Is atheism a belief?

[Belacqua]

The word "belief" implies that there is faith involved, which there isn't.

I have said a dozen times so far that I use the term "belief" to mean "something one holds to be true." I have defined it this way over and over so as to avoid this kind of misunderstanding. 

I know that on sites like this one, people tend to define "belief" as "stuff people hold to be true based on reasons I like," and "knowledge" as "stuff people hold to be true based on reasons that I like." Unfortunately this can get us into trouble down the road, so I am always careful to define the term. I'm sorry you didn't see that.

As for the rest of your post, you're still responding to things I haven't said.

I'm interested in people's passionate desire to keep any kind of belief away from their personal atheism. Even the beliefs that they use to argue in favor of it. 

The whole thing has been very clarifying for me. It's puzzled me why so few people are willing to say that they have any positive beliefs which lead to this unsullied lack which they find so important. I'm very confident now, based on this thread, that any adult atheist has an atheism that is so wrapped up in things that he holds to be true that calling it a mere lack is semantics at best, avoidance at worst. 

To be careful we can call it a conclusion based on things we hold to be true, which we accept as criteria according to reasons (which may be good or bad, logical or emotional, more or less consciously stated), and which are necessary for the lack we hold dear. This does not apply to babies, rocks, and lizards. 

Anyway, that's all. I'll end my part of the conversation here. 

Thank you all for chatting with me.