What do people think "atheist" means?

[ArtieE]

When a person tells me that he or she is an atheist, I think that tells me that this person is not a theist, that this person doesn't believe in the existence of gods.

When a person tells you he/she is an atheist, what do you think that tells you? No philosophical treatises please, just a few short sentences.

 

[Bunyip]

Well until you ask a few more questions, somebody telling you that they are an atheist doesn't really tell you anything. So my answer is: Nothing, absolutely nothing.

 

[ArtieE]

Well until you ask a few more questions, somebody telling you that they are an atheist doesn't really tell you anything. So my answer is: Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Well, by saying it the person obviously thought it would tell you something... what do you think the person thought he/she was telling you?

 

[Valjean]

I'd assume he doesn't believe in God.
Because of his usage of the term I'd assume he was at least aware of the concept of God (not all atheists are), but, as Bunyip indicated, his actual views on God and religion remain to be clarified.

 

[Norrin-6-]

I'm going to have to agree with Bunyip on this one, that it doesn't really tell me anything.

The whole reason it doesn't tell me anything is because I don't have a clue what the person thinks they are telling me. I can't read minds.

 

[Norrin-6-]

I'd assume he was at least aware of the concept of God (not all atheists are)

And this illustrates the problem with not knowing what a person thinks. If I were the arbiter of reason, there would be a clear line drawn between someone who knows the concept of God and identifies as atheist, and someone who does neither.

 

[Augustus]

Well until you ask a few more questions, somebody telling you that they are an atheist doesn't really tell you anything. So my answer is: Nothing, absolutely nothing.

It would really depend on the context of the conversation and what prompted them to say it. If this was just an average daily conversation with someone, I'd certainly say it had meaning though, and I'm pretty sure everyone here would make assumptions based on it.

In average conversation we don't try to be entirely logically consistent and objectively approach the conversation as a form of scientific or philosophical analysis.

If someone tells you they are an atheist then I would assume they have rejected the case for theism and believe all gods were human creations. I might assume more than that dependent on context, such as, this person is not religious or belong to any religious congregation. I might assume they believe we only have one life and death means death, they favour scientific explanations over supernatural ones, etc. It is hard to say accurately though as it really needs greater context as there are countless things that would affect it.

Honestly, I would probably assume quite a lot, even things that are in no way connected to the word atheism. We can't help ourselves doing this, as words are connotative as well as denotative and connotations are based on the stereotype of 'atheist' that exists in our mind. This stereotype will be based on personal experience and the society and culture in which you live. I mean if someone tries to get you to to go on a date with their friend who is a librarian, you will make assumptions about her beyond simply that she works in a library.

I would assume more than it is logically 'correct' to do though, and I think that most people would do the same. It's just how we are, unless we are actively trying to 'self-correct' our cognitive biases.

 

[Rival]

Equal to saying the statement "There is no God" or "No God". No indicator of views on Religion or such, just a declaration that no God or Gods exist.

 

[Jumi]

Pretty much just that they haven't been convinced of gods existence.

 

[ArtieE]

I'm going to have to agree with Bunyip on this one, that it doesn't really tell me anything.

The whole reason it doesn't tell me anything is because I don't have a clue what the person thinks they are telling me. I can't read minds.

And if the word "atheist" doesn't tell you anything, where would you go to find out what the word "atheist" means so that you could understand what this person was trying to tell you?

 

[ArtieE]

If someone tells you they are an atheist then I would assume they have rejected the case for theism and believe all gods were human creations.

And this assumption also automatically includes the assumption that this is a person who is not a theist, a person who doesn't believe that gods exist. Even if you should be wrong to "assume they have rejected the case for theism and believe all gods were human creations" and the person goes on to say, after you have made your assumption, that he is "an atheist but I don't believe gods don't exist I won't go that far" he is still covered by the "not a theist" definition and I wouldn't try to tell him that he's not an atheist. Would you?

 

[ArtieE]

Equal to saying the statement "There is no God" or "No God". No indicator of views on Religion or such, just a declaration that no God or Gods exist.

Since you are Christian and the biblical definition of atheist is

"Psalms 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good."

that as what I expect you to believe about atheists. But I assure you many atheists don't want to be associated with this definition for obvious reasons, despite what some atheists here claim. Most atheists just live their lives without thinking much about God at all and they most certainly don't go around declaring that "There is no God". They don't want to be associated with a definition that calls them fools and corrupt etc and are trying to get rid of that stigma. Unfortunately, there are still people who insist on using this definition to the detriment of all weak atheists. I would encourage you to think of atheists simply as people who just live their ordinary normal lives without thinking about God with no firm opinions about him because he just doesn't matter to them.

 

[Augustus]

And this assumption also automatically includes the assumption that this is a person who is not a theist, a person who doesn't believe that gods exist. Even if you should be wrong to "assume they have rejected the case for theism and believe all gods were human creations" and the person goes on to say, after you have made your assumption, that he is "an atheist but I don't believe gods don't exist I won't go that far" he is still covered by the "not a theist" definition and I wouldn't try to tell him that he's not an atheist. Would you?

I don't really get your point.

You were asking me what I would assume if somebody told me they were an atheist, I told you. I would assume they had rejected the case for theism and believe gods to be human creations. Rejected the case for theism = not a theist through choice rather than lack of awareness of theism. Gods are human creations = don't believe that they are real/exist.

Seeing as we are talking about what I, subjectively, think, rather than precise, normative philosophical usage of the term am I allowed to use my own words to describe what I think?

As I said previously, I would also assume a lot more. Not because 'atheist' actually means any of these things, but because that is how language often works in reality. We construct meaning from language in subjective ways based on numerous subjective factors.

As well as my subjective experience, what I assumed would depend on the context, the person, their appearance, how well I knew them, which country I was in, etc. etc.

 

[Desert Snake]

When a person tells me that he or she is an atheist, I think that tells me that this person is not a theist, that this person doesn't believe in the existence of gods.

When a person tells you he/she is an atheist, what do you think that tells you? No philosophical treatises please, just a few short sentences.

I'm going to assume they don't believe in any deities, and that is in the context of anything anyone would even consider a deity. If they mean something else, it's on them to clarify.

 

[Rival]

Since you are Christian and the biblical definition of atheist is

"Psalms 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good."

that as what I expect you to believe about atheists. But I assure you many atheists don't want to be associated with this definition for obvious reasons, despite what some atheists here claim. Most atheists just live their lives without thinking much about God at all and they most certainly don't go around declaring that "There is no God". They don't want to be associated with a definition that calls them fools and corrupt etc and are trying to get rid of that stigma. Unfortunately, there are still people who insist on using this definition to the detriment of all weak atheists. I would encourage you to think of atheists simply as people who just live their ordinary normal lives without thinking about God with no firm opinions about him because he just doesn't matter to them.

Most people just go around living their lives, Atheist or not. I don't go around with gospel tracts every day trying to sell my Religion; likewise I wouldn't expect Atheists to go around shouting to the heavens that God doesn't exist, or passing around Hitchens' "God Is Not Great".

Also, don't try to tell me what I should and shouldn't believe.

 

[Rival]

BTW folks who generally don't think about God and just don't care are usually called "Irreligious". An Atheist has made a concrete, active decision that no God exists.

 

[ArtieE]

BTW folks who generally don't think about God and just don't care are usually called "Irreligious". An Atheist has made a concrete, active decision that no God exists.

No he hasn't. That is what I was trying to explain to you at great length. That is what your Bible says but this is wrong.

"The more common understanding of atheism among atheists is "not believing in any gods." No claims or denials are made - an atheist is any person who is not a theist. Sometimes this broader understanding is called "weak" or "implicit" atheism. There is also a narrower sort of atheism, sometimes called "strong" or "explicit" atheism. Here, the atheist explicitly denies the existence of any gods - making a strong claim which will deserve support at some point."
http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutatheism/p/atheism101.htm

 

[Rival]

No he hasn't. That is what I was trying to explain to you at great length. That is what your Bible says but this is wrong.

"The more common understanding of atheism among atheists is "not believing in any gods." No claims or denials are made - an atheist is any person who is not a theist. Sometimes this broader understanding is called "weak" or "implicit" atheism. There is also a narrower sort of atheism, sometimes called "strong" or "explicit" atheism. Here, the atheist explicitly denies the existence of any gods - making a strong claim which will deserve support at some point."
http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutatheism/p/atheism101.htm

The word ATHEISM:

A = No

Theos = God

No God.

"I believe no God".

 

[Windwalker]

When a person tells you he/she is an atheist, what do you think that tells you?

They are making an affirmation about their beliefs.

 

[Rival]

I just use the dictionary definition as my Collins one gives it:

Atheism: [Aith-ee-iz-um] n belief that there is no God atheist n atheistic adj.