One of the strangest things I see on the Internet is when people ask atheists whether or not they believe in The Devil. I live my life without gods because I have not seen enough evidence to convince me that a god or gods exist. Why should the burden of proof be different for Satan (or the Devil or any other name)? If I don’t believe in gods, why would I believe in devils or demons? While they can be frustrating, these conversations give me a perspective on just how little some people understand about the idea of being an atheist.
I suppose it could come from the fact that the term “Atheism” is often used in conversations. The addition of that “-ism” to the end of a word tends to identify something as an ideology – Catholicism, Fundamentalism, Islamism, Buddhism, etc. So it is possible that it is through this unfortunate terminology that people have come to misunderstand what identifying as an “atheist” means, at least at it’s most basic definition.
Sans Deities
The word “atheist” comes from the Ancient Greek word atheos which means without gods or godless. It is a simple statement of disbelief in a god or gods. Unlike many other “-isms”, it does not bring with it any other doctrinal requirements. There is no creed. There is no standard set of beliefs that all atheists accept. That makes being an atheist in today’s society all that much more complicated.
But it should be simple. My understanding of atheism, being an atheist, is a simple thing – I am not convinced, as of right now, of the existence of any supernatural being I would acknowledge as a “god.” Interestingly, many people prefer to use the term “agnostic.” Agnostic derives from the Greek agnostos meaning “that which is unknown or unknowable.” Which raises a subtle and interesting question.
If an atheist is not yet convinced of the existence of a god and an agnostic believes that the existence of a god is unknown or unknowable with any certainty at this point in time, are they not the same thing? Well, to my way of thinking, yes. They are the same thing. The atheist who remains open to possible new evidence in the future is indistinguishable from the agnostic who openly admits that they do not know whether or not a god exists. It is the difference between answering the question “Do you believe in god?” with a “not yet” versus a “maybe.” It is a subtle difference that may mean something to others, but doesn’t seem all that different to me.
Different ways to be godless
People come to their lack of belief in a god in different ways. The path that any of us take to reach our beliefs and conclusions in this life is always informed by many experiences and ideas that we encounter along the way. So it can be tricky to simply state that I am someone who does not believe in gods. It seems that there are always assumptions from other encounters with those who do not believe in gods. There are many reasons people do not believe in gods.
Just as there are those who are fervent in their belief in a god, there are those who are similarly committed to their unbelief. It seems no amount of evidence will ever convince them of the existence of a god. I would call them “anti-theist”; convinced that a god could not possibly exist. Others have come out of a religious past and may have anger or animosity toward their former faith. They are “anti-religion” for personal reasons. Still others view the role that religions have played in societies as overwhelmingly harmful and hold “anti-religious” beliefs for philosophical reasons. There are many reasons that people decide not to believe in gods.
The bottom line is that identifying as an “atheist” does not tell you a lot about me or what I believe. It does tell you one thing that I do not believe. Perhaps this is why many atheists bristle when they are treated as if they have a “faith” or a religion. When someone identifies as a Christian, you can make a fair number of assumptions about how they approach life and relating to others. The same is not true of atheists. They can be as different from one another as they are from a Buddhist or Muslim. Sharing a disbelief in gods is the same as sharing a love of banana bread. It’s just one facet of who I am.
It’s not like a club
I have heard it said that thinking of “atheism” as a religion or ideology is like thinking of “abstinence” as a sexual position. That someone does NOT do a thing isn’t the same as describing how they would do it! There is tremendous diversity among atheists. There are liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, people from all walks of life.
No, I don’t believe in The Devil. But not because I am an atheist. I don’t believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy either. There are a lot of things I believe in and many that I do not believe in. The fact that I don’t believe in a god makes me an atheist. And that is all that being an atheist should tell you about me. I don’t think people who believe in a god are wrong. I don’t believe that religion is necessarily bad for society or that people shouldn’t attend the church, temple, or mosque of their choice.
I have heard a lot of things said about atheists. That we are not moral. That we do not respect the beliefs of others. That we seek to bring down the religions of the world. And many more outrageous claims. I live a life without gods but I am none of those things. There is no set of beliefs that comes along with my atheism. If you wish to know what I do or do not believe in, we can have a conversation and you can ask me. But unlike a Christian or Hindu, the simple label of “atheist” cannot tell you anything about me. It only tells you that I do not believe in a god.
If you talk with an atheist, you might be surprised what you might learn. You will almost surely learn that many of us have different views on a diverse set of subjects. More importantly, you might learn that many of the things you have heard about atheists are just not true. We are people first; human beings just like you.
Photo credits
Magenta Dusk- Francis Vallance 2015 from Flickr
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