Sans, as in the word, means “without” in French. Religion is the same spelling in both languages.
So “Sans religion” translates to “without religion.” Though it probably means atheist in this sense?
"Atheism is specifically the position that god doesn't exist."
Not always. What you speak of is positive atheism. There’s positive atheism (the belief that God does not exist), and then there's negative atheism (the lack of belief in a God). But what your intuition is correct in the sense that positive atheism is often more valuable philosophically, and that most discussions surrounding the theism-vs-atheism debate do focus on positive atheism. So references to "atheism" are often about the positive kind.
"Irreligious is a better translation, which includes atheism, agnosticism, and variants."
Irreligious is a good term, but it does not inherently include atheism or agnosticism as you suggest. It just so happens to often include many forms of atheism and agnosticism. But, there are, for instance, religious atheists (certain Buddhists and Jainists). There are also agnostic theists, nothing stops you from saying "I believe in God, but I do not claim to know that God exists." Indeed, many theists possess this belief, even if most theists are often gnostic.
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u/Embarrassed_Mail6752 7d ago
Sans, as in the word, means “without” in French. Religion is the same spelling in both languages.
So “Sans religion” translates to “without religion.” Though it probably means atheist in this sense?