How can you be atheist AND spiritual?

Question

I mean, there is that entire Spirit/Soul issue that would seem to be entirely in conflict with NOT believing in God?
Since you guys like to weild logic as a weapon, enlighten me.

Answer 1

Of course. Christians, Muslims, and any organized religion are about as far away from truly spiritual as you can get.

Answer 2

Sorry, I am not an atheist but a Buddhist and I do not believe in God or the existence of a soul. Possibly Buddhists are not spiritual by your definition of the word but by my definition I am and so I reserve the right to be here.
If I find any men in the Pregnancy section I will let them know your views.
This section is for spiritual and religious questions and opinions and not necessarily only for religious and spiritual people.

PS

You are wrong DR. Buddhists generally do not believe in Gods. Some do believe in spirits but they are not relevant to Buddhist teaching or practice. You can even believe in the Christian God if you want and still be a Buddhist, just not a very enlightened one.

Answer 3

There are a great many atheists who are just as spiritual as those with the more common beliefs. Since you don't believe in God, perhaps you could use tools to acclaim the same spirituality as others but adopting the art of Meditation or something of the same sort. Or perhaps finding spiritual enlightenment within nature and other tangible earthly wonders will help you to claim your goal. I find many atheists believe in some of the teachings and philosophy of Buddhism (without being a Buddhist) and find spirituality through those means. In any case, Good Luck finding what makes you spiritually stimulated:-)

Answer 4

Except for this Buddhist D R. I don't believe in God, or gods. I don't believe in a 'soul'. I don't believe that I 'live' after death.

I DO believe that the Buddha's advice to try out his teachings and see whether they work for you is eminently sensible. And I have certainly found that Buddhist meditation practices have helped me become a happier more contented person.

I DO believe that I am a (small) part of the pattern of life. That as part of life I, like everything else, can attune myself to the flow of energy throughout the universe. And that by doing so, rather like water finding the path of least resistance, I will find life somewhat easier. Although that part is Taoist.

Which in my view make me both an atheist and spiritual.

Thank you for asking and I hope that enlightens you a little.

Live long and prosper.
.

Answer 5

Oh defiantly! In a way you really do believe in God, you just have a different way of looking at it. Maybe you don't "believe" in God because the crap in the bible and what Christians are saying don't seem logical, or is mean and damning everyone to hell... I wouldn't believe in a god like that either! I do know that we are all amazing creatures, and this world is filled with all kinds of things that are intelligently way beyond my grasp. Something had to create it... It doesn't matter what you call it... it's there.

Another great thing that says you are spiritual is the fact that you are thinking about this and putting it out here for us to think and toy with... I shows that you are a spiritual person.

You know I think in this world, we get all caught up in words. Words are great but it gets confusing sometime. Sometimes what you can't write down and just feel and know is good engough! I have this warm good feeling within me and that's very "god-like"...

Answer 6

It'd be hard to 'enlighten' someone whose eyes are wide shut;))))...You think you know a lot, don't you? You think people need 'God' to be spiritual, don't you?...The problem with most of you, believers, is that you're quite arrogant and believe that you're the only ones who know something. It's funny how Jesus preached humbleness and you guys have no idea of what that means;)...You see, you should learn to see things from a different angle...The existence of a primordial source of energy is not dismissed by Atheists, we just see it as pure Energy, as the source of Life in the Universe. The concept of Soul is also different to us, what you call 'Soul' is just a higher level of awareness that every human being has and can possibly enhance. Atheists have hearts, feelings and a conscience too my friend, being a good human being with strong values has NOTHING to do with being a Believer;)

Answer 7

I am spiritual because I accept that there are answers that I can't gain by picking a faith and following dogma.I am spiritual because I know that there is more to existence then I can comprehend and no book, person, or imagined deity is acceptable to me as an answer because I don't believe in easy answers made by people who lived in the desert a few thousand years ago trying to comprehend the world around them.I am spiritual because I follow my conscious, reasoning, common sense, and knowledge of the world around me to guide myself in this life but accept that I don't have the answers and won't have the answers to the biggest question out there.That question is "why".And no amount of people pointing at words in a book is going to convince me that they know anything.And so, in a way, I am like an Atheist.But since I accept that I don't have the answers to everything I have chosen to remain spiritual and allow the universe to unfold as it will and that doesn't mean I am an Atheist.

Answer 8

An atheist rejects God as merely being a theological construct.

The spirit is an emotional residual mass of the sum-total of every thought you have. And those feelings of the 'spirit' are quantifiable and have a bio-psycho-social impact on the mind, body and 'soul'. A person's 'spirit' is a neurological phenomenon and NOT of God.

So, yes. Atheists CAN be spiritual. Just not by your definition of what a spirit is.....

I know of an atheist who practices Tao Buddhism. You see, Buddhism does not reject God, nor do they believe in God. They just figure that if God does indeed exist, then He is inconsequential to realizing the esoteric message that is the journey of spiritual enlightenment.

Get me?

Answer 9

You can't be atheist and spiritual because atheism is based upon the idea that nothing exists beyond death. Atheism is also based upon the idea that there is no soul or spirit in you but rather, your brain is simply like a computer that when it dies, it just shuts down and ceases to exist. If an atheist was claiming to be spiritul, I would want to know how they could be spiritual without a spirit and where is their spiritual power coming from. I am a christian so this doesn't baffle me.

Answer 10

I'm sure you believe in spirits.
You know that spirits are not gods.
Now you go on to believe that spirits are reigned over by a god.
Atheists who believe in spirituality simply do not believe in that third part.
I hope that wasn't too weird to understand.

Answer 11

I don't believe in God--since I found out recently the whole concept of "religion" was fake anyways.

But spiritual? Sure! You can believe in the universe itself--if you can simply look beyond what you see, and try to feel out the fabric of the space/time continuum with your other "senses". (It's a bit tricky--since I'm always showing up around Jupiter.--I'm like: "Hey! This isn't P3665!")