In a world where people do believe in gods its good for me to have a word than explains myself as not being one of their club- Atheist is a good word for me it explains myself and has the added advantage of scaring people off the subject with me - If it were a natural state for everyone fine! till then I'll use any words that work to get people out of my face with their 'god bless you's'.

An atheist is in a position of faith that there is no god. Just like a theist they have no proof that reality is not intentional

An atheist is in a position of faith that there is no god. Just like a theist they have no proof that reality is not intentional

I have no problem with using athiest. Being an atheist is quite liberating. I'm no longer tied to bs religion views on the world, sexulity,etc.

Thank you for the question I think it's a good question. Personally I can say that I definitely don't fear the word atheism or atheist however to be an atheist, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this at this point in my life, also requires faith probably the same amount of faith that believing in God requires. Having said that I personally I'm not comfortable with labeling myself atheist. Because neither party has any proof one way or the other which is why it's more accurate to label oneself as agnostic.

I am Ok with the A- word because those other-s you mentioned santa and tooth fairy arent quite so all powerful and all consuming as god and angels which appear in conversations very often - A child losing a tooth is a pretty family sort of affair not involving a god and santa is usually seen off by the age of seven or eight with no hard feelings because most kids actually know it is mum and dad- But god is actually very present for many many people we are exposed to and so while I agree with you about that state being the norm it is constantly under pressure no one really proseletyses about santa or tooth fairies its in the hands of the parent s but people go on and on and on about god its on the radio every day etc. I like 'atheist' as it shuts people up and you only need to use it once (where I come from). My friend always says - 'Dont let them start!'

I like the word, and I'd say it describes my (lack of) belief well, however, I don't always use it. I'm a professor, and one of my classes specifically covers arguments for/against gods' existence. Since (as mentioned by others in above posts) I'm not 100% certain of gods' (grammar nerds: I'm intentionally referring to plural "gods" so please lay off the apostrophe comments!) non-existence, so I call myself an agnostic. I've been teaching this class for over 25 yrs, and I've found that a large portion of my students will close themselve off to anything I say if I label myself as atheist, but very few will if I label myself agnostic. As a good case can be made that either term could apply to me, I go with what will allow me to reach and teach the greater number.

Personally I prefer Humanist or Secular Humanist. Sam Harris often speaks about Atheism/Atheist as being a word we do not need, just as you have mentioned. His words: we don't need to be identified as Anti-Astrologers if we don't believe in astrology or labeled Non-Racist if we do not believe in slavery. look for some of his videos on Youtube.

As an agnostic, I’m not willing to wear the label “atheist,” though I have no problem with those who do.

You did not learn classical Greek , right? I recommend Wikipedia.

I don't have a problem with being called an atheist or describing myself as such but I'm much more of a humanist.

I used to be atheist but now or "graduated" to agnostic because the more i live the more i learn and my views have changed slightly. I feel we are all animals with large problem solving brains and imposable thumbs!

I am totally comfortable with it. I also am fine with making sure people understand that belief in or the indoctrination of children with Santa or the tooth fairy is just as absurd as indoctrination of belief in God before they can even reason on their own.

More comfortable than the Christian Bigots who so piously refer to themselves as Christians.

I don't mind it. But I see it as a statement of absolute knowlede there is no God of any sort. I don't think we know enough to say 100% we know that. We may believe that but no one knows that 100%.
So I use agnostic. But I would not say anything about it if someone uses it. I might use it myself in some situations where it seems aporopriate to make a stronger statement to avoid any confusion.

I feel like the main difference is the societal expectations regarding the subject at hand. If I don't tell you I don't believe in Santa as an adult, you already assume I don't. Same goes with the Tooth Fairy, or any other such make-believe creature or story. However, staying silent on your beliefs creates a different narrative altogether. The norm is to be religious, even if just barely so. To claim you're an atheist sets you apart from the "neutral" setting people have for random passerby's.

This is also why I am an advocate for being not only comfortable saying you're an atheist, but unwilling to use fluffy language to indicate anything other than non-belief. If you want people to naturally assume someone isn't religious right away, more people who are un-religious need to speak out and say as such instead of letting the assumptions of others categorize them falsely.

I don't mind the term at all, it gives people an idea of where you're at even if it lacks specifics about you. But as a term it seems consistent with, for example, typical versus atypical

Perfectly. When people hate me for it, I wear their hate as a badge I mean what could be better than getting thrown out of a club fulla nuts worshiping nonsense?

If there is no scientific proof............. it doesn't exist. Period.

Especially when I'm in the US I do feel like I'm being provocative when I describe myself as atheist. Its really too bad because in France, where I'm from, it's really not a big deal, as it shouldn't be. Still, despite the fact that the word here may have a negative connotation to a lot of people, I still use that one because other designations appear to me as sugar coating.

Let us say that we were mislead six thousand years ago into believing in personified gods. Let us add that not everyone agreed. Time went by. Today we have all those belief and non-belief systems and people don't remember where we came from because those back then hid that knowledge from our ancestors. What do we have here? Confusion in the mind of mankind. That is why you have to ask those questions. Now answer them: Nacrea: Natural Creation.

I'm so used to it by now, I guess I'd say, extremely comfortable.

Very comfortable.

Humans have created an existence centered around labels. I think it is utopian to expect a world without "faith", thus the label "atheist", while seemingly acknowledging most still serve some sort of religion, is necessary. And I feel it will be as long as we exist.

It is just a description. There is also no word for believers of tooth fairy or Santa Claus. There is a word for believers of deities.