Is there a better word on offer?

As much as I like and respect Richard Dawkins' works, I don't like the term "Brights". It's just too damn smug and self-congratulatory. I've known bright Christians and Muslims and idiotic Atheists.

Let's just stick with "atheist" for now.

I am very proud Atheist and have no problem rubbing it on religious nuts faces

I do not call myself Atheist, I do not call myself believer, it is hard to believe what I cannot see, yet I HOPE some day to see people that have gone before me

I've been an American Atheist for 42 years.

I wish it were illegal to teach religion until after a person receives a good education in the fundamentals of science and philosophy, and has sufficiently studied the history of his or her civilization and society. Of course, such a mandate would render the idea of deities, and therefore religions, utterly ridiculous, relegating them to the realm of pure fantasy.

Never thought in a million years I would ever be an atheist... Once I realized I no longer believed I was in shock and it took me 3 months before I could get the words "I'm an atheist" to come out of my mouth... Now I am a proud atheist and never happier.

The word "atheist" fits me like a favorite pair of jeans that are washed and broken in and feel soft and comfy against my skin and make my ass look great.

My granny used ot say I odnt care what they call me as long as it s "not too late for my dinner" she was funny I am pretty sure she never ahd a god as she never mentioned one - I never had one either as no one introduced me to one.

That is the point, believe is a basic human characteristic, we believe in promises, , laws , some science that we do not complete understand. Of course all those stuff we have degrees of certainty and they don't need faith.
But basically any abstract construct needs a belief for it to work and have a function in society.
The word could be skeptic, agnostic.
Atheist is a position of believe anyway, a lot more probable than the theism, but fundamentally a belief.
A neutral position would be agnostic, or to refuse to answer a question that can be only answered with belief.
But if you want a word that is not a negative and that is a concept and not a negative, the word would be skeptic, humanist, naturalist, scientificist, gnosticist (the one that look to know and not to believe).

My usual response if someone is that i prefer be called "Tim." If they keep pushing a label on me I'll start spouting off about the difference between atheism and LaVeyan Satanism and luciferianism until they run away.

I am an equal-opportunity atheist. my atheism certainly includes the tooth fairy and santa claus. i'm not worried about it )

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Logically, you may be right. But to paraphrase a quote from Star Trek, "whoever accused of the humanity of being logical?" I think historically that the majority of humanity has held religious beliefs of some sort, and continues to do so. So, I am perfectly happy with separating myself from the majority with the label "atheist." One of my favorite theist writer is Reza Aslan, and I enjoy reading his books (and many would say that his books are not exactly "scholarly" and they are probably right, but still very entertaining), and he makes a point that the state of belief as opposed to the state of non-believing has been, and is, the norm. I agree that that has historically been the norm. I would of course argue that it shouldn't be. But the fact is that it is.

Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

It's a very exact Greek word.
It means literally "without God".
So it's very correct for many people.

However, many atheists mistakenly think it means "without belief" which is both totally wrong, and also totally impossible for a human being.
All human beings need beleif systems, and atheists also belive many things which are not provable to them, they accept these things on blind faith.

I am 100% comfortable with calling myself an Atheist.

Proud of it .

Seriously comfortable. I don't mind who knows this about me because something I don't do is of no importance to me whatever. We have a rather cockney saying- "Leave it Ah't Mate" (meaning shut up!, not interested !)

I do resent people who think they can talk me in or out of something at their will and in that situation I don't mind how rude I seem to anybody as long as I get them to stop bothering me.

There was a time when the term bothered me. I wouldn't want myself defined as "not a believer in the Easter Bunny", although that statement is true. My daughter said I was a "Secular Humanist" and then spent ten minutes explaining it to me. It seemed like I would need to carry around a brochure just to clarify what I "believe". Eventually I accepted "Atheist" in many situations and "Non-believer" in an actual religious discussion. Reality is I'm a heathen.

I don't share your discomfort with the term "Atheist" nor do I believe it in any way concedes any credibility to the insane delusions of theists. For me the prefix 'A-" is like a pie in the face of so-called believers. Yeah! Rub it in bro!

I'm very comfortable with the term. That defines us from the religious fools out in the world. I can't wait to tell one of door knockers to see the expression on there face. I'm thinking about annoucing on it on Facebook. To see what kind of reaction I will get

I don't mind it, it's accurate after all. I get the point about there being no words for other types of non-belief, but then those types of non-belief are commonplace whereas atheism is not.

Great post. It’s never bothred me, really.

I'm fine with it. When some states their faith, then I become uncomfortable.

I'd be more comfortable with it if there weren't so many people defining it incorrectly. Nearly every Christian I speak to thinks it means "a person who believes there is no god", and they can't grasp the difference of "lacking belief in a god", no matter how clearly it's explained to them.

So I just avoid the confusion by saying I'm "non-theist" or "secular humanist". It's easy to agree on the definition of those.

I just simply say i'm not into their trusting, believing and hoping and praying world, just pure and simple. they can call me what they please or put whatever label they want, it does not botheer or have any effect on me, i just smilingly go along my way !!!!