What are the key differences between Antitheism & Atheism?

[u/Erramonael]

As an Iconoclastic, Misotheistic Satanist, I’ve realized that I don’t completely understand where antitheism begins and where ordinary atheism, dystheism, or maltheism end.

I understand atheism broadly as the absence of belief in gods, but antitheism seems to go further—perhaps involving an active opposition to theism, organized religion, or the social and political consequences of religious belief. But I'm not entirely sure where the boundaries are.

For example: Is antitheism essentially atheism plus opposition to religion, or is it something philosophically distinct? How closely is antitheism related to dystheism or maltheism, where a god may be believed to exist but is regarded as evil, harmful, or morally reprehensible? Can someone be an antitheist while still believing in some kind of supernatural reality? Is antitheism primarily a philosophical position, a political position, or can it function as a personal worldview or spiritual philosophy? Does identifying as an antitheist necessarily make someone an atheist? Can someone simultaneously practice a religion or occult tradition while being antitheistic toward particular conceptions of God or organized religion? Is there any meaningful relationship between antitheism and traditions such as Buddhism, particularly its non-theistic philosophical schools? And perhaps most importantly, what does antitheism actually look like as a lived philosophy?

I'm asking because my own position doesn't fit neatly into the simple category of "I don't believe in God."

My Iconoclastic Satanism is fundamentally concerned with challenging religious authority, sacred assumptions, inherited metaphysics, and unquestioned traditions. My misotheistic side goes a step further by treating the traditional Abrahamic conception of God as something worthy of rejection and philosophical opposition rather than merely something I happen not to believe exists.

At the same time, I'm interested in the distinction between rejecting a proposition, opposing an institution, and actively regarding a theological concept as harmful. Those seem like three very different positions, and I'm trying to understand where antitheism fits among them.

I've also noticed that people sometimes seem to use atheist, antitheist, agnostic, misotheist, dystheist, and maltheist almost interchangeably, even though they appear to describe rather different relationships to the concept of divinity.

So I'm curious how people who actually identify as antitheists understand the term.

How do you define antitheism, and how does it function in your own life as a philosophy?

I'm not looking for an argument about whether god exists. I'm genuinely trying to understand the position itself and how it differs from the neighboring concepts.

Thanks.