A worldview is effectively a set of beliefs and assumptions through which someone interprets the world around them. Whether or not a philosophy qualifies as a worldview is really a matter of how pervasive that ideology is to them. Since it’s a leap from the mainstream to call yourself an atheist, crossing that threshold means that it’s probably a lens that you lay over other things, too.
In a denotative sense, atheism is a direct refutation of faith in all its fashions, but doesn’t that just sound shitty? We all take it our own way to whatever extent we like, yet there are inherent qualities to atheism that generalize it enough to be considered a worldview.
For example, the atheist and scientific communities are so intertwined that belief in evolution can be considered one of our defaults, too. Religious worldviews tend to resist evolution because it diminishes the ‘special’ place humanity has on the world stage, but talk about being wrong for the right reasons! Once you ditch the idea of humanity as a theistic trust-fund baby, we’re actually a pretty cool rags-to-riches-to-world-supremacy narrative. It’s hard to imagine a species with limited sensory function and almost no defense mechanisms thriving, but we’ve really made the best out of a couple of thumbs and a bit of teamwork.
Overall, atheism’s lack of formal organization conceals how positively we view the world. The most famous atheists often reach that level through highly-exposed confrontations with other groups, but that is one thing that maintains them as peers in lieu of leaders. The media exposure they get sometimes leads to misunderstandings of our demeanor as people, but atheism wouldn’t be a worthy way of life with party politics involved. That’s why people ask us whether or not we’d vote for an openly atheist presidential candidate, and we say, “No, because that doesn’t make them good at everything else.”
Atheism as a worldview presents a paradox. On the one hand, identifying with the idea has definite influence on the way one perceives the world around them. However, free thought is so imperative to who and what we are that it’s difficult to generalize exactly what that means. It means different things to different people, but it’s definitely an important part of those lives.
Travis Vail is a fourth-year communication major.
When one claims that he/she is an atheist, a whole barrage of luggage comes with that label (one which can either be positive or negative, depending on your point of view). To some, it means an unreasonably angry person who has nothing better to do than stand around and hate God. To another, it might mean someone who is intelligent, sensible and good at debating. And still to others, it could simply mean the person sitting next to you on the morning bus.
Atheism, at its core, only means one thing: the lack of belief in a God. “A” means “without,” and “theism” has to do with “God” or “gods.” That is atheism in a nutshell. A few religions, like Buddhism and Jainism, actually do not advocate a belief in a god. Thus, as contradicting as it may seem, it allows an atheist to actually be religious in this sense. Of course, some problems might arise with being spiritual and at the same time not believing in a god, but there is no direct contradiction.
However, this is not the concept of an atheist that many hold. Atheism seems to have evolved to imply many other things, like an appreciation of science, a sense of skepticism toward claims that aren’t supported by evidence, and a criticism of religious institutions. Of course, these aren’t requirements for one to become an atheist. Unlike many religious or political movements, there isn’t any ceremony, no fees to pay and no test to take to become a “card-carrying atheist.” Despite many people’s misconceptions, we don’t gather in dark robes and sacrifice goats to initiate a new member. Simply ask yourself: Do I believe in a god? If your answer is no, bingo! You may now call yourself an atheist; I’ll go get the goats.
So is atheism a worldview? I believe it is more of a product of another worldview, a constant asking of “why?” and a requirement for evidence. Of course, it doesn’t have to be, but more often than not you will probably find that atheists have a well-thought-out, supported case regarding why they hold certain beliefs and disbeliefs. Being at one time a believer in God, I can say that atheism has definitely changed my view of the world, and for the better.
Jay Grafft is a third-year communication major.
Absolutely not. Atheism is absolutely not a worldview. The lack of belief in deities does not equate to any ideology or worldview.
No. Just like ‘off’ isn’t a TV channel, atheism isn’t a world view.
Secular humanism, naturalism, science-ism (I made that one up), physicalism, nihilism, etc – those can be world views that are often overlapping with atheism…
But, no – atheism by itself is not a world view.
Sounds pretty similar to scientism.
Atheism isn’t a world view, no. Nor is there any real uniformity in atheist beliefs. The only thing that all atheists have in common is a rejection of God claims. While it is true that many atheists reject other supernatural claims for the same reason they reject claims of God, this is not a universal rule.
Many world view incorporate atheism in their make up, but atheism, on its own, is not world view. It has no doctrines, no requirements, no structure of any kind that would make it one. It is simply a lack of belief in God(s).
Atheism, no but my-dis belief in Bigfoot is a world view.
Rationalism is the worldview most commonly associated with atheism today. Sadly, this can be pretty crude, and usually involves rejecting not just religion, but all mythologies and works of the imagination as “unreal.” “Reality/unreality” here is supposedly based on sense experience, but lacks the radical subjectivity and nuance of empiricism.
Not all atheists fit this stereotype; the great Scottish philosopher and atheist, Hume, was an empiricist, as was Einstein.
Atheism constitutes a worldview to the exactly the same degree that not collecting stamps constitutes a hobby.
To be a theist, or to hold any belief whatsoever, you are asserting a proposal.
The prefix “A” simply means “without.” Calling yourself an atheist indicates that you abstain from the proposals of theism, or any assertion thereof.
That is the full and complete implication of the word “atheism.” It offers no counter proposals or “world views” or any view at all. The word “atheism” wouldn’t exist, had the word “theism” never been invented.
Each person’s worldview is made up of all of the beliefs that person has. One belief alone is only part of a person’s world view. My belief in the validity of the Bible is part of my world view. Someone’s atheism is part of their world view. Two different Christians may have very different world views. Two different atheists may have very different world views. In each case, the pair of persons would have at least one thing in common in their world views. One can speak of “the Christian world view”, but even there, you could find different Christians… Read more »
False again….Atheism is not a worldview….it is simply an answer to one question….do you believe in a god or gods….if the answer is no…your an atheist…
this has nothing to do with any other questions…whether you believe in a afterlife, ghosts, fairies, evolution or so on…
To Andy, may I say that perhaps that might work if you were to replace “atheism” with “agnosticism”. Atheism clearly is a proposal. It says, “There is no God.” It is a very well defined belief.
Agnosticism says, “I don’t know if there is a God”, or perhaps better put, “We cannot know if there is a God.” though the second is more of a proposal than the first.
Incorrect – Atheism doesn’t say “there is no god” …Atheism is the lack of belief in gods…that is “I don’t believe”…
This is not a absolute position…Most atheists are agnostic commonly referred to as agnostic atheists –
that is we don’t know there is a god…there might be…sure…however I don’t believe there is because there isn’t sufficient evidence to make this claim plausible enough to believe…
simple
well, I believe in God because the alternative is even less believeable. Consider that both Christianity and secular naturalism believe that the universe began in a state of chaos. Christianity teaches that the universe as we know it was formed by a thinking supreme being who made choices and formed the universe into the reality that is around us today. Naturalism teaches that the universe as it is came from that chaos by chance. Oh, I know, there was some kind of “determinism” at work there, “natural laws” that caused galaxies and solar systems to form, planets to form, some… Read more »
Sloppy. The universe does not require an alpha- male to govern itself. Inventing one to cover your human idea of ‘chaos’ and ‘order’ is merely more projections. So is seeing the universe in terms of chaos and order, btw.
Atheism is the refutation of the belief in god due to the lack of empirical evidence.
It is not “shitty”.
I also refute the value of Taylor Swift though there is evidence of her existence. Is that “shitty” too?
I really like this format, bit in this case, the question is just one of definition, and by any inclusive definition, atheism includes any person who doesn’t hold a belief in any deity. I have seen other definitions used, especially in earlier days when theism was legally required, but today, enough people who self-identify as atheists claim only a lack of belief in any deity for any other definition to be unreasonable. I have met atheists who believe a bunch of nonsense like conspiracy theories and that basically all science since Faraday is wrong. I know some atheists who are… Read more »