Why do we call ourselves Atheists? Why do we define ourselves by what we are not? If you break it down to the actual definition of the word, an Atheist is, "A person who is not a Theist." That presents a bit of a problem. Once you spell out what a Theist is, the definition of an Atheist becomes, "A person who is not a person who believes in God." When you read that sentence, it becomes apparent that saying you are what you are not is rather silly. It's like defining a male as a person who is not a person who is a female.
Not only is there a problem in calling ourselves what we are not, but there is the fact that by using this word we are actually calling attention to the idea of "God." Why are these non-existent entities that we know as "gods" worthy of this kind of publicity? I don't believe in ghosts, but if I went around calling myself an "A-ghostist" I'd be drawing attention to the consideration of these non-existent entities. It's like telling someone, "Don't think about a black cat." The person is obviously going to think of a black cat because the positive command is still in the sentence. It seems to me that by calling ourselves Atheists we actually give credence to the existence of gods.
Furthermore, I'd say most "Atheists" aren't defining themselves well enough when they use the term. You could be a Buddhist for all anyone knows. People that call themselves Atheists generally aren't Buddhists. Buddhists will call themselves Buddhists, even though the word Atheist would be a perfectly fitting. So the word carries more baggage in everyday conversation than it really should.
I'm leaning toward using the terms "Naturalist" or "Skeptic." These words give a positive definition and don't rely on being the antithesis of another concept.
