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Nonreligious

Atheism

I don’t believe in a God. More than that, I think it is extremely unlikely that there is a God or a supernatural realm out there. I am an atheist. In Richard Dawkins’ spectrum of theistic possibility, which ranges from 1 to 7, I am a strong 6: “I don’t know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.”

I was not always an atheist. I was raised an evangelical and embraced a progressive sort of Catholicism before eventually letting go of my faith entirely. This process took years, and I’ve written about it here.

For me, atheism is largely about a lack of belief. I’ve wondered before whether anyone would even claim the identity “atheist” if we didn’t live in such a strongly religious world. Yet for all that, I do find a sense of commonality with other atheists in a desire to fight superstition, to value skepticism, and to work to maintain the separation of church and state.

Why am I an atheist? Click here to find out. Also, for more of my story read about my deconversion. Finally, while atheism describes what I don’t believe, Humanism describes what I do believe, and not believing in God does not mean that I lack a system of ethics.

Key Posts on Atheism:

Searching for the Baby in the Bathwater

Libby Anne’s Wager

Explaining the Resurrection

Myths about Atheism

Is Atheism a Phase?

Coping:

Dealing with Death as an Atheist

Finding Beauty in Life

Fearing a Supernatural Boogeyman

Approaching Religion:

I Am Not a “Good Atheist”

My Atheist Journey; Or, How I Approach Religion

Life in the Closet:

On Anonymous Blogging and “Coming Out” As An Atheist

On Closet Atheists and the Atheist “Out” Campaign

Coming Out (As An Atheist) Is A Journey, Not An Event

Resources on Atheism:

Books

The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins

Godless, by Dan Barker

Why I Became an Atheist, by John Loftus

Academic Books

Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Friedman

The Bible Unearthed, by Silberman and Finkelstein

Jesus Interrupted, by Bart Ehrman

Misquoting Jesus, by Bart Ehrman

Websites

Freethought Blogs

Secular Student Alliance

Center for Inquiry

American Atheists

Blogs

The Friendly Atheist

Greta Christina

Camels with Hammers

Daylight Atheism

Articles

The Top Ten Reasons I Don’t Believe In God, by Greta Christina

Why Not Believe? Reasons Why Atheists Don’t Believe in Gods, on atheism.about.com

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