Concept in Definition ABC

The person who has faith in God is a believer. His belief in a higher being is normally based on the traditioncultural that surrounds him, in a series of rational arguments and, logically, in his faith. The opposite of this approach would be unbelief, that is, indifference with respect to faith and religiosity.

The distinction between unbelief and atheism

The atheist is one who does not directly believe in God for some reason, for example because he considers that there is no evidence of his existence. On the contrary, the position of the believer or non-believer does not imply the denial of God, since it is rather from a position based on indifference or disinterest in the figure of God and what he represents.

The phenomenon of unbelief from the Catholic point of view

If we take as a reference the Catholicism, a few decades ago, religiosity permeated daily life as a whole. In recent years, religious sentiment has weakened significantly. This can be seen in the attendance at the liturgy, in the decline of weddings and baptisms and, in general, in the feeling of apathy towards everything that has religious connotations.

Unbelief as a new social phenomenon is something that worries Catholic theologians, who highlight the main causes that can serve as an explanation. First of all, the materialism and consumerism are two realities that have cornered religious sentiment. Second, the scientific approaches of Western culture have created a world in which references to God are not valid for a sector of the world. population. Third, religious values ​​have been discredited by some philosophies (remember that Marx affirmed that religion is the opium of the people and that Nietzsche defended the death of God, an idea with which it is implied that man does not need God).

Arguments and motivations of those who are indifferent towards the religious phenomenon

People who are indifferent to God and religion have their own arguments and motivations:

1) the human being does not need God as a reference moral and vital,

2) if God exists, one wonders why he allows evil to spread among human beings,

3) the rejection of the figure of God as the Catholic Church has sometimes raised it,

4) some positions of the official church are contrary to social reality (for example, the role of women in the church) and

5) a attitude of apathy towards spiritual values ​​in general.

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