Can you believe in ghosts and the spirtual paranormal and still be an athiest?

Dave Hitt www

Most atheists are skeptics as well, so they examine the evidence for ghosts, ESP, dowsing, homeopathy and the like and find they’re all nonsense. But atheism and skepticism are two different things, so it’s possible to be an atheist but still believe in other goofy stuff. It’s uncommon, because people who rejects god for lack of proof will tend to reject other unproven things, but yes, there are some atheists out there who believe in silly things.

SmartLX

I’ve discussed this with several self-declared atheists who firmly believe in ghosts, so the answer is yes.

Most atheists don’t believe in ghosts for the same reason they don’t believe in gods: no evidence, and no other good reason to believe. The atheists who do believe in ghosts, I find, tend to do so because of personal experiences which lead them to think there is evidence. It’s just not evidence they’re able to share, even if it’s real.

George Ricker www

Atheism is the absence of god-belief.

Consequently, a person could be an atheist and still believe in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.

I don’t believe in such things, and I don’t think most atheists do, but nothing about atheism per se rules it out.

bitbutter www

You can be an atheist who believes in ghosts. I know one who does, based on a personal experience.

Most self identifying atheists I’ve spoken with though, don’t believe in the existence of any of the things you mentioned, and nor do I.

To take ghosts for instance; what we know about brain damage makes it implausible that anything resembling a person could survive your bodily death. In view of this initial implausibility, the evidence for the existence of ghosts is not strong enough to warrant belief.