is still a wide variety of worldviews. Some atheists hold a somber humanism like Bertrand Russell; others have the selfish egotism of an Ayn Rand. Many atheists have a materialist worldview, but this can range from a hedonistic concern for the day to an Epicurean worldview that sees virtue as the greatest pleasure. It is even not the case that to be an atheist is to be a materialist. Some atheists have an interest in or believe in a variety of non-divine spirits while others hold with Plato that there exist real ideal objects, such as numbers or ethical values. In short, to know that someone is an atheist is to know that they don't believe in a god but it does not specify much else about their beliefs or their worldview.
(Somewhere between these two lies agnosticism, at least according to some. I am not going to try to tease apart the different perspectives on agnosticism. Let's just say some people describe themselves as agnostics.)
Orthogonal to the axis of atheism and theism is a separate dimension of how one feels about the belief in gods. In 2002 a word was invented to describe an indifference to belief in God. Apatheism is
…acting with apathy, disregard, or lack of interest towards belief or disbelief in a deity. Apatheism describes the manner of acting towards a belief or lack of a belief in a deity, so it applies to both theism and atheism. An apatheist is also someone who is not interested in accepting or denying any claims that gods exist or do not exist. In other words, an apatheist is someone who considers the question of the existence of gods as neither meaningful nor relevant to their life.
I like this word personally because it seems like the best one for Tall Papa. It felt odd describing him as an agnostic, because it implied he asked questions. His reaction recently to this word was positive; he said it captured the sense that gods had as much interest to him as a bicycle does to a fish.
It's interesting that apatheism is explicitly something that can describe both theists and atheists. Some folks would say, if pressed, that they think there is a god, but when speaking honestly would also say that their daily lives are not affected by that belief. I wonder how many people who say they are agnostics are actually apatheists, simply too indifferent to the answer to be bothered to settle the question for themselves? And some apatheists of course are also atheists; they concluded a long time ago that they didn't believe in god, and have not concerned themselves with the question since.
The complement of apatheism is antitheism, an active opposition to theism. From that article,
Antitheism has been adopted as a label by those who regard theism as dangerous or destructive. Christopher Hitchens offers an example of this approach in Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001), in which he writes: "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."[2]
It's clear that not all atheists are also antitheists. A thoughtful reflection from an
atheist site:
Disbelief in gods doesn't automatically lead to opposition to theism any more than opposition to theism needs to be based on disbelief in gods. This also helps tell us why differentiating between them is important: rational atheism cannot be based on anti-theism and rational anti-theism cannot be based on atheism. If a person wishes to be a rational atheist, they must do so on the basis of something other than simply thinking theism is harmful; if a person wishes to be a rational anti-theist, they must find a basis other than simply not believing that theism if true or reasonable.
Rational atheism may be based on many things: lack of evidence from theists, arguments which prove that god-concepts are self contradictory, the existence of evil in the world, etc. Rational atheism cannot, however, be based solely on the idea that theism is harmful because even something that's harmful may be true. Not everything that's true about the universe is good for us, though. Rational anti-theism may be based on a belief in one of many possible harms which theism could do; it cannot, however, be based solely on the idea that theism is false. Not all false beliefs are necessarily harmful and even those that are aren't necessarily worth fighting.
This is confirmed by reading comments here at Daily Kos. Although some kogs who are atheists are antitheists, other atheists are not.
Oddly enough, one can even think of theistic antitheism. Though many forms of theism include perspectives that recognize other views as partially true or as valid for the holder, there are some theisms that exclude all others. If you are a Two Seed in the Spirit Predestinarian Baptist, why, Jimmy Carter is not a Baptist at all, he is a spawn of Satan. It seems to me that a theism that denounces all other theisms as categorically and profoundly wrong can usefully be described as antitheistic.
So, take the poll! It would interesting to map the territory that is Daily Kos and see just how diverse we all are.