A question about atheistic “beliefs” (opinions, guesses, etc.)

[Frank Apisa]

That is not an "interesting thought experiment"...that is desperation being typed.

Okay, if you say so.  Do you have an answer?

Not sure what you want answered here. The question is not clear to me. Please ask it again and I will attempt a coherent answer.

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But if a person decides to include the word "atheist" in a descriptor he/she applies to self...that person almost certainly has a "belief" that there are no gods...or that it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one. Otherwise the person including atheist is doing so only because some dictionaries demand it be be done. Anyone doing that is an asshole.

Or, perhaps they understand the word atheist differently than you do.  Is it not possible that, unlike your explanation, they simply view the word differently, that atheism only implies a lack of belief?

I agree with you on that. But what I am saying (consider this carefully) has almost nothing to do with the "meaning" of the word...but rather in the choice to use it as a descriptor.

I am saying that in my experience just about EVERYONE who uses "atheist" as a descriptor does "believe" either that there are no gods, or (more usually) that it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one god.

THAT subtlety, in my estimation, is what causes a person to declare him/herself an atheist...not the fact that some dictionaries define it as someone lacking a belief in gods.

Using the "it only means lacking a belief in gods" as THE definition...unnecessarily causes some people (LIKE ME) to be forced to be deemed an atheist when we do not want that designation. The use of designations like that should be a choice...NOT a compulsion.

I do not "believe" any gods exist; I lack that "belief." But I also do not "believe" that there are no gods; I also lack that "belief."

I do not under any circumstances want to be de facto considered an atheist...when the alternative is easily available.

Funnily enough, I actually agree with you to a degree.  For many atheists, they do have a belief about gods.  Unfortunately it's not universal, which means it's not essential to the definition of atheist, and so makes a poor foundation for describing all atheists.

Thank you for that, Angrboda. I agree it is not universal. But the idea that anyone "lacking a belief in gods" is de facto an atheist SHOULD BE UNIVERSAL makes no sense.

I hope you can understand my position on this issue. Please feel free to ask any questions to clarify anything I have said so far...or to refute what you see as erroneous thoughts.
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