It’s not boiling down. Atheism literally is just a lack of belief that any god exists. There is no other associated belief.
All the various flavors of religion cannot be boiled down to “god exists”. Each one at the very least describes the characteristics of the god(s) professed to exist, and a whole lot more.
So many people want to put atheism in the same bucket as religion, but it simply is not.
But it’s not the lack of a belief that any god exists. Not believing in something doesn’t get a name. There’s no word for not believing in dragons, or not believing in frogs. Atheism is specifically a response to the societal pressure to have a religion, including the thoughts and feelings surrounding that response.
Nobody takes their sibling’s unicorn doll just because unicorns aren’t real - OP’s actions came from their feelings of moral superiority as a result of not having a religion in a society that expects it. That’s the difference.
I like an example one of the other commenters here used - being bald is a hairstyle. If nobody had hair, it wouldn’t be, but because we do, the act of not having hair itself becomes a hairstyle.
But it’s not the lack of a belief that any god exists. Not believing in something doesn’t get a name.
It literally is. You are just straight up wrong.
Atheism is specifically a response to the societal pressure to have a religion
The word existing is a response to the need to commonly describe it, but fundamentally it is no different than you other examples that don’t have words. The existence of nonexistence of other words is not evidence of anything other than the frequency that they’re useful.
OP’s actions
Probably didn’t even happen, but even if they did it literally has nothing to do with the definition of atheism.
bald is a hairstyle.
This literally has nothing to do with describing belief.
The very fact that we’re having this conversation means there’s more to the story than “nothing.” You’re being obtuse. A lack of belief, while living in a society that expects it, becomes something notable, and that notability is more than nothing. Just like being bald is only notable in a world where hair is expected, being atheist in a world where beliefs are expected is notable. Being notable is a societal tangible thing, even if “not believing” would otherwise not be for any other topic. Being atheist would be as empty as you’re describing if we as a people didn’t talk about religion, but in reality we do, so it carries weight, which affects behavior.
It’s not boiling down. Atheism literally is just a lack of belief that any god exists. There is no other associated belief.
All the various flavors of religion cannot be boiled down to “god exists”. Each one at the very least describes the characteristics of the god(s) professed to exist, and a whole lot more.
So many people want to put atheism in the same bucket as religion, but it simply is not.
But it’s not the lack of a belief that any god exists. Not believing in something doesn’t get a name. There’s no word for not believing in dragons, or not believing in frogs. Atheism is specifically a response to the societal pressure to have a religion, including the thoughts and feelings surrounding that response.
Nobody takes their sibling’s unicorn doll just because unicorns aren’t real - OP’s actions came from their feelings of moral superiority as a result of not having a religion in a society that expects it. That’s the difference.
I like an example one of the other commenters here used - being bald is a hairstyle. If nobody had hair, it wouldn’t be, but because we do, the act of not having hair itself becomes a hairstyle.
It literally is. You are just straight up wrong.
The word existing is a response to the need to commonly describe it, but fundamentally it is no different than you other examples that don’t have words. The existence of nonexistence of other words is not evidence of anything other than the frequency that they’re useful.
Probably didn’t even happen, but even if they did it literally has nothing to do with the definition of atheism.
This literally has nothing to do with describing belief.
The very fact that we’re having this conversation means there’s more to the story than “nothing.” You’re being obtuse. A lack of belief, while living in a society that expects it, becomes something notable, and that notability is more than nothing. Just like being bald is only notable in a world where hair is expected, being atheist in a world where beliefs are expected is notable. Being notable is a societal tangible thing, even if “not believing” would otherwise not be for any other topic. Being atheist would be as empty as you’re describing if we as a people didn’t talk about religion, but in reality we do, so it carries weight, which affects behavior.