semanticsAre there any atheist associations that have adopted a definition of the word? Ideally, I would like something that came from a international organization.
I know the dictionary definition. The question is about what an atheist or non-believer association uses and not about the the dictionary definition. I am also interested in resolution in from association adopting a given definition.
At Mirriam Webster they give a slightly different set of definitions:
Definition of ATHEISM 1 archaic : ungodliness, wickedness
2 a : a disbelief in the existence of deity
b : the doctrine that there is no deity
Now in other posts individuals have suggested that most atheists are soft atheists (i.e. agnostic atheists). But if ultimately what atheism is is more along the lines of 2a), i.e. a statement of belief, not one of knowledge, does that mean that such beliefs must be justified? What is the nature of that justification? I realize this discussion may take things slightly off topic so I will start a new post, but I do think this is an issue relevant to the definition of atheism, since it depends largely on whether atheism is purely a statement of belief or knowledge or whether it is merely a doctrine as in 2b).
The American Atheists define it as such:
"What is atheism?" is usually the one question never asked of most atheists. Most people do not ask this question because they already have their own ideas about what atheism is and what atheists are. Where these ideas originate vary.
Older dictionaries define atheism as "a belief that there is no God" and/or "denial of God." Some dictionaries go further and say that atheism is "wickedness," "sinfulness," "heathenism," "paganism," and "immorality." Some dictionaries even say that atheism is the "doctrine that there is no God." At least The American Heritage ® Dictionary says "God and gods" after the word "doctrine," but that does not detract from the fact that use of the word doctrine is incorrect.
The fact that the dictionary's definition uses the phrase "there is no God" betrays the theistic influence in defining the word atheism. If dictionaries did not contain such influence, then the definition would read, "A belief that there are no gods." The use of god in singular form, with a capital G, is indicative of Christian influence.
In addition, using words like "doctrine" and "denial" betray the negativity seen of atheists by theistic writers. Atheism does not have a doctrine at all and atheists certainly do not "deny" that gods exist. Denial is the "refusal to believe." Atheism does not "know there is a god but refuse to believe in him" (or her). That would be like saying that you know Big Foot exists but you refuse to believe in him. If the evidence of gods was insurmountable and provable, and atheists still refused to believe, then that would be an act of denial.
Speaking of the original meaning, the word atheism comes from the Greek atheos, which means "without god." The original meaning of the word, based on its Greek origins, mentions nothing about "disbelief" or "denial." A short and single-word definition would be "godless." source
So it is not an international organization, but it seems that the definition the AA prefer is "godless". Also, it is interesting to note that they state older dictionaries only have the first two definitions, when the dictionaries that have been so far quoted in this thread have been as modern as a dictionary can be (i.e. obtained online).
The UAL (Unión de Ateos y Librepensadores, i.e. the Atheists and Freethinkers Association in Spain) defines atheism so:
we don’t believe in any god, we don’t believe in the existence of a transcendental reality beyond this world where we live, and we consider that humans are finite beings with a beginning and an end at which everything finishes.
The translation from Spanish is mine. This is part of the foundational manifesto of the association. More info at the UAL’s website.
Here are two links to definitions by atheist organizations one international and one specific to the USA.
According to the Oxford dictionaries:
disbelief in the existence of God or gods.
Origin: late 16th century: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos, from a- 'without' + theos 'god'
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Just don't trust the definition of atheism in all dictionaries. I have seen that some state an alternative definition of immorality, which is clearly incorrect. This is due to the false equation of God and morality and the derivative equation of Godlessness and immorality.
EDIT - RE 'association':
The Atheist Community of Austin (yes, I know, this is localised, but they run a TV show and a podcast that are broadcast world wide over the internet, so they are as good as international.), have definitions in their FAQ of different variations of atheism, theism and agnosticism:
They state four different types of people:
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In contrast, the Atheist Alliance International has doesn't seem to have a specific accepted definition of the word; they don't even require the word be used at all:
AAI does not require organizations to adhere to a specific definition of atheist or even to use the word atheist in exclusion of other similar terms
This is probably to be inclusive of as many groups as possible that have similar goals.
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