Information AboutApatheism |
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Apatheism is a Portmanteau (a Haplology combining '' Apathy '' with either '' Atheist '' or '' Theist '') for the position that God may exist but is of no real importance to one's daily life. It was used by columnist Jonathan Rauch in '' The Atlantic Monthly '' in 2003 . There is also a satiric web page with the title "The Church of Apatheism". There are also instances of the term being used on message boards and other Internet venues as early as July 2000 . Apatheism is not precisely synonymous to Atheism , but rather holds that the question of whether or not God exists may be meaningfully asked, but is not worth asking. ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW A different source for Apatheism is given at this web site, Apatheism, Allognosticism, and the American Religious Landscape. Combining '' Apathy '' with '' Theism '' is more in line with the way Rauch uses the neologism. Early on he characterize himself, an atheist, as also being an apatheist. Later in Let It Be he writes, "And agnostics? True, most of them are apatheists, but most apatheists are not agnostics. Because -- and this is an essential point -- many apatheists are believers." Paraphrasing Mr. Rauch, this also supports his statement that Apatheism is not about what you believe, but about how. A longer quote from "Let it be", which supports and extends the above definition: To be in the grip of religious zeal is the natural state of human beings, or at least of a great many human beings; that is how much of the species seems to be wired. Apatheism, therefore, should not be assumed to represent a lazy recumbency, like my collapse into a soft chair after a long day. Just the opposite, it is the product of a determined effort to discipline the religious mind set, and often of an equally determined personal effort to master the spiritual passions. It is not a lapse. It is an achievement. This points to Apatheism being more than apathetic. In order to maintain the dynamic stand of an apatheist, Rauch says we are controlling our normally zealous nature. A less ambiguous way to describe his stand might be assertive - theism. However this does not roll off the tongue like Apatheism. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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