What is a practising atheist?

Question

Since they don't believe in anything how can they be trying to strengthen their beliefs, understand their faith like the rest of us.

Answer 1

By maintaining and strengthening their rational and open minds and not letting them be clouded by superstition and dodgy traditions.

Answer 2

Why don't you get it... there is nothing to practice, no faith like the rest of  you.  The Belief is in the truth..... and the truth is not in the bible.

Answer 3

A person who lives as if god does not exist

Answer 4

One who is working on it!

Answer 5

I just don't believe in God- twist that any way you want.

Answer 6

I don't have to practise anything to be an atheist... Except for being the best person I can be.  And that is a natural thing, not something I have to work at.

Answer 7

someone who does not wish to consider this - RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY -

Since the ‘dawn’ of Man, he has asked questions such as, “Why am I here?” and “Where did all that surrounds me come from?”

In order to define the feelings that provoke such questions and ultimately discover their origin, thereby arriving at some sort of answer, he has tried to become re-connected to the source of all things in the hope of understanding the creative force of the Universe, That which is called ‘God‘.

The Latin root of the word ‘Religion’ suggests ‘re-binding’.  Religion (defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘a particular faith or system of worship’) in this sense is often confused with Spirituality, the one not necessarily involving the other.  History has shown us that religion has little to do with spirituality when it is wielded by men as an instrument in the attainment of autonomy over others. The power and wealth attained is used, not solely for the benefit of their followers and the needy, but to maintain their own ‘sovereignty‘.  

This is not to say that Religions, both those described on this website and many others, do not provide the means for people to reconnect with ‘God‘, and when Religion leads to an attempt to reconnect at both physical and metaphysical levels to the Cosmic Energy of Creation through love and purity of intent (meaning no harm to anything or anyone), it has everything to do with Spirituality.

Religions offer a set of values to communities, often involving adherence to codified ritualistic practices based on beliefs that have an inseparable connection with a community’s ancestral and/or cultural background.  This can involve both personal practices related to communal faith, and group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.  It often represents a cohesive, collective system of beliefs focusing on the philosophy that an unseen being, person, force or object exists that is considered to be supernatural, divine and sacred.  So it can be said that Religions have practices, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals that are traditional and are associated with a core belief which may encourage or even dictate a way of life.

Spirituality, however, is usually a deep and profound ‘personal’ experience associated with an individual's private quest to re-discover his or her own essence and discern who he or she really is.  This quest invariably involves entering into some form of holotropic state, (‘holotropic’ derives from Greek and means ‘a journey toward wholeness‘).  This state, whether it is consciously sought or is spontaneous in its origin, usually brings about life-changing spiritual developmental processes associated with that person reconnecting with the Creative Principle of the Universe, or God!  

'Reconnection' has no external counterpart in everyday human experience, so few people who attain it ever talk about it.  For this reason I have written my book “Flight of the Mystic Eagle” as I feel that ‘reconnection’, once encouraged, can be attained by anyone who is so hearted  

Answer 8

It's an oxymoron.

Answer 9

You can't be a practising atheist, there is nothing to practice:)

Answer 10

Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. It is not nihilism. We as individuals have beliefs, just not beliefs in magical, mythical monsters. One no more practices atheism than they practice a-Santa Clausism. Why don't you buy a dictionaty and stop being a twit?

Answer 11

They don't believe in the existence of God or that there was a creator,they are not trying to strengthen anything.Maybe they believe in evolution which is not a faith.You are not understanding the statement.

Answer 12

No such thing as a practising atheist?

There is nothing to practise other than life.

Atheists probably understand faith to a much greater degree than most "theists" as atheist will have questioned faith (with an open mind) and then arrived at the only logical conclusion.

Answer 13

Me!

Answer 14

god does not exist, its not a practice.

Answer 15

A practising atheist is simply an atheist as there is only one thing to practise to be an atheist - to not believe in god. We have no other defining feature given by that title.

If you stop practising the simple act of not believing in god then you must, by logic, either start believing in god (theist) or starting to think there might be a god but not sure or we may never know (agnostic).

Answer 16

i dnt like reading the bible

Answer 17

I don't practise being an atheist, I choose to be one..And by the way I think you will find its you who are the minority on answers as the comments on here show

Answer 18

There's no faith in atheism. So your question has no point.

Answer 19

Atheism is not a lack of belief in anything, but a lack of belief in the existence of god. For example, if I cross the road when a bus is coming, I believe that if that bus hits me at speed, I will be severely hurt or even killed. I am not prepared to put that belief to the test, as I crave a pain-free life.

I am trying to understand my 'faith' by trying to come up with arguments to support my belief that god does not exist. So far I have never heard a good argument for belief in the existence of god.

Answer 20

Your question makes no sense to me. There only thing I understand is that i accept no gods. period. That's about as strong as it gets...  and it's not a faith, it's an acceptance...  Gods require faith, lack of any does not...

Answer 21

A person who claims to be a practising atheist is basically an atheist with a sense of humour.

And as an atheist, there is no reason to try to strengthen my belief since I am constantly out looking for truth and reality. I take it as it comes, and I remain an atheist.

Answer 22

I dont know, maybe you can tell me.  One with a brass plaque at their door?

edit you dont call it practising atheism, its called smooth stylin'

Answer 23

I've practised so much I'm getting good at it!