Weak atheism
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Weak atheism (also called negative atheism) is the lack of belief in the existence of deities, without a commitment to the necessary non-existence of deities. Weak atheism contrasts with strong atheism, which is the belief that no deities exist, and theism, which asserts that there is at least one deity. The weak atheist generally gives a broad definition of atheism as a lack or absence of evidence justifying a belief in any deity, which defines atheism as a range of positions that entail non-belief, disbelief, doubt, or denial of theism. A narrower definition of atheism as denial of the existence of any deity as epistemically impossible (synonymous with strong atheism) is also in common use.
Some weak atheists are ignorant of the concept of deity. Other weak atheists may be familiar with the concept of deity, yet hold no strong opinion on the actual existence or non-existence, instead they may conclude that the evidence is such that they are only justified in not believing in deities. Others may doubt or disbelieve the existence of any deities, being unconvinced by the evidence or proofs put forward by theists, but hold that it is not currently known whether any deity exist, and therefore they side with a rejection of the belief entirely. Many more may find themselves unconcerned with the question of whether any deity actually exist, and instead believe that absence of objective evidence is sufficient for their epistemic position of denial.
The position that the evidence is such that it is not known whether any deity exists is called weak agnosticism. A stronger position is strong agnosticism, the view that the evidence in the universe is such that it is not possible in principle to know whether any deity exist. Agnosticism, in both strong and weak forms, is not necessarily a non-atheist or non-theist position; it is compatible with both positions. A theist can also take the position that he does not have sufficient evidence to "know" whether a deity exist, although still he believes that it does.
Weak atheists often argue that their position is the default one: that every person is born without belief in any deity, and must be taught the concept before they can become theistic. Ergo, any person who has never been exposed to theism is by default a weak atheist. Strong and weak atheists may also often claim that their position is the default position since they argue that the possible existence of something is to be earned by proposing enough evidence to suggest a claim is legitimate. An example is that the default position on the question of unicorns' existence is disbelief or belief that they don't exist. Some theists argue that their view is necessary to account for the origin of the world, however. Agnostics argue that it is not known based on the evidence whether any deities exist (and if the strong agnostics are right, can never be known), and therefore neither theists nor strong atheists fulfill their burden of proof, therefore both rely on faith. For many weak atheists, beliefs which cannot be fully justified and which rest on faith are untenable, making (for them) both theism and strong atheism untenable.
A strong atheist is also a weak atheist, but the converse is not necessarily true: a weak atheist may assert there is a lack or absence of evidence for justifying a belief in any deity, but he does not necessarily deny the possibility of any deity's existence. For more on the debate between strong and weak atheism, consult the article on strong atheism. See also the articles on agnosticism, weak agnosticism, strong agnosticism.