Atheists, can an atheist have spirituality of some sort? What does it mean to be atheist?

Question

Answers only from atheists, please and thank you.

I really want to know the answer to this question, because I don't want to make generalisations; also to see how atheism correlates to the subject "spirituality and religion".

Because this question is to try and come to a concensus as to what it means to be spiritual and atheist, I would ask that only atheists answer this question. After the three days have elapsed, I'm going to put it to a vote. I ask that only atheists take part in this vote, as it is their definition of their beliefs that I'm looking for.

I accidently posted this twice, sorry. What I will do here is take the top answers from the votes and then repost with just those two answers.

These answers are really great and very enlightening. Awesome!

Answer 1

I love reality. I want to know what is real. I know God seems to be real to a lot of people. They feel it deep within themselves. To me that isn't enough to just feel it as feelings can be very deceptive. I just don't trust myself. I know how ego-centric I can be.

I don't believe in a God that created the whole universe and is also concerned with this tiny speck we call Earth, and the blink in time human beings have been on this planet. I see that as hugely ego-centric. A way of feeling important and special. It is a perfectly understandable need considering how vast time and space are, and how tiny we humans are in the grand scheme of things. Understandable, but hardly the basis of understanding the truth.

I don't have as much of a problem with those who view God as the totality of reality. Those who just substitute "Universe" with "God". Reality rules. It doesn't much matter what we think about it, it rules. In the same way if I step off my roof, I will hit the ground regardless of what I think and believe about it. In that way I see reality as God. It simply rules. Nothing spiritual or supernatural needed, just a healthy respect for reality.

The term “God” just carries with it so much baggage that I view as superstitious non-sense. Humanity just keeps these myths going because I think it gives people comfort. In that respect I can see the use of religion. Like Kierkegaard who basically said that he was Christian, not because of any logical arguments or factual evidence, but that he lived a more fulfilling life because of it. I’m OK with that. We all have our illusions we hold dear to us.

I personally believe in unconditional truth and unconditional love. I happen to believe they are the same thing. Nothing supernatural or spiritual about that, but it is a way of living my life that works for me. I want to know what is, even if it is totally different than how I think it is today. Life seems to work much better when we live in alignment with the truth.

The God of many religious people I see as similar to Santa Claus. It is this cosmic being that will grant you happiness and bliss if you are good, and in the case of Christianity, will send you to a very bad place indeed if you are bad. To me that seems like such a cop-out for morality. “I didn’t shoot you and steel all your money because if I did I know I would go to hell.” As opposed to “I didn’t shoot you and steel all your money because it is just wrong.” It seems to me I’d be much more inclined to trust the second guy, especially considering that all the Christian has to do is repent and he is back into heaven again. That builds morality on some slippery sand. The atheists morality is simply based on doing good things is just a better and happier way of living life. It’s just the natural consequences of that behavior. No need to add superstition or threats of burning and pitchforks.

I don’t believe I have all the answers. I’m open to examining evidence and being proven wrong. In fact, I’m really not all that attached to being right in the first place. Best idea wins for me, regardless of who or where it comes from. I don’t believe science has all the answers and I do believe there are a great many things we simply don’t understand at all. I accept the possibility of energies we can’t detect with our instruments and dimensions of reality that I simply can’t comprehend. I accept that and am open to that. Perhaps there is something “spiritual” for lack of a better word out there. I’m just someone who requires evidence and proof before I base my life on it. So far, after 40 years, I believe I’ve got some basics down about how reality works. It works for me. Understanding the ground rules, it is much easier to navigate life. Believing fantasy tends to just cause more confusion and tends to self-destruct down the line.

Answer 2

Yes you can be spiritual, but it depends on how you define a spirituality. If you define it as the emotion felt, many Atheists experience this at the awe of the universe or through techniques of godless religions like buddhism. You might want to read the book "why god doesn't go away" that speaks about how some people are more deeply connected to this spiritual world and associate it with a god even though they may experience it without religion.

Answer 3

Absolutely! A "spiritual sense" is native to humans, not necessarily tied to a deity. As for myself on the subject of god(s), if there IS some kind of purposeful order to the universe it is something infinitely beyond any human conception of a deity so I see no reason to reduce it to such.

We all are born of the far-flung debris
Of ancient lights that have gone from the night.
We and the trees, the rocks and the soil
All brothers brewed in a cosmic cauldron.
Sewn wide like seeds through the boundless reaches
And reunited by gravity’s hand,
We race our way along the expanse in
A seething tempest, too huge to be seen,
Until we tire and make our way home;
And then it is time to set out again.

Answer 4

interesting question. Atheism basically means we are simply animals of a higher intellect and that there is no "spirit world" to worry about. So I don't see how an athiest could be in any way spiritual since spirituality is the base concept that they are rejecting.

I wonder if you meant agnostic rather than atheist. Agnostics are simply spiritually confused by proclamation. In other words, yes, there is something more out there but who knows what it could be.

Answer 5

Atheists are people who believe in self-creation. These individuals feel that as the human race changes we self-create ourselves to a higher standard. They do not believe that what the Bible says is fact. They believe it to be a good story. Spirituality and Religion are two separate things. In the Bible it states there is One God, One Savior, One Holy Spirit, One Church. There is no such thing as a certain Religion. If it is not in the Bible it is not to be practiced, worshipped or ritualized. A true Christian will preach his faith in Jesus not a particular religion. An atheist will preach self creation. An Agnostic will not preach anything because they have no spirituality and do not have faith in the human race.

Answer 6

Well, the "spirit", as I see it, is not an eternal thing or a supernatural thing, but it is still a thing...

It is all the firings of the neurons in your brain. It is your memories, your experiences, the lessons you have learned, all the things that make you unlike any other human being.

To me, that consciousness is my soul.

When I concern myself with matters of the soul... with art, beauty, philosophy, love... with those things that enrich my ride on this ball of green and blue... that's when I am being spiritual... and I do that quite often.

Answer 7

Every Atheist has a different view on spirituality. What they have in common is the fact that they have no belief in god.

Answer 8

I was christian but finally decided organized religion is total b******t. I believe that god exists (probably because of early rearing, otherwise there is no scientific proof that God exists) but I don't credence to organised religion, esp when they tell you what to believe, how to believe it, and that they (and only they) can tell you when you are sinning, and they (and only they) can forgive you for your so-called sins. I believe that God loves me, as he or she loves everyone, and no HUMAN has the right to tell me otherwise - esp when they demand money (tithing) in return for forgiving you of your sins!!!

Answer 9

I could be wrong, but I dont belive atheists believe in the concept of a human soul.

Answer 10

Agnostics are those who have some religion; Atheists do not.