Spiritual atheism

[Deidre]

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

 

[icehorse]

Hey! It's great to have some company!

 

[Deidre]

Hey! It's great to have some company!

Oh, you are a spiritual atheist ...or anti-theist.
What is your spirituality like, and does it bring you a sense of peace?

 

[LuisDantas]

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

I think it is actually easier than the alternatives.

After a certain time of deep honesty, one realizes that deity-beliefs are not even very useful for spirituality.

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

Yes, in the respect that existence is incredible, I get "spirituality" from that (though spirituality is as vague a term as "god", what does it actually mean?). The wonderment of existence will stay with me until I die I suspect, it keeps my mind and body young. There is far more to ponder from science than there is from religion.

Dawkins points out in "The God Delusion" that we are literally "waves", our bodies are composed of molecules that will be almost entirely replaced several times during our lives. In the same respect I think we are metaphorical waves; we start out as children, weak and highly dependent. We grow to become independent and strong in our youth, but eventually we get old; we become weak and dependent on others (like a child again). So the wave starts out small and weak, it grows to become something to be reckoned with, before it starts to decrease in size, then it it fades away entirely. Just my take. Life is a beautiful thing, don't ask me how it came to be, but make the most of every day I say.

I remember hearing Lawrence Krauss say that science may well find a way of preventing death in the near future. Could be, who knows, but that would raise a whole raft of questions about population, about privilege etc. All I know is I'm damn glad to be alive, and if it ends tomorrow my only regret would be it didn't last a bit longer.

 

[icehorse]

Oh, you are a spiritual atheist ...or anti-theist.
What is your spirituality like, and does it bring you a sense of peace?

I'm both a spiritual atheist AND spiritual anti-theist.

Man, it's tough for me to do a good job explaining what spirituality does for me. One discipline I have is to appreciate nature every day. I appreciate feeding the horses early every morning, on through the day, ending with their last meal of the day around 11pm. And I make sure to check out the planets and the Milky Way. I meditate on feeling my connections to the universe, kind of drinking in those connections.

That sort of stuff.

You?

 

[FutureFaith]

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

There's something out there like this...

The Syntheist Movement Link.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

I don't. But having said that, ALL atheists believe in more than atheism. No reason for you to feel like you shouldn't be.

 

[Laika]

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

Yes. Absolutely.

Some here I expect will say they treat the "god hypothesis" in isolation and look at religious ideas on a case by case basis. So if you find a religious idea that is true, there is no reason to reject it because it is religious. the value of an idea is if it is true and adds to the stock of knowledge. religious ideas may be true- to a greater or lesser degree- and there's no reason not to take advantage of that. Religion was a way of organising our beliefs, knowledge and experience historically to pass it down through the generations so we should be open to take advantage of that. So you might have medicinal properties of planets being part of Native American mythology, or historical events being recorded in the bible. If we independently verify them and don't accept them on faith- its perfectly fine to believe it.


For spirituality, its about self-knowledge rather than knowledge of the objective world. self-knowledge is alot harder because its so much more difficult to verify scientifically or rationally. Our ability to understand the brain and to satisfy our psychological-spiritual needs is much more primitive, so we are going to need to draw on religious ideas probably for much longer in that area than in other areas of human knowledge and experience. I think Sam Harris may have a soft spot for Zen Buddhism as a Nuero-scientist to give an example.

For me personally, I've found I've had to deal with nihilism because rationality can be so destructive when its taken to absurd extremes. I can't really ignore the "pain" of nihilism as my brain is trying to tell me something is wrong and I need to do something about it. So its been necessary to have a sort of psychological "space" where I can be more myself and just put logic, reason and evidence aside for a bit- and find out what I want to believe in order to be happy and healthy. Sort of like meditation, you can just enjoy things for the sake of doing so, explore and find out who you are behind the mask of sanity. Often the darker part of ourselves reflect unconscious conflicts, so self-improvement means being honest about our dark side and finding out "why" they might be the case and finding ways of living with it or being at peace with ourselves. That can often take me in some unexpected directions but I'm much better for not taking myself so seriously. I might use psychology, intuition and introspection but its still essentially a spiritual atheism and its works pretty well for me. keeps me sane and more balanced than if I just "blindly" followed reason rather than listening to my own inner voice about who I want to be and what makes me happy.

 

[Father Heathen]

You can find spirituality within art and science, within creativity and discovery, within the potential of humanity, and within the depth of the mind and within how profound our universe is, and by being at peace and in awe, and by realizing how everything is connected and seeing the beauty in all.

 

[leibowde84]

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

Absolutely. Theists often claim that without God there is only materialism or physicalism. But, that just isn't the case. To know this, one only has to look to the answers that theists give to the question "why must God exist for spirituality to exist". It is often, "where would spirituality exist or come from without God". The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence ... it's a simple logical fallacy.

I think it is important to think beyond the box that theists create for atheism. And, it sounds like you are more in the weak atheist camp (like me), where you don't find God to be an impossibility. You seem to be withholding belief due to lack of evidence.

The important thing is that you are still searching.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

My position:

Spirituality is the recognition of and appreciation for the mystery of existence that we might never understand.

Science is the investigation of the mystery that we might never understand.

Art is our interpretation of and reaction to the mystery that we might never understand.

 

[Deidre]

I'm both a spiritual atheist AND spiritual anti-theist.

Man, it's tough for me to do a good job explaining what spirituality does for me. One discipline I have is to appreciate nature every day. I appreciate feeding the horses early every morning, on through the day, ending with their last meal of the day around 11pm. And I make sure to check out the planets and the Milky Way. I meditate on feeling my connections to the universe, kind of drinking in those connections.

That sort of stuff.

You?

I love that, appreciating nature. I think for me, someone who has been on and off with theism for a while, it's easy to think that spirituality ONLY encompasses theism, you know? I want to break free from that mentality. Even if someone were to believe in Jesus, and wish to follow his teachings, it still all gets wrapped up in the whole of Christianity. And that's a shame, because I believe in self expression and that is what atheism gives to me. Self expression. But, my heart is a little achy without some sense of spirituality, I'll admit that. But, it's really great to see people like you and others here who are atheists, yet spiritual, at the same time.

 

[Deidre]

Absolutely. Theists often claim that without God there is only materialism or physicalism. But, that just isn't the case. To know this, one only has to look to the answers that theists give to the question "why must God exist for spirituality to exist". It is often, "where would spirituality exist or come from without God". The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence ... it's a simple logical fallacy.

I think it is important to think beyond the box that theists create for atheism. And, it sounds like you are more in the weak atheist camp (like me), where you don't find God to be an impossibility. You seem to be withholding belief due to lack of evidence.

The important thing is that you are still searching.

You know what's cool? That people here ...well some...feel what I feel, or think like I think. (that might not be cool to you, Idk lol) I have mainly atheist friends who don't fully understand my struggle for they've been atheists all of their lives, even as kids, they weren't raised in religion. It's hard to explain that I need TO unlearn things, and put new things in its place, and while those new things make perfect sense, my heart is slow to agree. My theist friends are just saddened by my latest revelations. My parents, can't even discuss it with them, I mean, they're okay about it but. And I recently got married in May of this year, and my husband is very open to discussing it, but he is a non-theist, an agnostic if I had to label him. He just doesn't see why I struggle with it. He said what's the big deal if you believe one day, and the next you don't? ''Life is about change'', he says. I suppose he's right.

It's nice to have objectivity here to help me figure some things out.

So, you're in the weak atheist camp, eh? We should have a mascot.

 

[NewGuyOnTheBlock]

Ah! Finally, I can post! Haven't been here in a while ...

But, anyway ...

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

You are simply going through the deconversion process; which, for some of us, takes a long time. For me, it was 1989 when I asked my first critical question; and 2013 when I finally reached the conclusion of what I believe to be truth: No God, no spirit, etc.

It gives us comfort and a sense of purpose to believe that somehow, there is something "spiritual" about us; that there is something or some"one" beyond the material world.

So yes, other atheists have been where you are.

I am not trying to guide you down the deconversion process nor unduly influence you; your journey through life is yours and yours alone. But for me, I find comfort and connection with this world around us by seeing and relishng the goodness that those with whom we share this world have to offer; by valuing higher ideals; by recognizing that all life shares a common ancestor thus we are all related; taking the burden upon myself to try to make the world a better place rather than throwing it off on incantations and improvable assertions of "greater spiritual forces" guiding our lives. So in a sense, depending on how you define "spiritual", I could be called "spiritual". But I don't call myself that.

I do believe that there are things which science will never unravel. I have experienced phenomena in my life that has convinced me that it is likely or probable that we have perceptions beyond current scientific explanation (or even acceptance); some may call it "clairvoyance" or "ESP" or other such things. Personally, I hold that such phenomena has a naturalistic basis; but I submit that the phenomena is so elusive to define and that the variables required for the phenomena to exhibit itself is even more elusive and extremely subtle; making it near impossible for scientific definition, repeatablility and experimentation.

Anywho. I've rambled enough.

Yes, there are atheists who think like that and as you are coming from a religion that stressed the reality of a personal god, it only makes sense to me that you do. It will be interesting to see if this changes over time.

May the Wind be at your Back.

 

[EverChanging]

I understand spirituality in the context in which you are using it to be a more individualized form of religion, essentially, and certainly there are all sorts of ways that atheists may be spiritual in this way. Here is a good website with lots of articles on naturalism and spirituality: http://spiritualnaturalistsociety.org/articles/

 

[gnomon]

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

Yes.

 

[Deidre]

I understand spirituality in the context in which you are using it to be a more individualized form of religion, essentially, and certainly there are all sorts of ways that atheists may be spiritual in this way. Here is a good website with lots of articles on naturalism and spirituality: http://spiritualnaturalistsociety.org/articles/

I don't know why I just noticed this, thank you. I've been reading about Eclecticism and strangely, I like this label when I normally don't like labels much.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I've been reading about this, and understand what it means. I've always been drawn to the ''what might be'' types of thoughts and that is likely due to the fact that I was brought up in a devout Christian home, and felt that faith ''should'' be a part of someone's life. But, I'm once again turning away from Christianity, and feeling like I'm at a cross roads with all of this. Intellectually, I claim an atheist view when it comes to the idea of a god existing. But, emotionally...I yearn for something more. On the one hand, I think that we should celebrate life as it is...and on the other, I yearn for there to be more than just this material world. That doesn't mean I yearn to worship a deity, for I don't...but, maybe on a spiritual level, we can have that connection to something more, but also be intellectually honest with ourselves. (claiming atheism)

Do any atheists here think like this? Do you feel that it's possible to be a spiritual atheist?

I find the universe itself a "spiritual" experience.

Wonderment and awe. Just by looking up into the clear sky at night and being able to see all the stars and galaxies.

 

[YmirGF]

Some of us godless atheists can have a spiritual experience smelling the wonderful aroma of our morning coffee.