this question is meant for atheists if you are agnostic then click on my profile as i have an open question for you guys as well and i f you are a christian then click on my profile as i have an open question for you as well for all others i will get to you guys eventually. anyway here goes what does being an atheist mean to you? what does atheism mean to you? i don't want to know the definitions of the two words as i know what they mean but i want to know what it means to you in terms of your daily lives. nothing more and nothing less thank you.
2007-02-20 04:55:40 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It affects my life very little actually, only in certain situations or certain points, much the same as vegetarianism (were I one, i am not) would only affect me directly at mealtimes.
I do not go to church or pray, but since I feel no desire or compulsion to do so not doing these things doesn't impact on my life, nor do i really notice their absence. When I was in town today and I saw a man walking in the middle of the road (pedestrianized, he wasn't suicidal) shouting about Jesus Christ it reminded me that not only am I not part of this man's group but some people think it bad that I am not. I feel a need for people to accept my beliefs but from the people I see liek thsi man I am happy without their blessing.
Athiesm agrees with my personal beliefs of naturalism, which is that the only state of existence is the physical material universe we live in. Most forms of atheism assert this claim but go on later to claim that the supernatural, since it claims to be not naturalist, does not exist. However I choose one without the other. I do not discount absolutely that nothing we label the supernatural does not exist. But I DO assert that if any of it does exist, that it exists in this material reality, and that it is natural, and obeys the laws of this universe and can be detected and interacted with like anytihng else in our physical existence. Until supernatual things can be discovered and revealed to be this, I do not believe in them. I do not beleive in "gods" in any shape or form, particulary that of the Judo-Christian God. Some of us have previously come under attack for spelling such things with capital letters if we do not beleive in them. I do so for grammatical purposes.
When I do engage in argument or debate with someone that does beleive in the supernatural or spiritual world is when it affects me most. It places me on certain sides of an argument, and while I have heard both sides in the course of arguments I feel most strongly with one and defend it when necessary. This includes Evolution, a scientific viewpoint or grounding, the seperation of church and state, and a reduced role of the church in the enforcing of people's lives. These beliefs, many of them seperate are grouped under Atheist thinking and more than anything make me Atheist in the eyes of others as my belief in them is stronger than the direct disbelief in God. Hence as an Atheist I am defined by what I do believe in and it being opposed to what some Theists believe, although I also qualify by my disbelief in Theism.
At it's most basic level Atheism gives me the right to develop my own morality, and my own guide through this life rather than one developed by others. I need not deny myself certain things in exchange for the promise of a reward in another world, nor avoid things for fear of other worldly punishment. My mistakes must be accounted for in this life, and my achievements recognised as coming from my self and the product of my own decisions.
2007-02-20 05:23:19 · answer #1 · answered by jleslie4585 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What "atheism" means to me in my every day life is the struggle to maintain my non-belief when surrounded constantly by believers who either feel sorry for me because I don't believe (don't need your pity) or want to preach to me (don't need your mythology).
It means being a little lonely because once someone finds out I'm an atheist, they find reasons to have other things to do when I call, if they even answer the phone.
It means I'm free to decide what is right and what is wrong based on my conscience, not whether I will burn or live forever.
It means freedom, peace, science, loneliness...
Basically, many of the same things that everyone else in the world enjoys, but in different ways.
It's that the way humanity works? :-)
2007-02-20 05:05:44 · answer #2 · answered by Rogue Scrapbooker 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Being an atheist means that I have to seek and find my own happiness, and help others do the same, without religion.
As long as people are not receiving the love, acceptance, and protection they need, they will cry out in their pain and fear to this entity who, if it existed, would be nothing more than an unloving parent with a demented son and a bunch of evil minions. What is really heartbreaking is that it doesn't exist. It is impossible to be loved by it, not even after you die.
To me, being an atheist means that love must be real.
Atheism (strong) - god does not exist
Atheism (weak) - I do not believe that God exists
2007-02-20 05:01:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having a Roman Catholic GF (and being madly in love with her), being an atheist has brought up some new light into her life, ergo into mine.
Without the faintest hint of preaching, I've been able to get her to see things through the many filters offered by scientific, reflexive thought.
To me, Atheism means Freedom of Mind, which is the ultimate freedom.
2007-02-20 05:05:11 · answer #4 · answered by malcolm knoxville 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I was going to post something smart but J.P. is smarter than I am. Pfffffttttt...
The only time I define myself as an atheist is when I am in a theological or philosophical discussion, or if I am being in some way confronted by a theist. The rest of the time, the things that I do believe in are, obviously, far more important: art, poetry, my family, my volunteer work...you know, the truly important stuff. So the "being an atheist" is only an issue when necessity makes it one.
2007-02-20 05:05:00 · answer #5 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Atheism means disbelief in God. Period. It does not imply a moral philosophy or a dogmatic creed. Hence two people might both consider themselves "atheists" and yet disagree on every other issue you toss at them.
"Theists" tend to derive, or to imagine that they derive, their "moral values" from the collection of fables they've chosen to take for literal history. Atheism is not conducive to such disingenuity. If an atheist has a "moral code," it has nothing to do with his disbelief, save insofar as he refuses to attribute it to supernatural intervention. This is what freaks out the "religious," who, being morally bankrupt, simply cannot conceive of a person having principles or convictions which don't derive from some exploded mythology.
2007-02-20 05:04:37 · answer #6 · answered by jonjon418 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It simply means I don't believe in the existence of gods. It's not a big deal, and doesn't affect my daily life. There's no dogma to spew or follow - it's just the absence of all the unnecessary trappings of religion. Most people have no clue that I am an atheist - it doesn't even come up unless someone disrespectful starts preaching.
Atheists tend to be very peaceful and moral, since we don't worship a God who drowns, sickens, slaughters, and barbecues his own children, or who repeatedly commands his followers to steal, kidnap, enslave, torture, rape, forcibly abort, and kill others. We don't need a god or a book or a list to tell us how to behave, but we're generally glad that people who can't be trusted to be good on their own have the right to believe in a celestial babysitter.
2007-02-20 05:19:49 · answer #7 · answered by gelfling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm agnostic atheist - (do you know what that means? Agnosticism is not separate from theism and atheism)
It means to me... avoiding indoctrination (from the former generation (i.e., not listening to my parent's ramblings)), having a higher education (statistically, the more educated one is, the more likely (s)he is not a theist), being more open minded to the beauty of the world and science, appreciating common sense and logic, not believing in things that have ZERO evidence, etc.
So, really... it's not the atheism that means something to me. It's the pros of not being a theist that means something to me.
I'm just living my life without believing in a higher being. Simple as that.
2007-02-20 05:01:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It just means i can live my life without worry of being watched by a higher power and that i dont need to do stuff to join the proverbial cool table which it seems only christians can go to while the rest are having a swirlie in the toilets of hell
2007-02-20 05:17:33 · answer #9 · answered by Krayden 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I really don't understand what you are asking for. But I'll try to answer by saying that in my daily life, I don't think about it. Going to the supermarket; feeding and walking my dog; watching movies; cleaning house...what on earth would my atheism have to do with any of that?
2007-02-20 05:02:10 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋