Are atheists spiritual?

Question

Do atheists pray? If they do, how do they pray? To whom do they pray? How do atheists define spiritual/spirituality?

So some atheists meditate? If you commune with nature isn't this also theistic?

I am intrigued by the answer of thunderpi... From the answers given, atheists do hold certain beliefs. It takes faith to believe in what they believe. Can we now conclude that atheism is a form of religion?
How can theists and atheists better understand each other?

Answer 1

Buddhists are atheists for they do not believe in a creator god.
In a certain respect, Buddhists consider themselves spiritual, yes.
Meditation is definately spiritual. Many religions only consider themselves to be spiritual, if they pray, asking God for something, or asking God to help another.
If prayer gives a person the confidence to help solve their problems, if it helps a person to find some mental peace, to not place judgment upon another person or there religion, then it should be practiced, by those who believe in a creator God. If prayer helps a person not to harm another in thoughts, words or deeds, then the one who believes in a creator God should pray.

Buddhists do not necessarily pray, but they do meditate for others (lovingkindness Meditation)
and practice a few other forms of Meditation such as Shamatha Meditation, and Insight Meditation.

Do Buddhist believe in a creator god ? Sorry to disappoint anyone, but no, they do not.
They are open-minded though. Read the next few paragraphs and you'll understand.

Buddhism, like sociologists and psychologists, and scientists believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea, the god-concept have their origin in fear. In the Dhammapada it clearly states:
"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,
sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".
Dp 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. Buddhism teaches us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason Buddhism does not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any concrete evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their god, or gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. “Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming !!”

The third reason Buddhism does not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are Millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention over 8.8 million Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One very often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Atheists and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Buddhism teaches that each human being has the capacity to transform the mind, develop infinite love, patience, and compassion AND perfect understanding. Buddhism shifts one’s attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

As I perceive you to be an open minded person, you have a better understanding of Buddhism, and those who follower the teachings of Buddhism.
.

Answer 2

For the record, atheists are a very heterogenous group, and the only thing we have in common is the acceptance that there is no god. So stop with these generic "are atheists .......?" kind of questions.

That out of the way, it would be fair to say some are and some aren't "spiritual". Being spiritual doesn't mean believing in a deity of any sort, necessarily. Some define spiritual as a feeling of connectedness with nature, a realization of our insignificant place in the vastness of the Universe. A feeling of humility and reverence for nature itself, of which humans are just one small part. I have had "spiritual experiences" with sexuality, and with hallucinogenic drugs. I doubt that theist would accept that definition. I'm sure there will be other definitions of spirituality offered, some of which I may disagree with totally, even though they may be presented by a fellow atheist.

I certainly don't believe in the existence of a "soul" or "spirit", that ill defined bit of conciousness that survives our physical mortality.

Atheists don't pray...as prayer is defined as some sort of mystical communication with a deity, and remember, we don't accept the existence of deities without proof.

Answer 3

Atheists don't pray (we don't believe in any god and hence don't have anyone to pray to), but some atheists are spiritual. Some atheists meditate for example.

Theism involves a supreme being, a god/gods. One can meditate without worshipping or believing in a god. It's more of a philosophy thing really and about finding peace in yourself.

Although Buddhism is generally called a religion, it doesn't involve any god. It's an atheistic religion and is not about worship. Some atheists are Buddhists, some atheists are spiritual in other ways and some atheists are not at all spiritual. Atheists are a very diverse group.

Answer 4

I firmly believe that there is an Ultimate Super Power behind the creation, growth, and functioning of this Cosmos. Thinkers of the past have called it God, Ishwar, Parameshwar, Allah, Nature, Bramha and the like. It is all powerful, always present in the form of energy and physical laws such as gravity, electromagnetic field, electrons, atoms etc. makes no mistakes, does not violate any physical law. It is not an individual, who can be pleased or not pleased by worship and prayers or no worship and no prayers. It does not favor anybody or gets angry with anybody, It does not give anything to anybody or takes away anything from anybody. The concept of God exists only in the human brain and not in the brain of any of the life forms on this planet Earth. Am I a spiritual atheist?

Answer 5

In learning about the beliefs of others, I don't know what I have found more surprising--that many atheists do have a deep and profound spirituality, or that many religious people do not want a deep and profound spirituality.

I don't think I can tell you how another person defines spirituality--heck, I'm not sure I can even do a good job of telling you how I define spirituality--but pondering over the universe, a person can have a moment of understanding that goes beyond our capacity to explain or to put it into words, and this moment of transcendence does not seem to require that a person believe in a personal God.

Answer 6

Yes, many atheists are spiritual....some pagans would be considered atheistic...the there are the Buddhists, the Jains and some eclectic groups of secular humanists. Taoist are considered atheistic by some. I'm sure many atheists have their own form of spirituality.

Prayer is not the only form of spiritual practice.

Answer 7

Well, some atheists do say they are spiritual. However by their very definition an atheist cannot be said to pray. Prayer, according to my close personal friends Merriam & Webster, is " an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought".

So if they don't believe in any deity, who would they be praying to?

Answer 8

Buddhism, which is atheist, isn't really about "prayer" in the sense of pleading with a "creator god" for things we want to serve our sense of self-cherishment, but rather learning the reality of the world around us, taking responsibility for our own actions and developing altruism. If a particular group "prays" it's about using it as a tool to focus the mind to cultivate certain things like altruism, reducing clinging and attachments to "stuff", ego and self-cherishment, and learning how to let go of aversions to things we falsely label as "bad". That type of prayer is more like a "mantra" or a "wish" instead of manipulation of something like a "creator god" to get what we want.

_()_

Answer 9

a-theist: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

pray: To utter or address a prayer or prayers to God, a god, or another object of worship.

so I am guessing no, in general they would not pray. But who knows; there are as many types of atheist as there are christian sects, and this answer would also cover your spirituality; for instance I do not believe in a human soul, an afterlife, or any 'spiritual' phenomena i.e. no ghosts, demons, karma, reincarnation, ESP, telepathy and all that jazz. Just us monkeys banging rocks together.

But whatever floats your boat, as long as you don't bother others with it.

Answer 10

I've never met an atheist who prays, but I've met many, many atheists who are very spiritual.
As to what spirituality means, that's as unique as individuals whether they are theists or atheists.
For me, it's broadly concerned with my personal meaning, values, ethics in our world. How we are connected/disconnected from each other.