Are children who are never taught about God automatically Atheist?

Question

And do they deserve vile treatment too?
Atheism is not a belief it is in fact a lack of one,thus it requires no facts or proofs to uphold. We are all born atheist, we must learn and be taught to believe in things that can't ever be proven. That require faith to know.

Answer 1

You are correct. Atheism is the condition of lacking a belief in gods, or in any god. The Latin prefix "a-" means "not"; it doesn't mean "contrary to." That being the case, then, yes, all children are born atheists. If they acquire a belief in gods, or in a god, later in life, they stop being atheists only at the first such time. Still later, they can become "rational" atheists by abandoning a belief in all the gods in which they had formerly believed.

The proof that children are born atheists and acquire god-belief through indoctrination (i.e., the proof that nobody is born with an inner knowledge of gods) can be found in the correlation between IN WHICH GOD each person believes and INTO WHICH CULTURE he was born.

If everybody was born knowing about gods, they'd be born with identical beliefs about gods. The same divine information that appeared in one baby's mind would also appear in every other baby's mind. The fact that there are fundamental differences of belief, regarding gods, indicates either of two things: either (1) most people are born with false information planted in their heads, or else (2) everyone is born atheist and, at some point, most of them adopt a belief in the set of religious lies peculiar to the culture in which they were born.

The fact that there's a strong correlation between one's native culture and one's religious beliefs indicates that which god(s) a religious person comes to believe in is determined mostly by childhood indoctrination, and not by any sort of actual divine revelation.

Although the word atheist simply means "not a theist" (not a god-believer), there are atheists who deny the existence of gods. This is going beyond the definition of atheist, but it is permitted by the definiton: if it is true that you lack a belief in any god, then you are an atheist.

Some people get this plain vanilla "passive" atheism confused with agnosticism. Agnosticism isn't really a theory about gods; it is, rather, a theory concerned with knowledge (about gods). An agnostic asserts that it is not possible to know whether gods exist, or not.

A passive atheist does not even claim that much. He'll tell you that he knows of no evidence to support god-belief, but he won't tell you that there is no such evidence.

Religious people get the definitions of atheism and agnosticism so stubbornly and persistently confused that I've begun thinking that they do it deliberately, as a means of creating confusion or as a way to build strawman arguments.

Answer 2

I don't think so, because I think everyone, at a certian age or another starts to wonder where we came from and why we are here. I don't think we are born athiests. Besdies, even if you call yourself "athiest" you are putting your faith/trust in something that you still cannot see, whether it is God or not.

If you "trust" in science, there are plenty of things that cannot be seen or proven, and are just glorified hypotheses that you have been taught to believe in as well.

If you go to sit down in a chair, and you sit without looking down at the chair, you are "trusting or having faith" that that chair will be there and hold you up.

When I child is born they trust in their parent(s) to provide their basic need. it is the simplest form of faith in my opinion. No, they cannot express it articulately, but there is a definite "faith" that an infant places on a parent.

Therefore, Atheist believe or put faith in SOMETHING, whether it is God or not. You put your faith in philosphy or science, and these things aren't always solidly proven either. They are just what you have been taught is truth, or they are just the explanation of HOW things are, and not WHY they are.

Answer 3

Atheism isn't really a belief system, it is just a belief that there is NO god, because there's no evidence for god...

I wasn't ever taught a religion when growing up, so I never fell into it... When the other kids would talk about it though, I could see that it was merely a thing for comfort, and that it wasn't real...

Besides being outnumbered 3 to 1 all the time, they never fooled me into believing...

Answer 4

Atheism is a faith in "No God". The word atheist actually means no God, as a Theist is a believer in God.

It takes a whole lot more faith to believe there is "No God" than to just trust and believe. When God made you, He put a desire in your heart that can only be filled by Him.

Children accept the concept of God so easily because God gives them that faith early on.

Answer 5

I believe a child is born with an inner knowledge of God. When that knowledge is developed is up to the parent. I am really not sure if there is anything in the bible to uphold my belief, but if God created man, and I believe he did, then I believe man is born knowing God. He may later be taught other religious ideas, but the truth is in there somewhere. Jesus Christ said my sheep know my voice and another sheppard they will not follow. God Bless you.

Answer 6

No, they are not necessarily atheist.

Everyone is given some measure of faith. We are taught not to believe. Even in countries where they don't have organized religion, they have beliefs. Some feel the warmth of the sun and believe there is a sun god. Some feel the rain and believe there is a rain god.

So to believe is inherent, to not believe has to be taught.

Answer 7

nope...athiesm is a decision that there is no god. Romans 1:20
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." one way or another, people hear about it. people have a responsibility to their children, as far as i'm concerned, and if they cannot meet that responsibility, society needs to pick it up. because we all know some parents drop the ball, some never had it. so, the next time you b*tch at a christian for "preaching" to people, think about the people that haven't had their fair shot at making their own decision.

Answer 8

Actually, if they were never introduced to the idea of a god, they would be of no label at all. An atheist has been exposed to the idea of a god and rejects it. Someone who has never heard of the idea of a god will neither reject it or accept it. Frankly though, all people are born without a set idea of a god, another semi-proof that one doesn't exist.

Answer 9

You're mistaken about the definition of atheism. Atheism is the belief that there is no god. It is not the absence of belief. It is, itself, a religion. It cannot be proven and requires faith.

Answer 10

Insofar as atheism is defined as "without belief in a god or gods" (the prefix "a-" meaning, in this context, "without", and the word "theism" meaning "belief in a god or gods"), we're ALL atheists at birth and remain so until otherwise indoctrinated.

Of course we shouldn't treat vilely the little children who haven't been inculcated with the concept of a deity.