What is "irreligion"

Irreligion \Ir`re*li"gion\, n. [L. irreligio: cf. F. irr['e]ligion. See In- not, and Religion.] The state of being irreligious; lack of religion; impiety.

1590s, from Late Latin irreligionem (nominative irreligio) "irreligion, impiety," from assimiliated form of in- "not" (see in- (1)) + religio (see religion).

n. The state of being irreligious.

n. the quality of not being devout [syn: irreligiousness]

Irreligion (adjective form: non-religious or irreligious) is the absence, indifference, rejection of, or hostility towards religion.

• Includes rejection.

When characterized as the rejection of religious belief, it encompasses atheism, agnosticism, religious dissidence, and secular humanism. When characterized as the absence of religious belief, it may also include " spiritual but not religious", pandeism, ignosticism, nontheism, pantheism, panentheism, and freethought. When characterized as indifference to religion, it is known as apatheism. When characterized as hostility towards religion, it encompasses antitheism and/or antireligion.

Irreligion may include some forms of theism, depending on the religious context it is defined against; for example, in 18th-century Europe, the epitome of irreligion was deism. According to Pew Research Center projections, the nonreligious, though temporarily increasing, will ultimately decline significantly by 2050 because of lower reproductive rates and ageing.