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What exactly is an "atheist" ?
The name itself is really neutral in its origin:
a- (meaning 'not', like 'a-typical') plus -theist (meaning 'to do with a god or gods)
It's come to be used in many (basically religious) society to have meanings like the 'unspiritual' aspects that noyielding mentioned - but being 'spiritual' and being involved in organized religion are two different things. Atheists can certainly be spiritual.
The Dalai Lama has some interesting words on this:
'I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. 'Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. 'Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.'
Atheists are not members of an organized group. One can not become a registered member of atheism as such. The word atheism describes absence or rejection of any notion of the existence of a god (or gods).
Many people who do not believe in any god, will not refer to themselves as atheists. They see their own position as neutral and find no need to refer to the absence of a non-existing deity or religion. To understand this position one could consider the idea of a christian calling him or herself, for example, an a-muslim, or a-hindu.
All people, including religious people are very familiar with the concept of atheism. In some respect, one could refer to dogmatic religious people as atheists too. After all they reject all gods of other people's religion. Atheists reject only just one more than they do.
Someone who does not believe in any type of god or "higher being" or that we were created by some higher being. In Western culture(US, etc), atheists are frequently assumed to be irreligious or unspiritual. However, religious and spiritual belief systems such as forms of Buddhism that do not advocate belief in gods, have been described as atheistic.
I am a proud athiest its someone who does not beleive in any religion and any god we have other ideas of what happens when we die that dont include heaven, and usually beleive evolution as what made animals and humans come to be, not a god who points his fingers and poof it appears
"Athiest's are people who dont believe in higher power some believe in evolution"
evolution is not a belief... that's like saying some believe in gravity...
and atheism is the philosophical position that deities do not exist...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
Athiest's are people who dont believe in higher power some believe in evolution my athiest friends think that when they die there bodies will decompose into the earth and help a tree grow but basically they think you live then you die and then your dead.
people that have noting to do with a god or gods
xgrillZillaxISM atheist: people who get no Sl-l1T
