apatheism · noun — apathy towards the existence of a god; belief that the question of the existence of a god is unimportant. It carries an Arena rating of 1443, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apatheism ranks #1,185 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,441 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,098 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #2,865 of 17,128 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
apatheism is pronounced /ˌæpəˈθi.ɪzəm/.
Why “apatheism” is a great word
APATHEISM — [Noun] A state of apathy toward the existence of a god or gods; the belief that the question of a deity’s existence is irrelevant. The word is a blend of 'apathy' (from Greek *apatheia*, 'lack of feeling') and 'theism' (from Greek *theos*, 'god'); coined in 2001 by author Robert J. Nash. Unlike atheism, which positively asserts a belief that no gods exist, or agnosticism, which holds the answer to be unknown or unknowable, apatheism is a position of practical disinterest. It is the quiet of a Sunday morning spent with coffee instead of prayer, the act of passing a grand cathedral without a glance upward, and the profound peace of letting an unanswerable phone just ring forever—a serene conviction that some questions, however profound, simply do not demand an answer.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
Reportedly coined in 2001, as a blend of apathy + theism, by author Robert J. Nash.
noun
- Apathy towards the existence of a god; belief that the question of the existence of a god is unimportant.e.g.“[A]patheism is an attitude, not a belief system, and the over-riding fact is that these people are relaxed about religion.” — 2003 May 7, Jonathan Rauch, “Let It Be”, in The Atlantic:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.