Definition of Atheism

[Confused Ape]

Arguments by dictionary are just illegitimate appeals to authority. After all, I can just post this:

Definition of ATHEISM

1
archaic : ungodliness, wickedness
2
a : a disbelief in the existence of deity
b : the doctrine that there is no deity

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism

I don't think any atheist here would want to use the archaic meaning when we're just defining the definition in a post.

Spectrum Of Theistic Probability - Daawkins Formulation

6: De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."

7: Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

Dawkins argues that while there appear to be plenty of individuals that would place themselves as "1" due to the strictness of religious doctrine against doubt, most atheists do not consider themselves "7" because atheism arises from a lack of evidence and evidence can always change a thinking person's mind.

The doctrine of 'no deity' is fine for people who place themselves as a 7 on the scale but no good for those ranging from 6 - 6.9. So, we can use MWs definition of 'a disbelief in the existence of deity' because that's more or less the same as a lack of belief in deities.