My Specific Position : Atheism

By definition, I am an atheist.

All that means is that I answer “no” to the question “Do you believe in god(s)?” But more specifically, I am a “strong atheist”, which means I additionally assert that all (or nearly all) god claims are false.

It’s likely I can never be 100% certain that gods don’t exist, but now I recognize that I can be reasonably certain, for all practical purposes.

When I first admitted I was an atheist (early 2015), I was careful to say I “avoid a complete assertion of certainty” — because I had been certain of God’s existence for half my life and I didn’t want to swing too far in the opposite direction. What changed since then is my perception of “certainty”. It’s likely I can never be 100% certain that gods don’t exist, but now I recognize that I can be reasonably certain, for all practical purposes.

Originally, I assumed there was no evidence either way. But further examination of the topic provided plenty of evidence that gods aren’t real. I’ve written another page to discuss that.

If a God or gods exist, he or she or it or they remain steadfastly undetectable — and therefore irrelevant. Because of the extreme lack of evidence where evidence should be abundant, I do not believe in any god, fairy, ghost, magic, or other imaginary or fictional being, power, or force. It’s extremely unlikely that any invisible deities exist.

If a God or gods exist, he or she or it or they remain steadfastly undetectable — and therefore irrelevant.

I still won’t rule out entirely the slim possibility that convincing evidence will someday be found. I think I could be convinced by a preponderance of evidence that a god exists. I have another page detailing what it would take. Baseless assertions or fallacious arguments will not work.

The burden of proof is on the gods and his/her/its/their followers. If there’s no evidence of an elephant in my closet, I won’t believe in the elephant. If someone asserts there is an elephant in there, it’s up to them (or it) to prove its existence. It is not up to me to disprove it. There should at least be elephant poop on the carpet, or something. Perhaps strange noises or an odor. And even if I became somewhat convinced the elephant might exist, then when I open the door to take the elephant for a walk, and the closet is empty and clean, I would become very certain that it had not been in there.

Unlike many god-claims, atheism is falsifiable — that is, certain evidence could disprove atheism. That evidence has never presented itself. But it could. At any time. Any deity that exists could show itself, or perform some act that would be undeniable proof. To me, this is far less likely than finding alternate-evolution mole people living under the crust of the Earth, but it could happen.

On the sliding scale of certainty (see image below), I would place myself near the far-right edge, at around 95%.

Scale Of Certainty

Another way of looking at it follows, an illustration I made in February 2015. On this chart, I would place myself in the upper right quadrant, perhaps at the “four o’clock” position.

Eight-point scale of belief/certainty

The scale below was written by a fairly famous atheist, though I think any reasonable person from any point on the scale can recognize the steps.

1. Strong Theist: 100% certain of God. Knowing, rather than believing.
2. De facto Theist: God is very probable. Live with the assumption God exists.
3. Weak Theist: Very uncertain, but inclined to belief.
4. Pure Agnostic: God’s existence and non-existence are equally probable.
5. Weak Atheist: Very uncertain, but inclined to skepticism.
6. De facto Atheist: God is very improbable. Live with the assumption God doesn’t exist.
7. Strong Atheist: 100% certain of no God.

— The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, 2008, Mariner, pg. 73

I spent the first 20 years of my life at or very close to number 1 on this scale, and the next 20 years at number 2 or 3. When I sat down to write this page, I was a solid number 4. My current “strong atheism” would fall very near number 7 on this scale, perhaps 6.9. When I refer to “atheism” with no qualifiers, I generally mean anyone in the 5 to 7 range.

Next: Definitions

Or use the ••• menu to navigate.

This is the updated version of this page. To see the original version, click here.

EDITS:

2015.03.01: Added 8-point scale image and caption.

2015.03.09: Added link to misconceptions page.

2015.11.21: Re-labeled myself as “strong atheist”, rather than an “agnostic atheist”. Changed subhead. Added link to original version of this page. Replaced many paragraphs with new ones. Reworded other paragraphs. Created new pull-out text modules.

2015.11.26: Added link to new page (“Why There Is Almost Certainly No God”).

2017.07.11: Added italics to second paragraph, as well as the words “nearly all”. Added “or fallacious arguments” to sixth paragraph. Updated html code for image presentation.

2017.10.01: Edited caption for scale of certainty image. Rearranged “related pages” section; added link to An Atheist Contemplation.

2018.09.11: Updated html header and css. Minor changes to page formatting. Added “breadcrumbs” navigation. Minor edits to content for brevity and clarification.

2023.04.02: Comment section closed after eight years of inactivity.