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Angrboda · (This post was last modified: September 8, 2012 at 3:57 am by Angrboda.)

This is an anonymous poll. Your votes will not be open to other people's inspection. (I think. This is my first poll.)

I've noticed this past year that there are atheists who believe being an atheist entails rejecting all beliefs regarding the supernatural.

The more common definitions, AFAICT, are that an atheist is simply someone who either lacks a belief in a god, or someone who denies the existence of 'God'.

What I'm primarily interested in is simply finding out what percentage of those who consider themselves atheists fall in the first camp.

Feel free to elaborate on your views regardless of which camp you belong to, but I ask that this thread not become a debate, but rather simply an exploration of the views of different people in atheism.

Dumac Dwarfking · September 8, 2012 at 3:54 am

Without religion, the supernatural seems to fall apart. If someone is looking for answers and a God isn't a good enough explanation, they will turn to what modern science has to say on the subject. If one then chooses to accept the principals of science then all that is supernatural suddenly becomes something totally absurd. How could one justify that there is no God but that ghosts and ghouls are still a viable possibility? It boggles the mind...

**Ace Otana** · September 8, 2012 at 3:58 am

I'm an agnostic atheist, which means I don't know/cannot know whether a god exists or not and so I make no claim on the matter while atheist seeing as I don't believe that there is a god or gods.

Atheism means without theism. Without belief in god. That's it.

Red Celt · (This post was last modified: September 8, 2012 at 4:02 am by Red Celt.)

There wasn't a voting option for the correct answer (a combination of 2 & 3). 2 = weak atheism (agnostic atheists) & 3 = strong atheism (gnostic atheists). Atheism includes both.

2. I am an atheist and believe that atheiswm only implies that one lacks a belief in (a) god.
3. I am an atheist and believe that atheism requires denial of the existence of gods.

edit: This question has been answered rather neatly here. Although... they're my words, so I'm inevitably biased. Probably.

pocaracas · September 8, 2012 at 4:07 am

I do not believe in the existence of divine beings. Hence I'm an atheist.

Tempus · (This post was last modified: September 8, 2012 at 5:39 am by Tempus.)

I voted for option #2, "I am an atheist and believe that atheiswm only implies that one lacks a belief in (a) god." I still think I'll clarify here though. I call myself, when asked about gods, an agnostic atheist. I think knowledge* and belief are separate. Agnosticism is my stance on gods for knowledge, atheism for belief. The Greek words from which they originate literally translate as "without knowledge" and "without god" respectively if I recall rightly (not that I'm appealing to their origin for current definition. Etymological roots and dictionary definitions don't determine word a word means, only its usage does. Since I think the words "agnostic" and "atheist" are still ambiguously used I usually accompany them with my definition. Ultimately I want people to understand what I mean, I don't care about the words used. If people want to call me a "pineapple" and recognise that means "lack of belief in gods" then go for it. Might be a bit confusing though.)

I'm interested to see the results of this poll once more votes are in. I like the nuance that you put into it, breaking things down rather than throwing everything into 3 - 5 options.

*I'm beginning to think there's a couple of problems with knowledge in this context. Firstly, what is knowledge? I remember seeing knowledge defined as "a belief that is true" once. Yet presumably you'd never be certain if you had an untrue belief... so how could you be certain you know? Secondly, gnostic atheists, those who "know" there are no gods, don't really know at all - they're certain. A distinction should be made between certitude and knowledge. Having said this, perhaps it's more accurate and relevant to say I'm an "uncertain atheist". Regardless, my vote is still an accurate representation of what I believe since the question was "what is an atheist?", not an agnostic.

**Jackalope** · September 8, 2012 at 5:41 am

What Tempus said.

Oldandeasilyconfused

I am an agnostic atheist

"Atheist"; that INFERS (not implies) that I do not believe in god(s).

Agnostic ; I do not claim to know and concede I may be wrong, no matter how unlikely I think that might be.

Do I care what 'kind' of atheist your are ? No,unless you start trying decide what I should think, say or do, like that obnoxious and puerile atheist+ shower. In that case,I will probably say some very unkind ,even coarse things..(quite possibly almost as rude as in the video below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7zbWNznbs

Haydn2 · (This post was last modified: September 8, 2012 at 6:16 am by Haydn2.)

Im an Atheist in the sense that i don't believe in anything super natural , including gods. I can't be sure that ghosts , fairys , angels , gods don't exist but i certainly believe that they are so far fetched as to not to call my self agnostic ( which i think is a cop-out).

**Tiberius** · September 8, 2012 at 6:53 am

I voted "I am an atheist and believe that atheism only implies that one lacks a belief in (a) god." but like many here, I'm an agnostic atheist. My atheism means I lack belief in any gods, and my agnosticism means I don't have any proof that gods don't exist. I also don't believe proof is possible, one way or the other.

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Poll: What is an atheist? This poll is closed.
I am an atheist and believe atheism entails the complete rejection of the supernatural.	15.00%	6	15.00%
I am an atheist and believe that atheiswm only implies that one lacks a belief in (a) god.	47.50%	19	47.50%
I am an atheist and believe that atheism requires denial of the existence of gods.	7.50%	3	7.50%
I am an atheist and believe something not covered above (please elaborate in a post, but, if you choose not to do so, please vote anyway).	2.50%	1	2.50%
I am an agnostic and believe that being an agnostic doesn't entail anything about the supernatural.	2.50%	1	2.50%
I am an agnostic and believe that agnosticism about gods has implications for beliefs about the supernatural.	0%	0	0%
I am neither an atheist or agnostic but believe that atheism often involves rejection of the supernatural.	0%	0	0%
I am neither an atheist or agnostic but believe that atheism doesnt involve the rejection of the supernatural, but does require denial of 'God'.	5.00%	2	5.00%
I am neither an atheist or agnostic but believe atheism primarily involves lack of belief in (a) god.	0%	0	0%
Atheist other (please explain)	12.50%	5	12.50%
Agnostic other (please explain)	2.50%	1	2.50%
Other (please explain)	2.50%	1	2.50%
Unable to reply due to problem with the structure of the poll. (please explain)	0%	0	0%
(I like even niumbers.)	2.50%	1	2.50%
Total		40 vote(s)	100%