Theists and Religionists of All Sorts Often Can't Understand Atheism [View all]

The mindset they have regarding religion often cannot comprehend the idea of simple nonbelief. They have invested a great deal in their own beliefs and hold them firmly. That is why, so often, they attempt to define atheism as just another sort of belief. A belief system. They are incorrect to do so.

Nonbelief is not belief in any way. It is, by definition, a lack of belief. It is a rejection of belief in things that cannot be demonstrated through recognizable evidence. Atheism has much logic behind it. It is not an emotional mindset at all. It simply cannot believe in what cannot be demonstrated through evidence.

Theistic religions are emotionally based. They rely on fuzzy concepts like faith, hope, and mythology. Lacking any sort of real, observable evidence for the deities they worship, only those emotional concepts can support their belief. In order to counter people who say they can't believe things without evidence, religionists claim that they actually believe there are no gods. They insist that atheists "prove" that deities do not exist.

That's just silly. One cannot prove the nonexistence of anything. One cannot prove that Santa Claus doesn't exist, nor that unicorns are mythical creatures, invented by the human mind. Such proofs are logically impossible. More importantly, there is no need to prove unbelief. It simply is a lack of belief in things that cannot be demonstrated.

It's all quite simple, really: Theistic religions are based on belief in non-demonstrable deities. Atheism is simply the lack of belief in those things or the logical inability to believe that supernatural entities of any kind are anything more myths upheld by faith, wishful thinking, or hope.

If we can all get that straight, the need for arguments about what atheism is would end abruptly. Believers believe. Atheists don't. Simple. Theism and atheism are antonyms. They have precisely opposite meanings. Atheists typically don't care what individuals believe. Theists should not care what atheists do not believe. It doesn't really matter.

It is not belief or non-belief that matters. It is actions. Why that is not understood by everyone is a complete mystery.