Atheism is the default position

The phrase “atheism is the default position” is often heard and, like atheism itself, it’s often misunderstood and misused. Uncovering the error is a rather simple affair when you have the correct definitions in mind.

“A”: Without
“Theism”: Belief in god(s)
“Atheism”: Without a belief in god(s)

For example, this entry on the weirdly named “Is God a Squirrel? [1] blog boldly asserts:

“Atheism is a response to religion. It is a disbelief in god(s). It is not something one is born with.”

Here is where the author runs into problems. Atheism is not a response to a religion, nor a disbelief in religion or gods, nor a religion in itself. Atheism is the lack of a belief in gods. The author flies perilously close to this idea throughout the article:

“Lets say I believe in flying farnoggles. Now, of course you have never heard of a flying farnoggle in your life. You have no concept of what one is. You can not believe, or disbelieve them because you have no knowledge of them. So to say that you were born with a disbelief in flying farnoggles would be ridiculous.”

Without knowledge of farnoggles or gods no one can be considered to actively hold the belief they exist. They lack the belief, and can therefore be considered “afarnoggles” and atheists.

If seems a little strange, that’s because it is. Atheism is not a term which should exist, nor would it but for the prevalence of theistic beliefs. Yes, atheism can be considered a response to theistic beliefs, but it is strictly the lack of a belief. As Sam Harris says, we do not have a word for people who do not play the piano – and nor should we.

“In fact, “atheism” is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a “non-astrologer” or a “non-alchemist.” We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs.” – Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation

So next time you hear someone contest “atheism is the default position” they are probably labouring under incorrect definitions.

Footnotes

[1] I would answer “no”, as squirrel’s actually exist.

Tagged with: atheism, default, definition

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