Topics Religion

Question If I believe that God does not exist, but at the same time think that the idea of God is meaningful, am I an atheist? If not, then what position - philosophically - do I take?

Accepted:
February 18, 2006

Comments

It would be natural to describe you as an atheist, yes. You find the proposition that God exists intelligible (because you find the concept of God intelligible), but you believe that proposition is false. You'd be in the position of someone who had a concept of the Loch Ness Monster, who understood what the world would have to be like for there to be such a creature, but who believes that there is no such creature.

What would we call someone who believes that the concept of God makes no sense? Perhaps an atheist too. But labels aren't important. Understanding differences is. You and such a person would both refrain from asserting that God exists, but for different reasons: you, because you believe that God does not exist, and he, because he believes that any proposition involving the concept of God is unintelligible.

To add to Alex's answer, you might find the idea of "God" not
just intelligible, but "meaningful" in the sense of useful or
otherwise desirable: for example, you might consider theism
socially useful or personally desirable, or might conclude that
the world is better off with many people participating in
religious communities, etc.

In this case, you would still be an atheist but would not be
hostile towards theism or religiosity -- indeed, you might even
regret that you do not believe that God exists. Possibilities like thisare worth considering, because many assume that atheism involvescontempt towards or hostility towards believers and thus discussions ofatheism and portrayals of it in the mass media are frequently distorted.

Question If I believe that God does not exist, but at the same time think that the idea of God is meaningful, am I an atheist? If not, then what position - philosophically - do I take? Accepted:February 18, 2006

Question If I believe that God does not exist, but at the same time think that the idea of God is meaningful, am I an atheist? If not, then what position - philosophically - do I take?

Accepted:
February 18, 2006