What exactly is an 'Atheist'?

Question

I always assumed Atheism revolved around a core belief that there is no divine being(s), no God. However a friend recently told me that this is not entirely accurate but admitted they were unable to elaborate, as they were just passing on second hand knowledge.

Please can someone define atheism for me, in laymans terms?

Many thanks.

Answer 1

There are several good analogies:

1) Atheism is not a type of disease. Atheism is an absence of disease.

2) Atheism is as much a religion as bald is a hair colour.

3) You can be addicted to heroin, addicted to cocaine, or addicted to alcohol, but you cannot be addicted to nothing. The religious inject, snort and imbibe religion regularly; atheists don't take any mind altering drugs.

4) Hinduism is like eating cow shi_, islam is like eating camel shi_, and christianity is like eating sheep shi_. Atheists don't eat shi_.

5) As Richard Dawkins said: "You are an atheist about Zeus, Thor, and the Flying Spaghetti monster, and rejects those gods. Atheists just go one god further."

Some you may find offensive or insulting, but they make the point: an absence of something is NOT a different type of something. Would you call someone a sports fan who does not watch any sports at all? To call atheism a religion IS equivalent to calling a sports hater a "sports fan".

Calling atheism a "belief" or "religion" displays either one of two things: either a complete lack of knowledge of what atheism is, or deliberate lies told to misrepresent who atheists are.

Most who replied before me use the erroneous christian definitions, and that includes other atheists. "Someone who doesn't believe in god" is a terrible definition; it infers or permits the possibility that there might be or is one.

A much better definition of atheism would be "a lack of belief in any alleged supernatural being or event that cannot be scientifically demonstrated to exist".


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Answer 2

I usually describe myself as an atheist/agnostic
A hard core atheist would consider my beliefs to be agnostic, as I hold out a 'slight' possibility that there is a god.
However an Agnostic would think that my view is so biased against the posssibility that I would be an atheist.

In my view....An Atheist is a person who does not believe in any god, spirit, or supernatural being. It is an absence of belief.
there are several types of atheist....

There is the unthinking ignorant atheism of the redneck who has never had any reason to look at religion. These are often the type of people who undergo a sudden conversion to religion for one reason or another.

there is the thinking atheist, who has looked at religion(s) and does not see any evidence to believe.

there is the ex-theist, who used to be christian/ muslim or whatever, and has seen the flaws in their own religion and extended it to all religions

calling atheism a 'belief' is like calling 'not collecting stamps' a hobby

Answer 3

Not that it is the core belief. It is just a category that covers people of all beliefs that do not include a god. Many atheists have never even considered the possibility of a god in the same way that many people in the world have never considered the possibilty of a Santa Claus or the Candy Man.

Answer 4

somebody who lacks a thought interior the existence of any and all deities if I say "i don't have faith God exists" theists then declare that i'm acknowledging a god exists. i detect arguing semantics demanding. How approximately you inspect it this way - you be attentive to the way you do not have faith that Zeus or Thor or Ra etc etc exist. nicely technically you're an atheist approximately it. we are in simple terms going one god extra desirable than you. the perfect wording of ways people positioned that concept forward isn't appropriate desire that clears it up

Answer 5

An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in the existance of ANY deity. Atheism is derived from Greek atheos

a = without
theos = god

It is not someone who hates god, as to hate god would necessarily mean belief in god.

Answer 6

An atheist is anyone who does not believe in gods. Your friend is correct. It is not necessary for an atheist to believe gods do not exist. To be an atheist it is only necessary that they lack a belief in gods.

The word "Atheism" comes from "A" ( without ) "Theism" ( god belief ).

Answer 7

A-Theism: Without gods

Holding no belief in gods. That may encompass some who actively believe in no gods, but also includes a much larger group that simply see no evidence for a god, so do not believe.

Most Buddhists are atheists.

Answer 8

Atheism is commonly defined as the positive belief that deities do not exist.

Technically Buddist fall into this category but they aren't usually included.

Answer 9

An atheist is actually someone who does not beleive in any religion. Ans yes, they do not beleive in any devine being. However, in some case, they may make room for the posibility that there is something or someone who has created us and watch over us, however, they haven't found it in any current religions, or beleifs, and feel that conventional religions are the creation of man and therefore false.

At least that' my understanding of it.

Answer 10

Atheism is the disbelief in the existence of any deities.(1)It is contrasted with theism, the belief in a God or gods. Atheism is commonly defined as the positive belief that deities do not exist, or as the deliberate rejection of theism.[3][4][5] However, others—including most atheistic philosophers and groups—define atheism as the simple absence of belief in deities[6][7][8] (cf. nontheism), thereby designating many agnostics, and people who have never heard of gods, such as newborn children, as atheists as well.[9][10] In recent years, some atheists have adopted the terms strong and weak atheism to clarify whether they consider their stance one of positive belief (strong atheism) or the mere absence of belief (weak atheism).[11][12][13]

Many self-described atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Other rationales for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. Although atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as humanism, rationalism, and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors that all atheists adhere to.[14][15][16]

In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be irreligious or non-spiritual.[17] However, some religious and spiritual beliefs, such as several forms of Buddhism, have been described by outside observers as conforming to the broader, negative definition of atheism due to their lack of any participating deities.[18][19] Atheism is also sometimes equated with antitheism (opposition to theism) or antireligion (opposition to religion), despite many atheists not holding such views