Atheism and the meaning of life - what drives you?

[Mister Agenda]

I have a steady job, a partner who loves me, a puppy who is gradually becoming tolerable, and friends I can spend hours in conversation with. I have a few charity projects and I usually get a good night's sleep. I've got my fair share of problems, but on balance I'm pretty happy with how my life has turned out. I'm not sure 'drive' is the right word, but I'm pretty content.

[Simon Moon]

Sex, drugs and Rock ´n roll.

What a fulfilling life.

So...

There are 35 pages of atheists explaining, where they get their meaning, in very clear terms.

And this post from Deesse23 (which I suspect is facetious in the first place), is the one you choose to comment on. I guess so you can make some sort of point.

If you get anything our of your time here, I hope you take away how intellectually dishonest you are.

[Spongebob]

Except there's no "better with" part to explain in the first place.  It's not even a placebo.  The vast majority of miserable people are believers by brute force of demographics.  Belief in a god doesn't seem to be making life any better for people who believe in gods..and that makes it idiotic to believe that it -could- make life better for people who don't.

What would make life better for people who didn't believe in gods and for people who do..... is if people who did believe stopped being such dicks and blaming it on their gods.  Full stop.

But many believers do think that religion (or just belief in the supernatural) makes their life better in some tangible ways.  Sometimes its a subtle thing, like believing one is happier or more content.  Other times its outrageously direct like belief that believing shields you against disease or bad financial hardships or relationship mishaps and my favorite, their ball team will win.  A more down to earth theist might claim that the ideals and lessons they learn through religion help them make better life decisions and thus make their life better.  Believing these things doesn't make things happen but it can have a very minor effect on one's outlook.

[The Grand Nudger]

Many people believe many untrue things. Gods and god beliefs are free riders.

If good ideals, for example, are making a person happy, then it's the good ideal having the effect. Not any coincidentally attached superstition. We could peel it back again another layer by asking "what if a superstition is making a person happy?" Well, let's get specific - say..they have an object they believe to be imbued with magical powers which they touch three times before leaving their home. Ritual and routine are making them happy, not the totem or belief in it.

We see this playing out in disparate theological systems with shared ideological norms..and with the incredible variety of lucky charms.

[Spongebob]

Many people believe many untrue things.  Gods and god beliefs are free riders.

If good ideals, for example, are making a person happy, then it's the good ideal having the effect.  Not any coincidentally attached superstition.

That's true, it's the belief, not the thing they believe in.  Unfortunately, they don't understand that.