The dictionary defines an atheist as a person who does not believe in a personal or supernatural god. I was raised catholic but have never believed in the god of the bible or any supernatural god for that matter. I thought that made me an atheist, however in David Mills book “Atheist Universe” he states “the only individuals who sincerely turn to religion during such times of crisis are individuals who sincerely believe in an afterlife. Atheists, by definition, are excluded from this group.” I do not believe in a supernatural god but I do believe that people have souls that transcend our physical existence on this planet. Does this belief exclude me from Atheism? Are there other Atheists out there with similar beliefs?
Posted: June 3rd 2010
George Locke
I consider people like you, who have no belief in god but exhibit faith in other matters, atheists. I’d guess that belief in souls and the afterlife is pretty uncommon among atheists.
I have to wonder how you came to believe in the afterlife and souls. Neither hypothesis is falsifiable.
Posted: June 9th 2010
logicel
In order to have confidence (instead of faith) that there is an afterlife, you need substantial evidence. There is absolutely no evidence pointing to an afterlife. None at all. So even if your belief is grounded in what is natural and not supernatural, it is an unfounded one, therefore it can be considered a faith-based belief (just not theistic faith).
Atheists can resort to superstition and have all kinds of unfounded beliefs like homeopathy, non-evidential methods of gardening (following the phases of the moon), and believing that a rabbit’s foot can ward off bad luck.
I have met on the Net several atheists who do believe that they will somehow survive death. And I have met an atheist in 'real’ life who was once a physicist (now an lawyer) who is open to the idea that he could survive his own death. He does not have faith as you do, that he will, he just thinks that there could be a chance because we do not know everything.
I say why bother? Zillions of living creatures have lived and died for billions of years and there has been no evidence that a single one of them survived death. I don’t bother with entertaining the notion of surviving my own death just as I don’t bother with god belief. I got better things to do with the one life that I know that I do have, no matter how short it is. Entertaining the kind of personal narrative which involves transcending my own death just is not my cup of tea. But you can certainly do that (and still be an atheist).
I have not read Mills’ book, therefore I can only focus on the little snippet you quoted. Obviously, you have not turned to theistic religion, but yet you still have faith in life after death.
However, an theistic afterlife that theists believe in, is a very specific one. It is one where they are either united with their god in some way (enjoying virgins in the proximity of their god or worshiping at its feet for all eternity while united with their loved ones), or are separated from their god in some way (could just be that their god is absent or they could be burning in hell in terrible torment).
I am guessing that is the kind of afterlife Mills is referring to. Your faith-based belief in your transcending your own death most likely does not fit that description.
Some Buddhists can be described in the same way you have described yourself—they have no theistic belief but they do believe that they will transcend their physical mortality.
Posted: June 5th 2010