Nulltheism is a proposed term in the philosophy of religion referring to the affirmative belief that no gods exist. The term corresponds to what is commonly described in academic literature as positive atheism or strong atheism, which denote the position that the proposition "God exists" is false.^{[1] [2]} Nulltheism has been suggested as a concise label for this specific stance, distinguishing it from atheism understood as a mere absence of belief.

While the distinction between weak (negative) atheism and strong (positive) atheism is well established in philosophical literature, ^[3][4] English lacks a widely used single-word term for the affirmative belief that no deities exist. Nulltheism is proposed to name this position.

Nulltheism denotes the metaphysical position that the number of deities in reality is zero. A person who holds this view may be described as a nulltheist. The term is intended to correspond to strong atheism while providing a more compact and symmetric naming convention alongside existing terms such as theism, atheism, and agnosticism.

Nulltheism is distinct from:

• atheism, which may denote either the absence of belief (weak atheism) or the belief

 that gods do not exist (strong atheism);[1]

• agnosticism, which concerns uncertainty or noncommitment regarding the existence

 of deities;[5]

• antitheism, which expresses opposition to religion or religious belief rather

 than a metaphysical claim.[6]

The term combines the English word null (from Latin nullus, meaning “none” or “zero”) with theism (from Greek theos, “god”). The construction parallels other terms based on theism while using a numerical negation to indicate that reality contains no gods.

Philosophers of religion commonly distinguish between:

• negative (or weak) atheism — absence of belief in gods;
• positive (or strong) atheism — the belief that gods do not exist.

This distinction appears throughout scholarship on atheism and secular philosophy.^[2][1][3][4]

Writers such as Antony Flew, Michael Martin, Theodore Drange, and George H. Smith have noted that defining atheism purely as a lack of belief leaves no concise, unambiguous label for the stronger assertion that no gods exist.^[7] Nulltheism has been proposed to fill this lexical gap.

The position described by nulltheism intersects with several areas of debate in the philosophy of religion, including:

• the burden of proof concerning claims of divine existence;^[3]
• arguments from evil, which some philosophers argue support the conclusion that no

 omnipotent deity exists;[8]

• naturalistic explanations of religious belief that rely on non-supernatural causes.

^[9]

Although the position itself is widely discussed under the label strong atheism, a dedicated term such as nulltheism has not been commonly used in the academic literature.

Nulltheism is a proposed neologism. As of its introduction, the term has not achieved broad use in academic or public discourse. Its acceptance depends on wider adoption in secondary literature.

• Atheism
• Strong atheism
• Agnosticism
• Antitheism
• Metaphysical naturalism
• Philosophy of religion