Do atheists simply not believe in God or believe in no God?

Question

It's a subtle difference as the former would result in apathy (after all, I don't believe in unicorns, but I'm not on a crusade against unicorns) and the latter would result in active proselytizing for atheist converts. So is atheism an active belief system akin to a religion? If not, then why are atheists not merely apathetic? Why is it they proselytize their "faith" so actively (in a similar way to militant Islamic extremists)?

Answer 1

It's a simple term.Agnostics haven't made their mind up one way or the other,Atheists have decided that unless there is evidence to the contrary,there is no god of any description.Atheism is closer to agnosticism in that if someone came up with evidence then they would be willing to believe it.Not many atheists would be willing to disbelieve in a god in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Answer 2

This is an interesting topic you have touched on and I would like to share my opinion. Atheists do not believe in any type of God. Where as religious people have some sort of being or object that they consider divine. Religion is also considered the practice of worshiping this being or object because you believe this divine entity has some effect on your life or after life. Back to Atheist, they believe that there is no such entity and that there is a scientific explanation that exists or can be found for anything that can be asked. So if religion is worshipping a divine entity and atheist don't believe in such an entity (in any form) there can be no comparison. That is the key, religions of any kind share the simple fact that they all believe in something they worship. Atheist just don't believe so they do not worship. You could make the point that science is the connecting factor but it still is not considered divine.

Answer 3

Atheist according to many christians are all those who can`t be put into boxes. Namely people who believe in truth, not faith.
As Budha said "wisdom and faith are enemies, and as a man gains wisdom his faith must change"
No Atheist has killed in the name of atheism, so they can`t be compared, or likened to either Islamic or Christian extremist, who both have and still do kill in the name of their god.
I had a e-mail from an american minister only last week telling me how great god is in helping america kill off the enemies of christianity through out the world, and then went on to list the places.
Some of you people have got a problem..!!

Answer 4

I do not try to convert theists to atheism. They have to find their own way. I could care less what people profess to believe. What matters is how they act. Faith is a marvellous red herring. People smoke screen the fact that they violate the Golden Rule every day by hiding behind going to Church every Sunday. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for such hypocrisy. Inside, they were wicked, but outside they prayed the loudest, impressing the foolish people with their professions of faith.

Answer 5

Atheists could care less what others believe.

When those beliefs affect us, however, as in, when laws are created based upon religious reasons, we DO care.

You hear from atheists in the united states because we have a lunatic fundamentalist Christian in the white house, and this country is crumbling due to the theocracy that he represents.

It's that simple.


Want to see an example you can understand?

Imagine if tomorrow you saw that the Supreme Court ruled that only people who worship Zeus are allowed to marry, as it is ordained by Zeus, and anyone who doesn't recognize Zeus's authority has no right to be married.

Would you sit back and let that slide? Would you simply be... "apathetic"?

(I assume you don't worship Zeus)

I won't either. And the Christian god, who happens to be the most popular one in this country, is no less ridiculous a concept than that of Zeus. Just because there's a bunch of delusional people in this country, doesn't mean that the sane people have to follow their ridiculous laws.

Now I assume you and I would be on the same side of the Zeus debate. Would that then make you a "militant anti-Zeusian" much like Islamic terrorists? Or would that merely make you a person that doesn't believe in Zeus, who is speaking up for his rights?'

Answer 6

There is absolutely no difference in believing in no god and not believing in god, thats just semantics. As far as crusades go, imagine yourself to be a non believer in unicorns (you alluded to something like this), but the world around you is filled with people who are unicorn believers. And its not just that they are unicorn believers, they are evangelizing and promoting their belief in unicorns throughout the world. They are even trying to enact laws having to do with unicorn belief and trying to get things like "In Unicorns we trust" put on all the money, and having unicorn prayers said in schools. Under those circumstances you may be just a unicorn non believer but now how do you feel about a crusade?

Answer 7

No God or gods. No God, Allah, Buddah, Zeus, Pan, or anything else.

I've never met an atheist who was on a crusade against a deity. I've met several who were on a crusade against annoying people who won't leave them alone until they convert to their belief system. There's a huge difference.

It's not a belief system or a religion. It's just a fact. If you don't believe in Santa Claus that doesn't make you a AntiSantaIst. It just means you don't believe in something.

Answer 8

You're getting into the whole debate of "weak atheism" (lacking belief in God) vs. "strong atheism" (believing in no God), which I like to stay out of. For whatever reason, some insist on splitting hairs over the exact, precise definition of "atheism," and, candidly, I find the whole thing rather ridiculous.

Answer 9

i guess another question would be can one be 'religious' and not believe in any deity? and would they try to push their beliefs on to others like the 'deity-believing' religious people? from the answers i have seen i can probably guess that any atheist would have the same problem of any 'non-deity' & 'deity' believing religous people who push their belief systems into law & such.


oh and im not sure what atheists you hang around with but comparing them to militant islamic extremists seems a bit much.

Answer 10

Atheists just want us know-nothings to wake up and see there is no tangible proof of G-d, that other societies have long beliefs in gods that we now ridicule as fantasies (Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, etc.), and that we will be proven just as gullible in the end. The Atheist refuses to believe that man's search for the supreme being's true nature is unending. While we have certain understandings of G-d, it's not complete yet. True faith and a life well-lived shall be rewarded. Otherwise our existence is an empty shell of purchasing and handing down trinkets to future generations.