More than you think.

Atheism means “a” (lack of) “theism” (belief in the existence of a god or gods). Sometimes people add to the definition to include firmness of belief, conscious rejection of the idea, etc., but that’s the fundamental meaning. That means that anyone who has no conception of the idea of a powerful supernatural being (most commonly infants and young children) is an atheist. I.e., no conception or understanding: no belief.

But that’s not what this thread is about, so when I ask how many atheists you know, I’m not including your newborn grandson. The other major type of atheist is the adult who has been told that a god or gods exist, but who has considered the idea and as a result has come to the conscious decision that the statement is false.

Atheist doesn’t refer to the large numbers of people who have heard of the idea of a god, but have never really considered the implications of that idea. They therefore think it’s probably true or could be in some sense, but don’t believe it’s important to them. It’s similar to hearing that sooner or later a large meteor or comet will strike the earth and cause huge destruction. “Eh, it’s not going to affect me even if it might be true, so it’s not something I’m going to worry about.” It also doesn’t refer to other large numbers of people who were raised in a religious tradition, but stopped actively worshiping at some point. That seems to be most common among “reborn” Christians who want to claim that they were “atheists” at one time, but saw the light and now know better. Atheism is also not “I don’t know, so I won’t decide” agnosticism.

Now that I’ve given my own (partial) definition of conscious “atheist,” how many do you know?
I know at least four, but I probably would not know that any of those people were atheists if I wasn’t one myself. Atheists are regularly insulted with broad brush characterizations of the “militantly offended” and “pushy” sort. Are there atheists who are pushy and arrogant? Of course, just as there are pushy and arrogant CrossFit athletes, pilots, LEOs, firearms instructors, rightists, leftists, Christians, Muslims, bicyclists, vegans, sports fans of countless types, gays, straights, etc., etc., etc. What is largely different about atheists from all those people is that “atheist” is still a pejorative term. Just as not too long ago many gays were reluctant to be identified by their sexual orientation, the same is true of many atheists’ views about religion.

As far as is known, there has been one openly-admitted atheist in the history of the US congress, and as we might expect, he was a Democrat from California. Surveys have disclosed that being an avowed atheist would keep more people from voting for a candidate than virtually any other factor short of a heinous criminal record.

For many years I was heavily involved in various aspects of planning for community emergencies and had the opportunity of meeting the pastor of a local church. He had a great reputation for his support of various activities, including doing things like feeding and housing a large group of young cross country skiers suffering from hunger and hypothermia after their winter expedition almost ended in disaster. He was initially very outgoing and friendly to me, and one day he worked up the confidence to ask about my own religious beliefs.
I told him I was an atheist.
That was the last time he spoke to me despite our having seen each other many times since in various venues in our small town.

I am mostly retired and at this point it wouldn’t matter much if my lack of religious belief were to become more widely known. That would not be true, however, of the other atheists I know. In fact, when atheists identify each other, it’s usually preceded by a little verbal dance that spirals around the topic until it gets close enough for one to admit, “I’m an atheist,” then, “Oh [sigh of relief!], so am I.”

I believe most atheists are hesitant to openly admit the fact and therefore it should be evident that they’re not going to make it even more obvious by trying to “push” their beliefs onto anyone. But there’s more than that. The other fact is that many atheists simply don’t care what other people believe, even if they think that religionists are deluded and wasting their lives, money, and efforts in pursuit of those beliefs. If they don’t care, they’re certainly not going to bother trying to convince others to change their beliefs and ways.
(For the record that was once my own attitude, but no longer. I came to realize—with one hugely notable exception—that religious beliefs and practices are a benefit to many people. I don’t know what percentage of other atheists agree with me, but I know I’m not alone. If anything, it’s other devout religionists who have the strongest opinions about religions they don’t agree with.)

This thread is about who I believe atheists are, not how we get that way. Explaining all that would be very tedious and it would be very hard to discuss certain things without offending certain people. When people have strong beliefs, just saying, “I don’t believe that,” can be an offense. I will, however, very briefly state the most fundamental reason for my own unbelief in a god, gods, or any other supernatural being or force. That is the limit of the “first cause” argument.

That argument is that everything must have a cause, and the cause of the universe is a god in one of the countless forms it’s been conceived of by us imaginative humans. The problem, of course, is one that’s immediately recognized by any intelligent and precocious seven-year-old who asks, “But where did God come from?” Schopenhauer pointed out that the first cause argument is like “a hired cab which we dismiss when we have reached our destination.” “Okay, here we are. We’ve identified the fact that the universe must have been caused, but we don’t need to ask what caused that cause.” There is no argument for the existence of supernatural forces that doesn’t founder on those rocks—at least for me.

Whether you agree with me or not, please keep any comments civil and respectful of others’ beliefs.

I know a couple on this forum (one that is very open and confrontational about it :-)
and one that isn't.

I don't really know if I know any in "real life" - if I do, they've never made it a point to inform me.

I believe in God and Christ, but don't seek to convert others in any forceful manner. If they like how they see me living, they can ask me about it. As long as your belief (or lack thereof) doesn't infringe on my rights or require you to kill me - I'm ok with it.

Cant say I am aware of any I know. But I dont ask anyone about their beliefs so that factors in.

So far as I can recall, only one avowed atheist, a Spanish colleague of mine. Not surprising; Spain is, perhaps ironically, a very atheistic country.

quote:

Atheism is also not “I don’t know, so I won’t decide” agnosticism.

I know plenty of people who are indifferent and I would call them agnostic.
As far as I know... I don't know any true atheists. Of course I probably have met some but your post does a good job explaining why I wouldn't know it.

An old Jesuit priest (who used to coach the rifle team) once said to my freshman theology class "It takes as much faith to absolutely believe with certainty that there IS NOT a God as it does to absolutely believe that there IS a God."

That's why I think there are more agnostics. They just don't really want to put much effort into deciding either way.

No way to know. They look like everyone else. Until they start evangelizing to me about how wrong I am, I can't tell....lol

I don't know any atheists, or at least nobody I know has told me they're an atheist. I interact with a lot of people daily at work and don't know the religious beliefs of the vast majority.

Only one. My oldest sister that passed away back in March. She was filled with so much venom towards anything to do with organized religion or anyone that held religious beliefs that it was downright scary. That fact plus her being a rabid Obama/Hillary/Bernie supporter caused me to keep my contact with her to an absolute minimum.

Two.

A few dozen, myself included (based on your definition).

From my own experience, distrust of atheists seems to stem, at least in part, from the incorrect assumption that one cannot be a moral or “good” person without the influence of a god or a religion. I’ve been asked by several self-avowed Christians over the years why I bother to behave in a civilized manner at all since, to my beliefs, there is no eternal punishment awaiting me for any sins committed in life. I was shocked the first time this happened, but by the third I’d come to expect it.

I’m not sure what bothers me more - someone assuming I’m a bad person because I don’t believe in the threat of eternal damnation or the notion that a few of my neighbors refrain from killing and eating me only because an invisible man in the sky told them not to.

I am envious of close-knit religious communities. Traditions and shared experiences are important, and we non-believers often have to work to find substitutes.

I'm one. Most of my family is, too. I married another one.

I don’t know. A few. Probably like you said it’s more than I know.

Atheism can be as bad as any religion though in my experience. I don’t push my religion on anyone and rarely talk about it unless asked. I’m sure a lot of atheists are the same. But for every religious person knocking on doors there is a militant atheist who goes out of their way to tell as many people as possible about their “religion”.

Both are annoying to me.

ETA while I know you are an atheist I’m not implying you are an annoying one. Your posts on the subject seem genuinely curious about the subject of religion and I typically enjoy your posts.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
I’m not implying you are an annoying one.

Thank you. I try not to be, especially here.
But I don't always succeed.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
I’m not implying you are an annoying one.

Thank you. I try not to be, especially here.
But I don't always succeed.

Me and you both brother.

Besides me, I can't think of any that would call themselves atheist. My sister doesn't believe in religion but I don't think she'd call herself an atheist. I think that most religious people don't actually believe though and are just going thru the motions.

I know several. Two that immediately come to mind are friends I've known online from the UK and have kept in touch over the years. We've had several online discussions, always respectful. We even exchange Christmas cards after all these years.

I am a Christian, but like SBrooks and Pale Horse not a hard evangelist at all.

Count me as another. I have great respect for the Judeo-Christian values that our nation is founded upon but I do not believe in any supernatural higher power

I would call myself irreligious. I can't think of one time growing up that religion was discussed. It has just been a non-factor in my life. The older I get and the more I see, the more I am cemented in my beliefs. I do agree that atheism in America has almost become it's own religion, hearing people talk and attaching themselves to it.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Cant say I am aware of any I know. But I dont ask anyone about their beliefs so that factors in.

Yep.
I don't ask anyone about their religious beliefs and so far, no one has asked me.
My family knows my beliefs but that's about it.

My younger brother is one. Not a militant one, but he is pretty sure there is no God. I fall more into the agnostic camp, as I’m not 100% sure about much of anything.