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There are plenty of people who don't affiliate with any religion but who are not, in fact, atheists. Not that it wouldn't surprise me if atheists, as a group, w

There are plenty of people who don't affiliate with any religion but who are not, in fact, atheists. Not that it wouldn't surprise me if atheists, as a group, were growing.

__jal 10y ago
...And plenty of atheists who go to church. I know several, and occasionally darken the door of one myself.
- andrepd 10y ago
  Why would an atheist do that?
  - DanBC 10y ago
    Social activity.
  - tomsthumb 10y ago
    Actually believing in god the way American Christians understand those words has not been a major part for many religious through history. Religious are about a lot more than just a bearded father figure in the sky.
  - __jal 10y ago
    Basically what Dan said. Community.
SudoNhim 10y ago
How can you not affiliate with any god and not be an athiest? Surely (not athiest) => theist => (believes in a god) => (has a religion)
- compactmani 10y ago
  I think it's more like: made a decision about god? if yes and believe there is one then theist else if believe there isn't one then atheist. A lot of people I think don't care to form a belief one way or another. I'm not sure what that's called.
- Joof 10y ago
  This is going to sound really dumb, but it's how culture works so bear with me. I'm nonreligious, I don't care to discuss it or think about religion as a part of my life, but it's okay if others want to be religious themselves. Why don't I want to be labeled atheist? It's looked down upon and many hardcore atheists are exclusionary. You know how when someone insists on it being GNU/Linux, but most people don't care? That's why I'm nonreligious (but technically atheist).
  - gregpilling 10y ago
    I used to tell people that I was an atheist, and my wife told me I was more of a "fundamentalist atheist" because I wanted everyone else to be too. Now I call myself a "Reformed Fundamentalist Atheist" because it captures that I don't care anymore (reformed), and it sounds enough like a real religion that people seem to accept it as one. In the spirit of many of the good things on the internet, the Reformed Fundamentalist Atheist church (RFA) is of course an open source religion, under the MIT license :)
    - Joof 10y ago
      Lol, sounds legit.
- scott_s 10y ago
  I have known several people who did not subscribe to any particular religion - actively shunned some - but described themselves as "spiritual". Others are self-described agnostics. Being an atheist is usually considered an active choice, not a passive one.
jqm 10y ago
You still can't admit to atheism in many (most?) areas of the country without pretty severe social penalty. Hopefully this is changing, but I think it's less that is atheism growing and more that people are becoming comfortable admitting what they really think.

There are plenty of people who don't affiliate with any religion but who are not, in fact, atheists. Not that it wouldn't surprise me if atheists, as a group, were growing.

__jal 10y ago

...And plenty of atheists who go to church. I know several, and occasionally darken the door of one myself.

andrepd 10y ago
Why would an atheist do that?
- DanBC 10y ago
  Social activity.
- tomsthumb 10y ago
  Actually believing in god the way American Christians understand those words has not been a major part for many religious through history. Religious are about a lot more than just a bearded father figure in the sky.
- __jal 10y ago
  Basically what Dan said. Community.

SudoNhim 10y ago

How can you not affiliate with any god and not be an athiest? Surely (not athiest) => theist => (believes in a god) => (has a religion)

compactmani 10y ago
I think it's more like: made a decision about god? if yes and believe there is one then theist else if believe there isn't one then atheist. A lot of people I think don't care to form a belief one way or another. I'm not sure what that's called.
Joof 10y ago
This is going to sound really dumb, but it's how culture works so bear with me. I'm nonreligious, I don't care to discuss it or think about religion as a part of my life, but it's okay if others want to be religious themselves. Why don't I want to be labeled atheist? It's looked down upon and many hardcore atheists are exclusionary. You know how when someone insists on it being GNU/Linux, but most people don't care? That's why I'm nonreligious (but technically atheist).
- gregpilling 10y ago
  I used to tell people that I was an atheist, and my wife told me I was more of a "fundamentalist atheist" because I wanted everyone else to be too. Now I call myself a "Reformed Fundamentalist Atheist" because it captures that I don't care anymore (reformed), and it sounds enough like a real religion that people seem to accept it as one. In the spirit of many of the good things on the internet, the Reformed Fundamentalist Atheist church (RFA) is of course an open source religion, under the MIT license :)
  - Joof 10y ago
    Lol, sounds legit.
scott_s 10y ago
I have known several people who did not subscribe to any particular religion - actively shunned some - but described themselves as "spiritual". Others are self-described agnostics. Being an atheist is usually considered an active choice, not a passive one.

jqm 10y ago

You still can't admit to atheism in many (most?) areas of the country without pretty severe social penalty. Hopefully this is changing, but I think it's less that is atheism growing and more that people are becoming comfortable admitting what they really think.