Atheism is the absence of belief in the existence of gods. A person who is an atheist does not believe that any deities exist. This lack of belief is distinct from a positive disbelief, which would involve actively asserting that gods do not exist. Atheism simply describes a state where an individual does not hold theistic beliefs. For example, just as a person might not believe in fairies or unicorns without necessarily making a strong statement against their existence, an atheist does not believe in gods.