I am such an atheist: I disbelieve in gods generally (and not just in one in particular), like I disbelieve in gnomes and dragons and other supernatural and paranormal things.
And the word does not mean anything more than that.
My a-theism means no more to me than my a-gnomism.
The problem comes when one tries to convert lower-case atheism to upper-case Atheism, with the implications of its own belief system.
@davidallengreen I tend to agree with you. But I also know that the presence (and writing) of upper-case atheists does sometimes help lower-case atheists to make the transition from agnostic to atheist. I certainly know at least three people, myself included, for whom reading The God Delusion has done that. None of us became upper-case atheists ourselves. But what people like Dawkins used to do really well is challenge you to face the roots of your own hedging.
@davidallengreen Umberto Eco said he preferred to describe himself as agnostic, since atheism requires active belief in the nonexistence of gods, which then raises your point.
And then there's Oscar Wilde's definition of atheism, which is that he didn't disbelieve in gods so much as just personally disliking them.
@davidallengreen I recall looking through a Humanist service book (while planning a wedding), in particular the section where they rewrote hymn lyrics.
In one, the words were identical except they’d replaced “God” with “truth” throughout. And I couldn’t help but wonder, why do they think one of these abstract concepts is any better than the other?
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