Implicit and explicit atheism

**Some varieties of atheism**
on left **Implicit** "**negative**" / "**weak**" / "**soft**" atheists who lack a belief in gods without explicitly denying the concept, includes very young children, those who are unacquainted with the concept or are truly undecided.
on right **Explicit** "**negative**" / "**weak**" / "**soft**" atheists who do not believe that gods exist necessarily.
on right **Explicit** "**positive**" / "**strong**" / "**hard**" atheists who firmly believe that gods do not exist.

*Note: Areas in the diagram are not meant to indicate relative numbers of people.*

Implicit atheism and explicit atheism are types of atheism.^[1] In George H. Smith's Atheism: The Case Against God, "implicit atheism" is defined as "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it", while "explicit atheism" is "the absence of theistic belief due to a conscious rejection of it".^[1] Explicit atheists have considered the idea of deities and have rejected belief that any exist. Implicit atheists, though they do not themselves maintain a belief in a god or gods, have not rejected the notion or have not considered it further.

^ ^a ^b Smith, George H. (1979). Atheism: The Case Against God. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus. pp. 13–18. ISBN 0-87975-124-X. Archived from the original on 2020-01-05. Retrieved 2019-12-17.

[smith-1] Smith, George H. (1979). Atheism: The Case Against God. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus. pp. 13–18. ISBN 0-87975-124-X. Archived from the original on 2020-01-05. Retrieved 2019-12-17.

[1]

	on left	Implicit "negative" / "weak" / "soft" atheists who lack a belief in gods without explicitly denying the concept, includes very young children, those who are unacquainted with the concept or are truly undecided.
	on right	Explicit "negative" / "weak" / "soft" atheists who do not believe that gods exist necessarily.
	on right	Explicit "positive" / "strong" / "hard" atheists who firmly believe that gods do not exist.