EDIT : Might as well throw agnosticism in there too.

  • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    I know the difference, but I read a lot. I’d assume atheists tend to have come to their position of atheism (as opposed to nontheism or agnosticism) through introspection and philosophy. And thus would encounter secularism and antitheism as separate ideas.

    After the new atheist movement and the rise of atheism as a (minor) fad, I may be wrong. But yeah, I assume that atheists care about their understanding of the nature of the cosmos.

    • Skullgrid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      I think there’s a lot of brash young people who are looking to be contrarian and find an identity that they were missing, but don’t have the guidance and manners to be able to carry themselves in a more diplomatic fashion. I imagine they get there similarly to you, but grab the identity too quickly and attempt to embody the most extreme form they can.

      Some probably do come from families or communities where religion was used to be hostile toward them for whatever reason or their desires did not match the requirements that the faith that was hoisted onto them.

      Thus, when they left the faith, they had feelings of vengeance. Which is understandable, but continuing the cycle of unpleasantry to a different group of people doesn’t help anyone.

      Thus, when they find atheism, they immediately go for anti-theism at the same time.

      I think for me, I respect people that behave with the same attitude on both sides; you need to interact with and live in the secular , physical world and the ideas of the beyond are for everyone to keep private and respect the personal conduct of others.

      Secular ethics help align everyone in a fair public moral structure and if your personal ethics give you additional obligations, that’s on you.

    • kboos1@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      Over simplification-

      Secularism - separation of religion from government

      Atheism - belief that there is no God/God’s or afterlife and sometimes disputes/argues against the existence

      Ant-theism - actively working against religion

      • SnoopSqueak@lemmy.todayEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        I consider myself anti-theist. I’m an agnostic atheist because I have seen no reason, evidence, or argument suggesting the existence of any god. It seems far more likely that god is vain human projection and wishful thinking.

        Since god is evidently a dangerous falsehood, of course we should keep theism far away from important decision-making. I yearn for a world where grown adults don’t pretend that magic is real. It’s doing more harm than most people can see. Innocent people suffer and die every day for the baseless beliefs of others.

        • Skullgrid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          I consider myself anti-theist. I’m an agnostic atheist

          Since god is evidently a dangerous falsehood

          How are you agnostic (unsure if god exists or not) , then saying “god is a dangerous falsehood”?

          • freagle@lemmy.mlEnglish
            0·
            3 months ago

            That’s not what agnostic means.

            Atheism is theism plus the prefix “a”.

            Agnosticism is gnosticism plus the prefix “a”.

            Gnosticism is the belief that knowledge can be revealed to us (e.g. from a divine source), in addition to being discovered. Therefore agnosticism is the lack of such belief in revelation leaving us only with discovery.