‘Atheism’ is a term that has historically carried a wide range of meanings and connotations. Popular speech, in particular, admits of a range of definitions, but the same is true of contemporary scholarly usage also. This chapter therefore surveys the sheer variety of ways of defining ‘atheism’, before outlining the pressing need for a generally agreed-upon usage in the growing—and, thus far, Babel-like—field of scholarship on atheism. It then outlines and explains the precise definition used throughout the Handbook: an absence (...) of belief in the existence of a God or gods. The utility of such a broad definition, taking atheism to be an ‘umbrella concept’ that admits of a range of subdivisions, is then explored and defended at length. (shrink)

The Oxford Handbook of Atheism is a pioneering edited volume, exploring atheism--understood in the broad sense of 'an absence of belief in the existence of a God or gods'--in all the richness and diversity of its historical and contemporary expressions. Bringing together an international team of established and emerging scholars, it probes the varied manifestations and implications of unbelief from an array of disciplinary perspectives and in a range of global contexts. Both surveying and synthesizing previous work, and presenting the (...) major fruits of innovative recent research, the handbook is set to be a landmark text for the study of atheism. (shrink)

The term “anonymous Christian” is widely considered to be distinctively Rahnerian. Although other major Catholic theologians proposed similar theories for the salvation of those (formally) extra Ecclesiam, imputing an “implicit” or “unconscious” faith to justified non-Christians, it is commonly thought that none embraced his famous phraseology. Prior to Balthasar’s publication of Cordula in 1966, however, this was not the case. During this period “anonymous Christianity” enjoyed a wide currency, even among its prominent later critics. Focusing especially on Schillebeeckx’s extensive usage—and (...) indeed, possible coinage—of the phrase, I argue for a reappraisal of the early reception of “anonymous Christianity.”. (shrink)

The two-volume Cambridge History of Atheism offers an authoritative and up to date account of a subject of contemporary interest. Comprised of sixty essays by an international team of scholars, this History is comprehensive in scope. The essays are written from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, philosophy, sociology, and classics. Offering a global overview of the subject, from antiquity to the present, the volumes examine the phenomenon of unbelief in the context of Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and (...) Jewish societies. They explore atheism and the early modern Scientific Revolution, as well as the development of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and its continuing implications. The History also includes general survey essays on the impact of scepticism, agnosticism and atheism, as well as contemporary assessments of thinking. Providing essential information on the nature and history of atheism, The Cambridge History of Atheism will be indispensable for both scholarship and teaching, at all levels. (shrink)

The two-volume Cambridge History of Atheism offers an authoritative and up to date account of a subject of contemporary interest. Comprised of sixty essays by an international team of scholars, this History is comprehensive in scope. The essays are written from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, philosophy, sociology, and classics. Offering a global overview of the subject, from antiquity to the present, the volumes examine the phenomenon of unbelief in the context of Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and (...) Jewish societies. They explore atheism and the early modern Scientific Revolution, as well as the development of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and its continuing implications. The History also includes general survey essays on the impact of scepticism, agnosticism and atheism, as well as contemporary assessments of thinking. Providing essential information on the nature and history of atheism, The Cambridge History of Atheism will be indispensable for both scholarship and teaching, at all levels. (shrink)

The term “anonymous Christian” is widely considered to be distinctively Rahnerian. Although other major Catholic theologians proposed similar theories for the salvation of those (formally) extra Ecclesiam, imputing an “implicit” or “unconscious” faith to justified non-Christians, it is commonly thought that none embraced his famous phraseology. Prior to Balthasar’s publication of Cordula in 1966, however, this was not the case. During this period “anonymous Christianity” enjoyed a wide currency, even among its prominent later critics. Focusing especially on Schillebeeckx’s extensive usage—and (...) indeed, possible coinage—of the phrase, I argue for a reappraisal of the early reception of “anonymous Christianity.”. (shrink)