# Sick of the term "atheist", is there a better alternative? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831 "2006-09-15T13:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/41 "2006-09-15T18:30:52Z")
Silent movie actress [Florence La Badie](http://www.silentsaregolden.com/photos/florencelabadiephoto.html), when questioned on this subject, called herself an “indifferentist”–she just didn’t _care_. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/42 "2006-09-15T18:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] None of those beliefs are common to all atheists, and your link makes it clear that Epicureanism is theistic! [/QUOTE] you might want to read it a little more carefully: [QUOTE=Wikipedia] Some would interpret this doctrine of the gods as really a disguised atheism. Fully aware of the fate of Socrates when brought up on a charge of impiety, Epicurus avoided expressing an overt atheism. Instead, he reduced the gods to mere physical beings and shut them up in a distant part of the cosmos, without a thought or care for what happens to mankind. This renders his philosophy atheistic on the practical level, but avoids the charge of atheism on the theoretical level. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/43 "2006-09-15T19:46:45Z")
[QUOTE=mrrealtime] you might want to read it a little more carefully: [/QUOTE] No, I think I got it. It’s Deism, after a fashion, and I’m not a Deist. I’m not interested in avoiding atheism on a theoretical level- that’s what I actually am. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/44 "2006-09-15T19:53:41Z")
[QUOTE=Danalan] It is worth noting that no one ever needs to identify himself as a non-astrologer or a non-alchemist. – Sam Harris [/QUOTE] IANAA, but … ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/45 "2006-09-15T22:59:03Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] No, I think I got it. It’s Deism, after a fashion, and I’m not a Deist. I’m not interested in avoiding atheism on a theoretical level- that’s what I actually am. [/QUOTE] Hey, if thats what you want more power to ya. What I am trying to point out is that the context provided a hefty price for someone claiming to be an athiest in Epicurus’ day. Today in our nice country, you dont have to worry about being killed for saying you are an athiest. It seems to me that a totally irrelevant god is, for all intents and purposes, non existant. The thing I like, and perhaps the point of this thread, is that he teaches there is a lot more to life without god than simply life without god. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/46 "2006-09-15T23:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=mrrealtime] It seems to me that a totally irrelevant god is, for all intents and purposes, non existant. The thing I like, and perhaps the point of this thread, is that he teaches there is a lot more to life without god than simply life without god. [/QUOTE] It still strikes me as a weasel-y way of stating your convictions, as if you don’t want people to know what they actually are. It’s dishonest on two levels: you’d be employing the term because you know people don’t know what it means, and because you’re implying belief in an irrelevant god when you don’t think one actually exists. This sounds like way more trouble than it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/47 "2006-09-16T02:49:02Z")
hey, 2300 years ago it was an important part, but Im not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The gods were there in context to appease the powers of the times, and their treatement was evidence. IANAE but I bet you CAN be a full fledged card carrying athiest AND identify with the majority of Epicurus and his ilk. Besides, how do you know some super intelligent, powerful being isnt living on some planet 50,000 light years away minding their own business? The point is, its irrelevant either way. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/48 "2006-09-16T02:51:27Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Silent movie actress [Florence La Badie](http://www.silentsaregolden.com/photos/florencelabadiephoto.html), when questioned on this subject, called herself an “indifferentist”–she just didn’t _care_. [/QUOTE] I’ve been using the term “shrugnostic,” meaning that the whole God-issue is irrelevant to my life. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/49 "2006-09-16T04:38:27Z")
I recently came across the term _ignostic_ (not _agnositc_). Although not an entry in the dictionary, it has a wiki page: > **[Ignosticism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism)** > > Ignosticism or igtheism is the idea that the question of the existence of God is meaningless because the word "God" has no coherent and unambiguous definition. > The term ignosticism was coined in 1964 by Sherwin Wine, a rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism. > Ignosticism and theological noncognitivism are similar although whereas the ignostic says "every theological position assumes too much about the concept of God", the theological noncognitivist claims to have no concept whatever t... ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/50 "2006-09-16T05:24:24Z")
Godfreyist. Har har. But if anyone is pushed to enquire I just say Jesus and I have a mutual non-interference pact. Then while they work through the syllables I run to the buffet table. (I have no problem with ‘atheist’ and use the term for myself.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/51 "2006-09-16T05:27:43Z")
[QUOTE=xash] I recently came across the term _ignostic_ (not _agnositc_). Although not an entry in the dictionary, it has a wiki page: > **[Ignosticism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism)** > > Ignosticism or igtheism is the idea that the question of the existence of God is meaningless because the word "God" has no coherent and unambiguous definition. The term ignosticism was coined in 1964 by Sherwin Wine, a former Reform rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism. Ignosticism and theological noncognitivism are similar although whereas the ignostic says "every theological position assumes too much about the concept of God", the theological noncognitivist claims to have no concep... [/QUOTE] And upon seeing this term, I think I like it more. ---
**Author:** ![yesanything](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yesanything](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yesanything)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/52 "2016-09-30T11:50:34Z")
> [@Nic2004](#): > > I’ve always liked “Heretic” I recently thought of possibly a new word: MEPTIC a combination materialist and skeptic ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/53 "2016-09-30T12:50:38Z")
Aha. So it’s your fault. Sick of “school”, so you say “attendance center”. Sick of “hospital” so you say “Health care facility”. Sick of “jail”, so you say “correctional institution”. Sick of “gay” so you say “LGBT”. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/54 "2016-09-30T13:36:42Z")
“Non-religious” or “Non-believer” probably sound the least egregious, so as to not single out the Christian god, but any god. I once had a co-worker, with long white hair & beard and in his 70s, tell me he told visiting JWs that he was a druid. He invited them in and told them all about druidism, which on the surface sounds more quaintly fun than sacrilegious. Dan Simmons had one of his characters say “Waiting to believe” when asked if he believed in God. I’ve used that a few times. “Nihilist” maybe, to express a deeper cynicism than atheism, but that would just lead to more questions, so it’s not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/55 "2016-09-30T14:55:53Z")
Whatever it is, make sure it’s easier to spell. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/56 "2016-09-30T15:11:25Z")
> [@](#): > > No wonder no one likes athiests, the very word basically says I am anti-god. I’d just like to point out that atheist just means not _believing_ in gods. [Antitheist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitheism) would be being _against_ belief in gods, and [misotheist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misotheism) means hating gods. And deicide means killing a god; can’t get much more anti-god than [that](http://www.theonion.com/article/nasa-completes-52-year-mission-to-find-kill-god-19263). ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/57 "2016-09-30T15:28:15Z")
I’ve always liked apatheist myself. I don’t know if there’s a god or many gods or no god, and I don’t particularly care. That said, “heathen” is a term used by several groups of neo-Pagans - I personally associate it with the nordic reconstructionist groups, who while generally okay on purely theological terms, tend to attract the white-power crowd, so are generally looked at askance. Edit: [Heathenry (new religious movement) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathenry_(new_religious_movement)) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/58 "2016-09-30T15:34:17Z")
The nice(?) thing about these arguments is that a decade later they’re still not old. Very tired, yet not old. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/59 "2016-09-30T16:47:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The nice(?) thing about these arguments is that a decade later they’re still not old. Very tired, yet not old. And it’s still a provocation to call yourself an “atheist.” I tend to use “non-religious” on first take. That’s either understood or leads to a discussion of “atheist,” which I will concede is a synonym. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831/60 "2016-09-30T16:53:20Z")
Agreed. I’m one too and the word has acquired[sup](When? Discuss.)[/sup] an antagonistic aura that’s, strictly speaking, inappropriate. The antagonistic label is not one I’m eager to wear in public. Though I’d dearly love to live in a society where “agnostic” or better yet “disinterested” was the cultural norm and safe cultural assumption about other people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-of-the-term-atheist-is-there-a-better-alternative/372831.md?page=4)