Explain why "Atheism" adopts "Theism" as part of their word?

Source http://www.dictionary.com

a?the?ism [EU-thee-iz-uhm]
?noun
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

the?ism [thee-Oz-uhm]
?noun
1. the belief in one God as the creator and ruler of the universe, without rejection of revelation (distinguished from deism).
2. belief in the existence of a god or gods (opposed to atheism).

Why not make a "new" word?

You just explained it.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah

Well aren't you a genius!

theism is Greek meaning one who believes in God. Adding an 'A' to it makes it mean the opposite. A-theist means one who doesn't believe in a God. that's how the Greek language works. an A makes the meaning contradict.

A as a prefix means without. So atheism means without religion. It's fairly point blank. What new word would you suggest which means the same thing?

???
Huh?
You aren't making any sense.
That's the word. Why make up a new word when a word already exists for it?
Weird question....

Latin/Greek A="no"

Why does unbreakable adopt breakable as part of it's word? Why not make up a new word......

Sometimes A is used as a prefix meaning not or no; therefore atheism means no (or not) god doctrine/theory.

It's not like the atheists got together and decided to come up with this word. The prefix a- means not. Obviously, a-theist means not a theist or not a believer in God.

It is the name that has been leveled at us. In short, it comes from the way we approach our lack of faith. There are some philosophical and religious leanings to which people actively seek out and come upon by searching. This includes most mainstream religions but also certain strains of thought such as humanism or Nietzche.

Atheism although just as valid as a system of belief and practices is not really arrived at the same way. Rather than seek out a system with which to belong in our disbelief, it comes from a rejection, or sometimes a disinterest or failure to believe in mainstream religion. We are not organized, we don't carry membership cards or have churches built. We are categorized by the largely secular world by our lack of faith, "a" to their "theism" The word has been given to us by their majority. Had the world evolved differently perhaps religious groups would be categorized under a general heading, but with their diversity i doubt it.

In short it is not something we have adopted but a category already existing that when we question our beliefs and how we view the world we find ourselves sympathetic. A new word is right now not necessary, especially when there is confusion about atheism. So many people get things wrong or assume about atheism, a new word with the explanation "it's our word for atheism" will just continue the misconceptions.

You did 2/3 of your research.
Now find out what is meant by the first letter ....'A'.

Explain why "asexual" is a word, why not make a 'new' word? Explain why "asymmetrical" is a word, why not make a 'new' word?
Explain why you think the English language should confirm to your belief system rather than the other way around?

Why create a whole new word?--it's just too confusing. Let's just grab our erasers.. get rid of the A.. once and for all.

"a-" (prefix) meaning, in this context, "without"
"theism" (noun) meaning "belief in the existence of a god or gods"

Put them together, and....

"atheism (noun) - without belief in the existence of a god or gods". It's really quite simple. Atheism IS the new word. It was created to indicate the opposite of "theism", that is, the absence of "belief in god (or gods)".

You missed the part where they explain the origin and how adding "a" to the front of a word makes it mean the opposite of that word.

Much like atypical and typical, spherical and spherical, asymmetrical and symmetrical. These words are opposites.

Even the definition is incorrect.
"the disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings".
How can you dis-believe in something that doesn't exist?
You can't.
We know for a fact that god or gods do not exist. Period.

I can't believe your question is n the level".

I hope you understand by now.

And thanks for drawing Yoda out, as a complete numskull.
"How can you dis-believe in something that doesn't exist?"
Duh!, things that don't exist are all that one can dis-believe in. Would you have us dis-believe in things that DO exist? What a dolt.

You have to consider the A, like Asymmetrical. Asymmetrical means not symmetrical, so atheism would be not theism.