Irreligion

Irreligion is the absence of religious belief, affiliation, or practice. It includes positions ranging from atheism and agnosticism to indifference toward religion.

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Atheism: The absence of belief in gods, or the belief that no gods exist. It is one prominent position within irreligion, though atheists need not reject every religious practice.
Theism: Belief in the existence of at least one god. It contrasts with irreligion's lack of religious belief, while not specifying religious affiliation or practice.
Ancient Greek atheism: Forms of disbelief or accusations of impiety found in ancient Greek thought and society. It offers early examples of arguments and identities associated with irreligion.
Secularization: The declining social influence of religious institutions and beliefs, or their differentiation from other institutions. It describes broad social changes often associated with rising irreligion, but is not identical to individual nonbelief.
Religion and spirituality: Related but distinct forms of belief, practice, community, and meaning concerning sacred or transcendent matters. Their boundaries complicate attempts to decide which spiritual identities count as irreligious.
Agnosticism: The view that the existence of gods is unknown or unknowable. It describes uncertainty about religious claims, which can coexist with atheism or theism.
Deism: Belief in a creator god who does not intervene in the universe. Deism shows that rejection of organized religion does not necessarily amount to irreligion.
Epicurus: An ancient Greek philosopher who explained nature without divine intervention and held that gods did not govern human affairs. His naturalistic account became a lasting resource for later critiques of religious explanations.
State atheism: Government policy that promotes atheism or restricts religious institutions and practice. It demonstrates how a nonreligious position can become state policy, distinct from personal irreligion.
Religious switching: Changes in an individual's religious affiliation over time, including movement into or out of religion. Longitudinal change helps explain how irreligious identities emerge and shift.