What do Atheist Believe?

[mikkel_the_dane]

Google’s English dictionary, provided by Oxford Languages.

religion

• a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion.
  "consumerism is the new religion"

Okay, I wouldn't use that one myself as representative of religion as a concept say related to faith.
I don't feel it is representative of the idea in this understanding of religion:

Religion | Definition, Types, Beliefs, Symbols, Examples, Importance, & Facts | Britannica

Religion, human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.

www.britannica.com

 

[HonestJoe]

By definition, you don’t have to believe in any gods to have a religion and therefore be religious.

I agree. In fact I think I said exactly that somewhere back in the thread. That has nothing to do with me spending some of my free time posting on this forum (and others) on a whole range of topics though. It certainly has nothing to do with the point I was making in my initial response to you, which was simply that something you did when you were an atheist doesn't necessarily say anything about atheism in general.

 

[Apostle John]

Okay, I wouldn't use that one myself as representative of religion as a concept say related to faith.
I don't feel it is representative of the idea in this understanding of religion:

Religion | Definition, Types, Beliefs, Symbols, Examples, Importance, & Facts | Britannica

Religion, human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.

www.britannica.com

I agree. In fact I think I said exactly that somewhere back in the thread. That has nothing to do with me spending some of my free time posting on this forum (and others) on a whole range of topics though. It certainly has nothing to do with the point I was making in my initial response to you, which was simply that something you did when you were an atheist doesn't necessarily say anything about atheism in general.

If you don’t like being called religious what about being called an obsessive or a fanatic of a sect of atheism, because that’s what you’re currently displaying.

You see, when I was an atheist I never went around publicising it. In fact I only mentioned it when asked.

 

[Colt]

I met some Atheist Jews recently, hadn't heard that term.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

If you don’t like being called religious what about being called an obsessive or a fanatic of a sect of atheism, because that’s what you’re currently displaying.

You see, when I was an atheist I never went around publicising it. In fact I only mentioned it when asked.

Well, sorry to disappoint you. I am not an atheist. I am a deist.

 

[Apostle John]

Well, sorry to disappoint you. I am not an atheist. I am a deist.

Ah, the way you were engaging with me I thought you weren’t religious but you clearly are. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Ah, the way you were engaging with me I thought you weren’t religious but you clearly are. Thanks for clarifying.

Well, as an atheist, I were a friendly one. I accepted standard religion as a human choice and didn't consider it wrong and all that. As a standard religious person I am a friendly one and don't consider atheism wrong and all that.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Google’s English dictionary, provided by Oxford Languages.

religion

• a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion.
  "consumerism is the new religion"

And that is called an equivocation fallacy.

 

[Subduction Zone]

If you don’t like being called religious what about being called an obsessive or a fanatic of a sect of atheism, because that’s what you’re currently displaying.

You see, when I was an atheist I never went around publicising it. In fact I only mentioned it when asked.

Responding to incorrect claims makes one a fanatic? Wow, that must be some dictionary that you have.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

And that is called an equivocation fallacy.

Yeah. It is the same with other words, which each have several definitions. For the word "be" in the cat is black that is not the same "is" as 2 plus 2 is 4.
But that doesn't mean there are definitions of religious for which some atheists are religious as pointed out by other posters.

 

[Apostle John]

Well, as an atheist, I were a friendly one. I accepted standard religion as a human choice and didn't consider it wrong and all that. As a standard religious person I am a friendly one and don't consider atheism wrong and all that.

I don’t think of atheism as wrong in the sense of freedom of choice. The people I told I was an atheist at the time bothers me as it makes me think I could have contributed in misguiding them. I cannot contact all of them to say I’ve found Jesus now. I pray God finds them.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Responding to incorrect claims makes one a fanatic? Wow, that must be some dictionary that you have.

Well, I am a friendly deist who accept atheism. That is properly what makes me a fanatic or what not.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Well, I am a friendly deist who accept atheism. That is properly what makes me a fanatic or what not.

I don't know. That sounds pretty extreme to me. Aren't we all supposed to hate each other? Being nice is just so intense.

 

[Heyo]

I met some Atheist Jews recently, hadn't heard that term.

"Jew" has multiple meanings. It is an ethnicity, a culture and a religion.

 

[Colt]

"Jew" has multiple meanings. It is an ethnicity, a culture and a religion.

Right, Atheist Jews are ethnic Jews who don’t believe in God but do some of the holidays, even Christmas.

 

[HonestJoe]

If you don’t like being called religious what about being called an obsessive or a fanatic of a sect of atheism, because that’s what you’re currently displaying.

It's not that I dislike it as such, it just isn't true but I'm not a fan of any generic labels in this area. Why are you so determined to assign some generic identity to me at all? Why not address what I personally do and say rather than generic assumptions about a group you imagine I'm part of?

You see, when I was an atheist I never went around publicising it. In fact I only mentioned it when asked.

Neither do I (that's why I simply set my religion as "none" in my profile rather than any reference to atheism for example). This thread was specifically asking what atheists believe though so it made sense for the various atheists who responded to say so, especially given most were along the lines of "Not all atheists believe the same thing but I believe...".

 

[Apostle John]

It's not that I dislike it as such, it just isn't true but I'm not a fan of any generic labels in this area. Why are you so determined to assign some generic identity to me at all? Why not address what I personally do and say rather than generic assumptions about a group you imagine I'm part of?

Neither do I (that's why I simply set my religion as "none" in my profile rather than any reference to atheism for example). This thread was specifically asking what atheists believe though so it made sense for the various atheists who responded to say so, especially given most were along the lines of "Not all atheists believe the same thing but I believe...".

I don’t know if you’re being honest joe. Setting your religion as none and then actively contributing to this thread as an atheist does sort of incriminate you as someone who waffles as a typical atheist.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

It seems to me that Atheists are most concerned with proof. Not only that they typically want it handed to them on a silver platter served by an angel from heaven. I mean don't get me wrong, all of us would probably love for that to happen, but what I am curious to know is: Is there anything that Atheist believe in? I mean, does an atheist live life expecting everything to be explainable.... factual.... proven? Is there anything, metaphysical or physical, that they actually believe in or do they just rely on their concrete proof and knowledge? If they do believe in something... anything? Why? I'm curious.

For people who find believing in this, that or the other thing, the concept of the sceptic is very difficult. But think about it:

Somebody sends you a text saying "Your money couldn't be sent because we need your banking info -- click here to provide..." Do you click? If you do, you're an idiot! But if you don't click, why did you not? What made you not believe that somebody really wanted to send you money?

Consider that you are in your workplace, and a co-worker says, "the boss says you have to finish my tasks for me." Do you believe him? If so, why? Do you ask the boss if that's true? And if it is, do you ask "what's in it for me?" (I mean, he's still getting paid, and so are you, but you're doing the work and he isn't. Wouldn't you have some questions about that?)

Let me turn your question back on you -- "What do you believe, and on what basis do you believe it?" Try, if you can, to give a reasonable basis for your belief.

 

[HonestJoe]

I don’t know if you’re being honest joe. Setting your religion as none and then actively contributing to this thread as an atheist does sort of incriminate you as someone who waffles as a typical atheist.

I really fail to see the problem. I'm not religious and I don't believe in gods. Both of those things are characteristics I have but I have countless more - British, programmer, NHS employee, cyclist, gamer, Generation X... the list is essentially endless, as it will be for anyone else. If someone posts about the UK, healthcare or growing up in the 1980s, I'll answer on the basis of those characteristics. In this case, the question was about not believing in any gods so I answered on that basis. And while I'm certainly not immune to waffling, I'm not sure you can say I'm doing any more than anyone else here, yourself included.

 

[Aupmanyav]

By definition, you don’t have to believe in any gods to have a religion and therefore be religious.

You are correct here. As a Hindu atheist, I strongly subscribe to the concept of 'dharma' (duties) though I do not believe in God, soul, and ideas that relate to them. Many of the Buddhists and Jains also will say so.