Help needed with essay on atheism

[xSilverPhinx]

What exactly are you looking for on atheism?

[Gilmore Rabens]

What exactly are you looking for on atheism?

I don't have anything specific in mind, as I'm just trying to get some idea of where to start.

[Whitney]

What exactly are you looking for on atheism?

I don't have anything specific in mind, as I'm just trying to get some idea of where to start.

The only thing common to all atheists is that they don't believe in any gods.  Past that individual atheists differ in many ways.  Does that get you started?

[xSilverPhinx]

Well there are plenty of threads here with everything from deconversion stories to anecdotes...

Which class is the essay for?

[Gilmore Rabens]

What exactly are you looking for on atheism?

I don't have anything specific in mind, as I'm just trying to get some idea of where to start.

The only thing common to all atheists is that they don't believe in any gods.  Past that individual atheists differ in many ways.  Does that get you started?

That could be an angle. How long have you been an atheist?

[Whitney]

That could be an angle. How long have you been an atheist?

Um...like 6 or 7 years I guess.

[Gilmore Rabens]

That could be an angle. How long have you been an atheist?

Um...like 6 or 7 years I guess.

Is it a big part of your life?

[Whitney]

That could be an angle. How long have you been an atheist?

Um...like 6 or 7 years I guess.

Is it a big part of your life?

At the risk of offending forum members...no.   Being an atheist isn't that important to me, it's just something that labels me correctly.   Things like promoting religious tolerance, freethought, and rational thinking are a rather large part of my life next to career related things.

[Tank]

These two threads would be worth a read,

viewtopic.php?p=74241#p74241
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=5111

What thoughts crossed your mind as you read those?

[Asmodean]

That could be an angle.

That IS an angle and the most accurate one at that. The only thing two atheists who have never met before know they have in common (apart from physical characteristics and the like) is that both do not believe in gods. One can be a socialist while the other is a liberal democrat. One can be for death penalty, the other against. Etc, etc.

You can not analyse the moral values of atheism, for instance, as it has none. It is nothing more than lack of a belief, like being tumor-free is a lack of tumor (Doesn't say anything about genital warts - just the tumors)

At the risk of offending forum members...no. Being an atheist isn't that important to me, it's just something that labels me correctly

Same. Atheism is just something that defines a certain aspect of me, like having a tattoo or lacking in skin quality.

[Gilmore Rabens]

That could be an angle.

That IS an angle and the most accurate one at that. The only thing two atheists who have never met before know they have in common (apart from physical characteristics and the like) is that both do not believe in gods. One can be a socialist while the other is a liberal democrat. One can be for death penalty, the other against. Etc, etc.

You can not analyse the moral values of atheism, for instance, as it has none. It is nothing more than lack of a belief, like being tumor-free is a lack of tumor (Doesn't say anything about genital warts - just the tumors)

At the risk of offending forum members...no. Being an atheist isn't that important to me, it's just something that labels me correctly

Same. Atheism is just something that defines a certain aspect of me, like having a tattoo or lacking in skin quality.

Are there certain things that atheists tend to have in common?

[Tank]

Are there certain things that atheists tend to have in common?

In my experience atheists tend to be very curious, sceptical of all thing supernatural, independent thinkers, distrustful of authority these things come to mind.

[Asmodean]

Are there certain things that atheists tend to have in common?

Lack of a belief in gods.

Beyond that, we have as much or as little in common as random people in a crowd.

[Stevil]

Although Atheism means lack of a belief in god/s and other than that there are no teachings or scripture of documented morals I do feel you can derive something much more meaningful.

From my time on this site I have learnt much more about what an Atheist is and what the difference are between Atheists and Theists.
I think it is best to approach Atheism by desribing what it is not about. There are many misconceptions.

Atheism is not:
- the denial or rejection of god/s.
 - anti religion.
 - a position that there are definately no god/s

Atheism does not have a scripture, does not have a common set of "morals".

Atheists are not evil (be default) and are not motivated by a desire to get away with sinful acts.

Atheism is the natural state of everything that exists, be it living or not (My car, my neighbor's dog and myself are all Atheists).
All Theists were born as Atheists, they were subsequently introduced to the concept of a god and was taught to believe in their flavour of god/s.

In General:
Atheists do not
 - ascribe to life having an objective purpose
 - agree to there being an objective morality
 - have a dependancy on static scripture with regards to understanding what is wrong or right.
 - state that there are definately no gods

Atheists are likley to
 - Have a humanistic view of the world
 - require proof or evidence of theories
 - engage critical thought to ideas and theories
 - be tolerant of others regardless of race, religion, gender, culture, lifestyle, sexual preference...
 - be for equal rights

You could say that if there were such a thing as objective morality then Atheists are more likely to be in tune with this objective morality than Theists. This is because they do not have the bias of scripture dictating what the moralities should be.
You could say that only Atheists are capable of being selfless, since Atheists have no expectation of going to heaven or being reincarnated as some prefered creature due to performing good acts during this life time.

But for the most part Atheists do not think about god/s or lack of god/s. Atheists do not have daily rituals supporting the stance of Atheism. To an Atheist, the label of being an Atheist is a very minor label amongst the multitude of labels that a person has.

[Gilmore Rabens]

Are there certain things that atheists tend to have in common?

In my experience atheists tend to be very curious, sceptical of all thing supernatural, independent thinkers, distrustful of authority these things come to mind.

In what ways are atheists independent thinkers?