Scientific knowledge versus spiritual knowledge

[God of Mr. Hanky]

Perhaps I've been misled all along. Atheism, defined a a lack of belief, does not entail radical empiricism. From the above comments it would seem otherwise.

There's no such thing as "radical" empiricism. Medical science and aerospace engineering have been overwhelmingly successful by adhering to empiricism over woo, there's nothing "radical" about that. Nothing which makes modern society work was developed through non-empirical "knowledge", least of all the communications channels which we use today. Astrologists, psychic networks, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, vitamin snake-oil vendors, dowsers, Muslims, and evangelical Xtians are all examples of those who operate by non-empirical claims, and their contribution to any part of society which actually works is (apart from charity work, which can be measured empirically) absolutely zero! Empiricism is the only way by which one can move closer toward learning the truth about life and how it works, and how to get things of real value done. Because it is, not because I want it to be so, and not because I imagined the product of my own mind was somebody else talking to me! This fact is routinely tested in the real world, not just in scientific labs. It sets empiricism apart from ideologies, religious ideas, and also the theistic/mystical ideas of those who think they are slippery enough to dodge the label "religious". We have studied ideas such as the above in-depth, and our criticism is according to a consistent standard of empirical reasoning which cannot be made up in anybody's own head. You do nothing but lob pejoratives at ideas which you don't understand, when you wish not to understand them, and you cannot even explain your own - this is the mark of a pathetically immature person, and you need to stop this if you want your ideas to be treated with respect!

Atheism is correctly defined by a lack of belief in a god. This does leave atheism open to some who don't believe in gods, but live by the wooful ideas of astrology, Wicca, non-theistic Buddhism, and / or other forms of mysticism. There are also many atheists who live by ideological socio-political ideas, and ideology is as antithetical to empiricism as is mysticism. It so happens that the above groups have sites apart from here for interests such as the above, while those who are atheist on account of their logical rejection of unfalsifiable claims gravitate in our direction.