Halloween, as it is practiced in the USA, is not very religious. Most view it as a chance to party and wear a costume. Of course kids enjoy dressing up for candy as well.

We aren't a monolith. Some do and some don't.

I like celebrations... period. Halloween is my favorite because it is silly, fun and can be made non-religious if you leave out certain aspects. Just because I don't believe in any religion or the existence of god doesn't mean I don't believe in living life joyously... being silly is part of that.

mmmm candy, pumpkin, monsters, witches, black cats, goblins, ghosts....YAY!

I love halloween. My favorite holiday.

If you take the religion out, holidays are just fun.

This one does!

It's a chance to have fun. Do other people actually believe that Jack O'Lanterns come alive and the dead walk the Earth? Of course not.

We've been ignoring the candy passing part the past couple 3 years but the opportunity to dress up& be silly hanging out with friends is what it's about to me. shrug

I love it ! being without a god doesn't mean being without fun I have laughed myself silly over all the pictures here of halloween. in Burnley lancashire there is the day of 'the nutters ' a local tradition and in Padstow there is a Mayday celebration with a hobby horse and people singing the may song through the small streets- people make fun thats what we do, being irreligious I wouldn t know but i have had a few goes at reading the bible and it wasn't fun or informative fun is medicinal!

Yes. I love all the holidays I grew up with. I just see them as a celebration of life, our history and family togetherness. These celebrations are so much older than our current patriarchal, monotheistic religions. For instance, Yuletide was celebrated long before it became another term for Christmas.

Atheists aren't afraid to have fun because we don't think that we will burn forever for having a drink or eating a candy bar. I have also read that Atheists are generally among the most law abiding citizens. This is probably true. The only devil we have to blame if we do something wrong is numero uno.

You betcha ! With bells on.

Halloween is the best. While I've known plenty of religious zealots that refused to celebrate it, I've never known anyone that did celebrate it link to it with any religious connotation. It's the cosplay holiday for those that can't actually cosplay officially.

I use to boycott holidays when I first became an atheist, but then I realized I'm not going to let someone else's delusion or POV dictate how I live and enjoy life.

Kids may say if I step on a crack, I break my mother's back. That doesn't mean I spend the rest of my life intentionally watching every step I take b/c of some absurd belief. If you want to boycott...go ahead. If you want to participate and enjoy them for the secular holidays they have become...then I also say go ahead.

You're 7 yrs old and all year long your parents tell you "Don't eat that!" "That's not good for you!" Given the opportunity to procure a large bag/bucket of candy? You bet your ass!

I do! I'm only 5'1" so I can even get away with trick or treating. All these holidays, including Xmas & Easter, have roots in 2 or more belief systems but I don't pay any attention. It's all about the chocolate. Decorating & making costumes for the kids is fun too. Last year one was a microwave oven & won the costume contest at school.

I personally have never considered Halloween a religious holiday. I do not believe in vampires or werewolves but I do enjoy the ritual of getting dressed up as mythical creatures or just something odd like a hobo with a shotgun or some pop culture character and partying or going trick or treating with my kids. Is that observing a religious holiday? Can Christmas be about the myth of Saint Nick and the joy of spending time with family and friends, exchanging gifts, eating lots of good food...Of course I am not an Atheist but why does it matter? Can you be Atheist and still embrace the meaning of a religious holiday separate from the question of God? Does being an Atheist or an Agnostic preclude the idea of finding meaning in something even as you fully understand its lack of realism?

Not this one. Or xmas.

I don't think Halloween is something that you have to "observe" and it really is not a religious holiday. There might be some wacko fringe churches in the US who try to make it into a Pagan Holiday to try to keep children from having any fun with anything that is not church.

It can be fun but I mostly ignore it too.

Just another holiday to me. A way to take time out of mundane life and just have some fun, kick back, maybe have a Halloween party, order some pizzas and put in some scary movies while having friends or family over.

Maybe even dress up as your most desired fantasy creature and go to a haunted house and have some fun.

It is my favorite holiday. I love the thought of scary things even though I do not believe in any of it.

Halloween isn't a religious holiday.

The real question is, do atheists like candy?....rest my case

American Wiccans do consider Samhain (Halloween) a religious holiday. The story is that it is the day on which the veil between the living and dead is the most permeable. It's sort of the same as Dia de los Muertos in that food is put out for dead relatives, except in Dia de los Muertos it's on November 1 for spirits of children and November 2 for spirits of adults. (By the way, it's pronounced sow-wen.)

I once observed small children that were too scared to come up to the door because we made a pretty scary front yard.