I myself am very comfortable with the term Atheist. My family and my wife are not so comfortable with my position regarding Religions. I see the reasoning of the past to develop Religion for the control and comfort of the masses. The need to have an explanation for things unknown has always been a necessity for the young and ignorant. I remember asking my mother why the sky is blue and being told because God willed it so. Didn’t buy it then so I studied the science behind it and realized that I would have to find my own answers. I digress because while I saw the reasons for religion I also saw it’s ugly side, the hatred of others who do not believe as they do the wars, the slavery, the subservient conditions of women ingrained into the very fabric of society that is nurtured by all religions. Seems to me that oceans of blood have been spelt in the name of religions. I myself can certainly walk through this life as an agnostic or an atheist knowing I have no hate or blood on my hands in the name of a god/deity who divides humanity.

It's the perfect, unambiguous description of me. Why pander to someone's insecurity.

Atheism has such a negative connotation. Growing up Catholic, I thought that atheists were really scary people. In the US, Muslims are more highly regarded than atheists. I think religious people fear atheism because it undermines the whole religious foundation. Even in the US, where we supposedly have separation of church and state. I think religion, like economics, cannot be separated from politics and power. For me personally, I accept the term atheist because it is unambiguous. I do not believe in any higher power, ie. God, period.

Martin Amis, Christopher Hitchens' best friend said that he is agnostic because of the things we still don't know about the universe. I agree with that. I choose the term Anti-Theist because when you live in a world where Buddhists are committing genocide...thats sort of cancels out all of the above.

Comfortable, it translates to - 'without a god'

Non religious is best for me personally although the term can be very subjective. As a musician. I'm very 'religious' about my music and the performance thereof.

I just say I’m a humanist. It’s all I know.

I wish I felt safe coming out as atheist in my community. It's not so much physical safety as it is job security and keeping a social group- which it seems I've never really had both

Im nothing. Any time talk of wizards and umber hulks comes up, I clam up. People "believe" all sorts of crazy, subjective stuff and metaphysical unprovables, and Carl Sagan taught me from 10 years old to value facts and the truth.

This is not to say that the core of faith and the works of faith have no value, this position is absurd. Our human cultures have been shaped by these myths for good or ill, they are our past, but they should not dominate the future and wont.

For me, im not a joiner. I don't like labels. Ive atheist hissed at me like "arsonist!" or "abortionist!" people are too fucking crazy about this. I don't like that people wear black shirts with a red a like its a crime. I don't like people that say they are "militant atheists" and there is no militancy. I don't like that atheists get together at atheist church on Sunday and sing, because they need to belong. I don't like atheists that attack people and call them stupid (even kids!) instead of showing them whats up. I sure as hell didnt like that sexist display during "elevatorgate" no matter what happened. I make the mistake of thinking that atheist people are all woke and beyond that sort of thing.

I avoid saying it or using it for these reasons. I avoid being group associated and labelled.

Very comfortable. We (atheists) need to start telling people to normalize it so it's not so taboo.

I can see the value in religion. It explains the inexplicable. It provides hope in hopeless situations. It provides comfort in mortality. It sets a moral code. Sometimes I envy the religious, because they have nothing to fear in death, and they genuinely believe that, through the power of prayer, they can avoid or get themselves out of bad situations. It must be reassuring to have that hope.

So I do wonder whether people, given no influence in either direction (including scientific explanation) would come to a state of religious belief on their own. Perhaps to explain why the sun rises and sets. Perhaps so that they can pray that their crops don't fail or the volcano doesn't erupt. Perhaps so that they can come to terms with their own approaching death, or the death of someone they care about.

It must have started somewhere. I believe human beings are naturally superstitious, and religion is just an extension of that.

When speaking with others of the same ilk, I refer to myself as a de facto atheist, or non-theist - I think they're pretty close. But "non-believer" suits better when I tangle with religious people. For the reason that being any kind of "atheist" is an affront to them; a strident position stating "Your God does not exist". If I'm pushed to make a statement on whether god exists or not, I will revert to "non-theist".

Long story short: atheist <b>no</b>, non-theist <b>yes</b>.

Vey comfortable. and by the way the Webster definition is incorrect and religious. Try the oxford one.

A-Theist just means non theist
just like A political (it does not mean you belong to another party)
A-sexual is not a sex position.

Very comfortable, but I never need to use it. I'm British, and in the UK hardly any of the native white British population, of my parents generation or younger, are believers. Therefore being an atheist is considered the norm. Religion in UK does not form a major part of politics here either. The situation is a little different amongst the immigrant communities. The tend to be more religious, as they bring the beliefs of their homeland with them. For example, many immigrants from Africa are Christians, Pakistani immigrants are usually Muslim,and Indian immigrants are often Hindu.

I am super comfortable with the word atheist and I am a proud Atheist. Even my t-shirt says so.
We could call ourselves
"People who don't believe in shit that has not one lick of scientific proof and are not stupid enough to be sheep to an invisible evil master"
But that's to long...

One of my pet peeves is when people think that atheism is a religious belief Other than that, I have no issues being openly atheist. It is quite an insult in certain circles, but I get amused when evangelicals clasp their pearls when they start speaking to me, so no problem there. In my opinion, the more open we are with the world, they will be forced to accept that atheist is not a dirty word.

The looks I get when I tell someone I'm an atheist is indescribable.....but I really hate, when they say, I'll pray for you....

Completely comfortable. But, just to give context, I am also an A-fairyist, A-Lock-Ness Monsterist, A-floating tea cup around Mars-ist, and so on. Wasn't it Stephen Fry who said that if people kept coming up with stupid ideas for which there is no evidence then he would keep saying he was a non-believer. If they didn't keep making them up, he wouldn't have to. Amen.

Not very. It feels negative. I am a humanist.

Agender, asexual, atheist, a- just means 'lacking' or 'without'. Atheists just don't have a religious view on the world. Just because it can be considered the basic state of thinking, doesn't mean it should not have a label. Otherwise you are talking about 'theists' and 'people who are not theists', which doesn't sound as good.

Besides, there are a lot of people who 'believe' in something even without religion. So I'm not sure we can say not-believing is the most common state.

Also we do have words for people who believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, and those who don't: Kids and Adults

I prefer non-theist. You have stated how I feel also.

Prefer it to christian.

I fine with it, although I prefer Antitheist.

I'm very comfortable with the word atheist... don't think twice about it...

A word is a word.