Atheists: What Do You Believe In?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Spun off from this thread.

One of source of misunderstanding about atheism is the idea that atheist can or should be a complete philosophy or worldview, with an ethical component and statements about meaning and so forth. This is not what atheism is, as was covered in the linked thread. But, this doesn’t mean that atheists don’t have beliefs, just that none of their beliefs are theistic.

So, atheists: What do you believe in?

I’ll start:

Secular humanism
Naturalism
Libertarianism (of a moderate type)
Existentialism
Deontology

2

Why should I believe in any of those things? Does Atheism imply a positive belief in something?

3

I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.

4

You shouldn’t, it’s up to you. I’m not advocating anything here.

No, and that’s the point.

But atheists do have beliefs; we’re humans and all. These are purely individual and unrelated to atheism.

More detail: in the linked thread, pchaos seemed to struggle with the idea that atheists have beliefs. This is a response.

5

In my mind “belief” in the non-atheist context means believing something to be real with no proof. Most atheists won’t have any such beliefs.

6

I believe the children are our future.

7

I believe I’ll have another drink.

8

I believe in creating a world where everyone wins.

I believe that happiness is found within, is limitless, and is always available.

I belive in presence.

I believe that love is the only pure emotion.

I believe in an attitude of abundance.

That’s just for starters.

9

That’s a very strict reading of “belief”. A belief is just an opinion or conviction. If you believe that it’s wrong to kill for sport, that’s a belief, and atheists are as likely to hold it as anyone else.

10

Marx

11

Allow me to answer your question with a question: Did any of those views change when you started believing there was no God? (if you used to, of course)

I’m not very familiar with philosophy so I’ll add some details to explain where I think it’s helpful.

Secular humanism - humanity and reasoning are pretty cool and I prefer this to any mindset which would instruct us to go against our own interests
Naturalism/materialism/physicalism
Rule utilitarianism, with some basic rules that may be rooted in my squeamishness or cultural blinders, but at least I’m honest, right?
American liberalism (think New Deal/Great Society)
Existentialism, in the sense that people find their own meaning

When I was a theist I was willing to accept at least one supernatural thing. It actually took a few years to transition from “many supernatural things exist and interact with nature regularly” to “they probably exist but don’t interact with us” to “there is no evidence of their existence…by definition.”

I had the rest of the views while I believed as well. Maybe not existentialism just because I hadn’t been exposed to it enough.

12

I believe I can fly

13

I believe that there are more things in heaven and earth, (pchaos), than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

14

I’m not a philosopher. I don’t believe in a creator, I don’t believe in an activist God and I believe that when we pass away, that’s it, we rot away just like any other once living thing. I’m OK with that.

I’m not a militant, I’m probably not even going to discuss my views with you unless you pursue that conversation. You leave me alone and let me have my beliefs and I’ll leave you alone as well.

I am attracted towards some eastern/Buddhist philosophies and I tend to use that as a guide for how to live my life and how to think about the world in general. I’m at peace with myself and with the world. I have no drama and live a pretty quiet life.

15

I believe in pie.

16

This I like. Let’s look for win-win solutions on this thread. No hell and eternal damnation if you don’t follow our ideas.

17

I believe in a thing called love.

18

I believe that if you are nice to people they will be more likely to return the favor, and that there are enough people out there who believe the same way to give that belief a fighting chance. I believe that what you leave behind, your legacy, is much more improtant than where you are going. I believe that the next generation will do, think, say and sing things that will more than justify their existence. I believe in renewing the new every day-hear a new song, read a new book, pay attention to a new idea, meet a new person.

19

I believe that there are higher powers than us, and they’re called physics and mathematics and logic.

I also believe that because we’re all running on the same hardware, there are some deep-seated preconceptions we all share about the best way to behave toward each other when things are going well. We don’t need religion to tell us what those things are.

20

I was never religious, so in my case, no.