Atheists: Do you have a spirituality?

Question

I dont know a whole lot about atheism, so I am wandering. Even though you dont have a religion, do you have a spiritual life? Are you spiritual? Do you believe in any form of life after death, or reincarnation, or are those thoughts just linked to religions? Is there such thing as a soul, in your opinion?

I ask with an open mind, not a judgmental one. I really want to know atheists views, I know religious views, so no need to tell me what you believe if you are in a religion.

thanks for the comments. I appreciate your views.

I recognize religion and spirituality as totally different things, that is why I was curious if atheists have a spiritual life, when you read on YA a lot of times, it seems like atheists are just out to bash religious people and talk about evolution but not so much talk about their spiritual life. I am not saying all of the time, just often.

Jim W. I dont go to church, and I am not religious. However I do believe in God, geesh you sure took this question personally didnt you?

oh yes and Jim, spirituality and God dont have to have anything to do with one another.

Green_Meklar (srry if I dont spell the name right I am trying to remember) I disagree about one thing. I think religion and spirituality are different things.
Not all religious people have a spiritual life, (they have a religious life, yes, but not spiritual) and not all spiritual people have a religion.
I know everyone has a different definition of spirituality, so maybe this is why we disagree.
I respect your opinion, and thank you for answering every question, I appreciate your input.

I am going to let the general public decide the best answer for this one. Too many good answers for me to pick a winner so i will let the majority rule.
Thank you all once again for your insight. I greatly appreciate it.

Answer 1

I geniunely appreciate your efforts to keep it civil.

I do not think of myself as spiritual, but of course whether I am or not depends on how you define that term. I have given a LOT of consideration to questions about why we're here, what happens to us after we die, what life means, etc. For a lot of folks, that'd make me very spiritual - probably more so than almost anyone else around, as I took those interests far enough to earn a graduate degree in philosophy.

I do not believe that there is life after death, though I do believe that our influence on the world survives us.

I do not believe in souls or reincarnation. In fact I believe that the fact that we do genuinely die is a large part of what gives life its meaning.
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"when you read on YA a lot of times, it seems like atheists are just out to bash religious people and talk about evolution "

Now I think that's just outright false. Atheists generally don't just come here for the purposes of bashing non-atheists, and I certainly don't think that atheists come to R&S to talk about evolution. What does happen is that non-atheists - religious believers - come here to post lies about atheists and about evolution, and about those of us who believe in evolution, and in response, we point out that those posts were lies.

It's certainly not the case that this forum is infested with atheists attacking believers - the infestation is almost entirely from the other direction. If the ill-behaved atheists were to disappear, you'd hardly notice the difference. If the ill-behaved believers were to disappear, this would be a dramatically different forum.

Answer 2

>I dont know a whole lot about atheism, so I am wandering. Even though you dont have a religion, do you have a spiritual life? Are you spiritual?

I don't consider myself spiritual in any way.

>Do you believe in any form of life after death

'Life after death' in its literal sense is logically impossible. So it really depends what you mean by the words 'life', 'death' and 'after'. So far it doesn't look very likely.

>or reincarnation

The same principle applies here. 'Reincarnation' is not a very meaningful word, because how do you distinguish between returning in another life and simply continuing your current life but in a different body at a different time? You run into a sort of Grandfather's Axe problem.

>Is there such thing as a soul, in your opinion?

No. There is essentially no logical evidence to support the existence of souls. In my experience, most of the arguments for souls are based on either one, just plain superstition, or two, the failure to recognize how consciousness really works.

>I recognize religion and spirituality as totally different things

Um...not really. Religion and organized religion are two different things, yes. But religion and spirituality...there really isn't much difference there.

Answer 3

I can't speak for anyone else but myself . There is no way that I can know what's in someone else's mind , but here's what I believe in .
There is absolutely nothing supernatural that I believe in . No spirits , ghosts , zombies , souls , heavens , gods , evil eye , casting of spells , angels , being possessed, faith healing , fortune telling , zodiac , horoscope , astrology , psysics , curses , omens , signs , nothing not of the natural world .
If it can't be logically explained , if it can't be logically understood , if it can't be examined , if it can't be duplicated, it's just so much foolish superstition .
Life after death ? I believe that we are just as much a part of nature as all other living things , both plant and animal . Each is completely different from some of the others . A giraffe is nothing like a radish plant . A fish is nothing like a red wood tree, but there is a great similarity that runs through all living things - - - we come , we reproduce , we die . All living things have the same destiny .
This is very logical . It's completely understandable .It is believable . And to me , desireable , as well .
I hope this gives you some idea of that I believe . My belief is easy to explain . Religious belief is unexplainable . You can't really understand how one person can really be three people. How someone can be his own father . Try explaining the size , color , dimentions , location of a "soul" . Do you really believe that this "soul" can fly for the zillions of miles to heaven , then inflate to a full sized person again ? How did "god" build the earth in six days. What did he accomplish on the first day - -the second ,etc . Can you imagine the size of the earth ? Please , no magic wands .

Answer 4

i personally believe there is no god so how could i have spirituality. you simply die and another takes you're place you aren't reincarnated. also religion is a sham look at all the Churches and all the money they make look how rich the Vatican is and all the huge churches the only time they care about the homeless and the poor is around the holidays what about the rest of the year ? pastors preachers cardinals and even bishops have been in the news since i can remember for molesting kids stealing money the list can go on. the churches blame the goverment for all the suffering while the church doesnt pay a dime in taxes. and they build bigger churches and drive bigger cars live in bigger homes etc .... the only real churches are the amish ones they live almost with out sin and none of then are poor our starveing. they spend what money they make on farming the food they eat and nothing else. and would welcome any hungry person right to the table no matter what time of year it is. they are the true men and woman of this so called god.. when was the last time you or youre church did anything for anyone besides the church ill bet its only around this time of the year isnt it ?

Answer 5

I think so. I fancy myself atheist only because the god that was spoon fed to me as a child is clearly somebody's wish for a deity. Believe it or not, I don't *actually* mean to offend with that statement, it's just that people want there to be hope of justice, truth, timeless beauty - and god fills the bill. It's like those patent applications that people write where they say "we need a death ray on the front of our cars" - but nobody actually makes one, or can make one (and yet somebody out there would figure out where to put the death ray button on the car dash or steering wheel). No, that god is and always has been a bit too pat.

Personally, I think the only real spirituality that matters is the stuff that affects your actions. In fact, most talk of spirituality is boring. And I would aver that most acts have some spiritual component. Drop litter on the ground...bad for the worlds spiritual balance. Pick up that litter, good. Make art...good. Criticize...not good (granted, some people need a program to understand art).

Anyway, the times I actually think of the spirituality embodied in any given act, I'd be inclined to think of myself as spiritual - but in general, I'd rather not be spiritual because it means nothing to be spiritual. I won't gain admission to a theme park or even a free cup of coffee for it. In fact, I can't even guarantee that my own actions will be more life affirming for it. It's just a label like religious or Baptist or Buddhist.

Answer 6

Not an atheist - but may I reply?

If spirituality is quest for realisation of the soul - then an Atheist is also seeking the same. He starts with the assumption that there is no soul - just as many religions start with the opposite assumption. And who proves what is right? Not books written centuries ago and translated over and over again. Not priests and pastors - who are as lost as you and I.

All rivers flow to the ocean - and an Atheist too is on his own path. I fear the organised religions - for they stop people from thinking on their own. At least the Atheist uses his faculty of thought that he is gifted with.

I also think that Atheism is a revolt of thinking-people against the tendency of organised religion to stereotype everyone under a common banner.

Answer 7

I do. My spiritual views are Taoist, and I celebrate Celtic pagan holidays as a way of celebrating life.

Taoism is an atheistic spiritual philosophy. I consider deities to be symbols and archetypes and metaphors, not real beings.

I believe in a soul, life after death, and even reincarnation, although I am unsure exactly the nature of these things or how they work. I do have opinions - I believe that what happens when we die is what we think happens when we die. I think we are creative beings in this manner.

Answer 8

Atheists have only one belief linking them, that there is no god. I imagine you will get a wide spectrum of answers from people who feel quite spiritual, to those like me, who have no religious/spiritual beliefs or feelings whatsoever.

Personally, I'm much more Vulcan than anything else. I have no belief in a god or higher power, I do not believe humans have a soul, I do not believe in life after death. However, I do believe that people should be good to each other and take care of each other and I do my best to follow those beliefs on a daily basis.

Answer 9

WELL ! Ponder this ! Not only you ,but all the other mortals out there........ People irrespective of their color, caste, creed,economical condition ,beliefs,tastes, religion will have wondered / pondered /thought of the very existence of everything around us , at some period of time ! some follow the easy way out i.e., what the ancestors followed & just follow the time tested method , but again some are those who seek the Ultimate Truth! What i am trying to hint at in this broad spectrum of life structure is first lets Talk about LIFE! The thing which makes the tinnest of being to exist as compared to the largest animal wherein the Human being exists somewhere inbetween!Thats LIFE ! According to me if man has soul ,then all living things also have SOUL! Yes , the plants ,insects ,animals ,ameoba & all those thousands of species that co-exist along with us in this great UNIVERSE, OUR HOME ! isin't it Cool, Man ! So, now coming to your point, my dear, Its again a quite complicated question to answer on an impulse ! Spiritual Life ! Hmmm... we human beings having the so called sixth sense & that greatest boon called the BRAIN which has the power to radicially THINK any goddamn thing on this universe, has also devised a way to calm itself by just only controlying itself ,it is some sort of programming itself ! It takes itself to different levels of consiousness ! Thats my logical submission of what is spirituality .

Answer 10

~~~ grasshopper ,,,, Most Respectfully, please grasp the following concept : Consider atheism as an Umbrella Term that simply means "No God" and this umbrella covers all Colors of the Rainbow of Belief Systems that has no gods within it. So now you can see just how varied an atheist's belief can be. Personally, I believe in the Concept of Reincarnation and The Law of Karma which states that we are all accountable for our actions whether positive or negative. When our souls are developed to the point that we become an Enlightened Being, like Jesus or Buddha or Krishna, then we "Graduate from Earth School" and on to other things,,, or we can come back and teach like the three guys I mentioned. ~Namaste`

Answer 11

This atheist is not at all spiritual. I do not have a spiritual life. I do not believe in any form of life after death, or reincarnation. However, there may be other atheists that believe this.

There is no evidence to support the existence of any soul. Therefore I do not believe in the existence of any soul.