Do atheists need a symbol?

July 19, 2006 D. H. McKee

Nope.
No ghosts: One more symbol for atheism
Often when atheists proselytize, one particular question comes up: do we have our own symbol? Well, we donâ..t, really. Thereâ..s a reason for that, tooâ..since atheists do not usually have a religion, there is no real reason to carry around religious symbols. Before we adopt a symbol, we should actually think long and hard whether we really want one, because having it suggests that atheism is a movement on par with actual religions. Since it isnâ..tâ..atheism is the lack of theistic beliefâ..we might not want to confuse people by creating positive content for it. This is a grave consideration, since the difference between religion and atheism is fundamental, and having positive content may actually work against our cause, e.g. in debate.

2 Responses to “Do atheists need a symbol?”

beepbeepitsme
18 years ago

RE: “Often when atheists proselytize..”
Pardon?
I wouldn’t use “proselytize” in reference to an atheist who might be discussing why they don’t believe in gods. The word has distinct religious connotations.
dmckee
18 years ago

Heh. Yeah. Usually when I hear “proselytize,” I think of those old Communist party rallies.

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