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Adeism
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Adeism /aydeeiz’m/ is the position of unbelief, or non-belief in the existence of any God or supernatural being. Overview Adeism is identical to the position of weak atheism, nontheism, or negative atheism. Adeists, unlike atheists, are unwilling to make the positive claim of belief that a God does not exist. The adeist lacks a belief, or is without a belief in God. This is not to be confused with agnosticism, which states that the existence of God cannot be known. It is rather the suspension of belief that is the crux of the adeist position. The adeistic position is dependent on the philosophical burden of proof. When faced in an argument with the question "Can you prove that God does not exist?", the adeist may remind the opponent that (s)he has made no such claim of non-existence. The burden then remains on the theist who makes a positive claim for existence. Criticisms One problem adeists face in argument is the proposition of unbelief itself. Critics contend that it is impossible for an individual to withold belief once the position has been presented and understood. For this reason adeism is often considered to be intellectually dishonest. Further, the burden of proof does not fall on the individual who rejects a claim. In the case of ontological arguments, the burden of proof rests on the theist because the theist makes the positive claim for existence. Therefore, the atheist position is no less valid than the adeist position. History The first notible usage of the word adeism occured on the internet in 2003 on the atheistparents.org forum following arguments between "strong" and "weak" atheists. 
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