The term “atheism” is often abused and misused. Atheism is simply the lack of belief in gods. The utility of keeping this meaning of the word becomes clear, when we consider the different aspects of belief and non-belief relating to gods, or other claims, and the need to be able to use meaningful and simple labels.

The Many Kinds of Atheism

Agnosticism is not atheism. Agnosticism relates to knowledge. An agnostic admits absence of knowledge on a topic. So an agnostic atheist is one who does not believe in a god and admits an absence of knowledge relating to the existence of such a thing. That’s a lot of words to use when instead I can just use “agnostic atheist.”

Similarly, there’s strong and weak atheism. A strong atheist doesn’t simply lack a belief in gods, but they also believe that there is no god. It’s a lot easier to say “strong atheist” than “a person who believes that there are no gods.” A weak atheist, on the other hand, is someone who does not believe that there is a god, but doesn’t believe that one doesn’t exist either. Again, it’s a lot easier to say “weak atheist.” But if we define “atheist” as “belief that there are no gods” then we would have to use those lengthy expressions. So it makes sense to leave the meaning of “atheism” alone.

However, many try to take the term and turn it into much more. I do understand that there’s a desire to push back against theocracy and oppression caused by religion. I do not ever wish to have someone else’s belief, religious or otherwise, foisted upon me.

The Changing Nature of Atheism

Unfortunately, more and more, “atheism” is coming to mean something else. It’s becoming an identity and an institution. There are numerous atheist groups, organizations, and events. There’s even an “atheist day.” I blame groups like Atheist Republic and American Atheists that, while perhaps trying to do some good, have created this massive group of people that identify as “atheists.”

It becomes very difficult to argue with those who call atheism a religion when you have people starting to associate dogma, doctrine, and more, to the term. So often I come across people who regurgitate quotes by various “atheist scholars” such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others. The whole “religion poisons everything” is a commonly used meme.

It also becomes very difficult to point out that atheism is just a lack of belief in gods, when you have entire institutions dedicated to “atheism” that promote holidays about “atheism.” More and more the members of these groups are becoming unified in their world views and their rhetoric. There are people who, at least on social media, create their entire internet personas around their “atheism.”

It’s one of the reasons why I don’t even like to say that I am an atheist. Not believing in something isn’t an identity. It has nothing to do with who I am. At most it has to do with what I am not: a theist. And even then, whether I believe in a god or not largely depends on how we define “gods.” I believe the sun exists. If the sun is a god, then I guess I believe in gods.

Unfortunately the moment we start to identity as something, we become protective of that identity. So those who identity as atheists will start to see their atheism as an identity, rather than just a lack of belief in gods. Those who are theists will therefore have to be “the others.” In the case of the self identified atheist, theism is an opposition to the atheist’s identity.

Such a situation is rather problematic. This self identification is intimately connected to the idea that “atheism” is more rational, that it is the rejection of religion and that it is the correct world view. It is a label that is worn with pride. And is is also tied to another concept that I refer to as “Religious Rejectionism:” a religion based on the rejection of existing religious world views, such as the belief in gods, afterlives, souls, ghosts, etc. Really, a lot of self labeled atheists are likely Religious Rejectionists, and I don’t want to see atheism becoming synonymous with that world view.

Atheism should remain nothing more than the lack of belief in gods, and those who lack a belief in gods. Really, atheism is a term that probably should not exist at all, but it does, simply because theism exists and is so prominent. But so long as it exists, it makes sense to leave it alone, so that we can talk about all the different ways that people view gods and god beliefs, without having to resort to lengthy descriptions like “a person who lacks a belief in gods while also lacking a belief that there are no gods.”