Usually on these forums I've seen that Atheist is a loose term and generally only means the lack of belief in a religion. Under this definition, MasterC2010, you are an Atheist.
If you lack positive belief in God, you are an Atheist
I don't believe that at all. I have friends who don't have a religion, and it ticks me off all the time when people ask my friends, and are like "You don't have a religion? So you're Atheist?" NO THEY'RE NOT! GOSH! Why can't people just not have a religion and not be considered Atheist? Really? They just haven't looked into it yet, or they didn't grow up in a religious household, etc. I grew up Mormon ever since I was little, so it was easy for me. That's just how I always remembered it. But I have one friend who doesn't have a religion yet, because she is so confused. She said "I don't know what to do. Everyone says their church is true, so which one is true?" I thought in my mind "well my church. wait." I didn't say anything because my other friend (who is not Mormon) was pushing my friend (1st) to go to her church. I didn't want to be like that. I can't imagine how hard it would be to just have to pick a church. My point: Just because you don't have a religion, doesn't mean that you are Atheist.
Chances are, notinthepie3 is that Atheism is often regarded by many as associated with other things as well - Atheism is loosely what I said it was, and if they don't believe in God they're Atheists. Does that mean I think of them like that? Nooooo. Does it mean that people could construe it as a bad thing? Definiiitely.
Should you worry? Hell no, if they're going to judge you for not believing in a deity then they're not worthy of being your friend. It's a fair argument really.
Do your friends believe in a deity? The yes / no answer to that question answers whether or not they are Theist, simply put.
Why can't people just not have a religion and not be considered Atheist? Really? They just haven't looked into it yet, or they didn't grow up in a religious household, etc.
A lot of Christians haven't looked into their religion, but they're still Christians. The problem is that the term "Atheist" tends to be associated with someone who vehemently opposes religion and wants to de-convert everybody. "Atheism" basically means "not theism", just like "asymetrical" means "not symetrical". As Matt Dillahunty explained it, when asked "Do you believe in a god?", if you say "Yes", you're a theist. Anything else, including "I don't know", and you're an atheist.
I think to for clarification you might want to specify if your friends believe there is a god, don't believe there is a god, or don't know if they believe there is a god. To me it's sounding like the third one, but I may be mistaken.
i dont belong to any one religion on this planet. i dont believe in any spirit, deity, or god humanity has made up. i dont fear the possibility of hell, nor do i work for the reward of heaven. i am an Atheist.
I'm a Sunni Muslim. Just a question, though. Does Atheism count as a religion? I know it isn't but if someone were to ask you 'What religion are you?' -- wouldn't you feel a little stupid saying 'Atheist'?
No, Atheism isn't a religion, although that doesn't exclude us from answering the question - it's like if someone asked what flavor of potato chips everyone liked and some people didn't like chips at all - we'll call them Achipists.
I dont follow any specific religion. In fact I support the theory that Science is Gods will. It makes more sense than "Hi my name is God." POOF! "There's the Earth. Now, Im tired so Im going to just disappear for a few hundred years; dont bother me."
I dont believe a single word written in the Bible...honestly the thing has been re-written for way too many times to count.
