Can Someone be Simply "An Agnostic?"

[MindForgedManacle]

That's all atheism is.

Pretty much only atheists online use that definition of atheism, which pretty much pits them up against a cultural-linguistic wall, mostly because they just want to avoid the burden of proof.

This is why no one asks you "Do you believe X is true, or do you merely lack belief that it's true?" The question is hardly meaningful, and calling atheism anything other than the belief that theism is false/no gods exist raises seveeal issues I've already brought up in this thread.

Atheism is not rational thinking because not all atheists are rational thinkers. There's nothing stopping an atheist from believing in ridiculous conspiracy theories or alien abductions because these don't involve deities.

Atheism isn't about understanding evolution because people can accept evolution while only having a vague idea how it works.

I agree. I don't know where I implied atheism had anything to do with those things.

Atheism has nothing to do with superior intelligence. Many religious people are highly intelligent.

Atheism doesn't involve rules and regulations about what atheists should and shouldn't do. When I was on another forum a few years ago there were some atheists insisting that atheists shouldn't celebrate Christmas. I was very amused when Richard Dawkins said he's a cultural Christian.

Atheism doesn't mean people can't do meditation if they feel like it. Susan Blackmore explores the nature of consciousness using Zen meditation. Sam Harris also meditates much to the horror of some atheists who regarded him as a heretic.

Once people start attaching ideas such as these to atheism they're inventing an ideology of atheism.

Again, where did I do that? Regardless, atheism is at least a small component of an ideology.