I don't like the word because to most,or many southerners it means devil worshiper. They literally back away,the word is frightening to them.

I feel entirely comfortable with my position that I am somewhere between and agnostic and a atheist

Very, I'm from the UK so it's not really an issue here

I'm comfortable with it and it's meaning. Against Theism, aka Atheism.

It simply means not theist so I am fine with that

A good English word. Whats wrong with it?

I'm comfortable with the word while wishing there were a term that was not anti-something. It would make more sense for the religious to be called anti-reason.

Well given that theism is belief in a god, and I don't believe in a god, and atheist, is belief in no gods, I guess I am an atheist. I do love the "non delusionist" comment though, most apt.

I have only recently "come out" as a non-believer, and have pretty firmly decided that I do not want to be labeled as an atheist. In fact, I do not want ANY labels attached to me that reference whether or not I believe in gods/supernatural beings, etc. My desire is to simply be known as a fellow human being, who like everyone else, must find their way through this life and make the best of each and every day...to do good, and to do no harm...

I don't think we should call our selves atheists as much as we don't call each other non-flat earthers, non-creationists, non-astrologers, etc.

honestly, Im from the bible belt, so calling myself an atheist here is like asking to be thrown in a viper pit.. so not that comfortable.

i do anyway, sometimes to do christians a heckin concern.. sometimes in a feeble attempt to educate.. Ive met two christians with an open mind as a result. theyre genuinely good, curious, and self driven people though, so very different from the masses.

the word atheist has gotten such a negative connotation over the years bc of the radicalization of super religions.. maybe we should rebrand to "Realism" and see who gets it

I guess I prefer the term "non-theist". To me atheist implies I am anti-religion. I really don't care what anyone believes as long as their beliefs are not forced on me. Non-theist (to me) implies that I have no interest in theism.

I am ok with it even though I prefer to be called agnostic. I am an atheist in the sense that I don't believe in a god. However, I am not an atheist if by atheist you mean that you can know that there is no god. I think it is fundamentally unknowable.

I don't much care about it, it doesn't tell you much about me as a person. That's pretty much my only contention with the word.

I prefer the term agnostic for myself. Any religion I can name can be disproven but I can't say for certain that there isn't some higher power out there that doesn't care about who wins the football game and gives little worry to whether or not we get hit by an asteroid. In simple terms, while most existing religions can be proved false I can not in full faith there is no god at all because there still might be one out there somewhere busy playing with his other ant farms or whatever. That's just my take on it.

I went to a Catholic School (Christian Brothers) from 1953 to 1962. My mother was a Catholic by virtue of the fact that HER mother (a Lutheran from Denmark) married an Irish Catholic here in Australia. My Dad was nominally Methodist, but of course way back then in the Protestant/Catholic wars, if a Methodist wanted to marry a Catholic, Catholicism always won out!

When I matriculated from Year 12 at the age of 16 and went to Teachers College, I read EVERY book in a number of libraries about Comparative Religion! I learnt so many things that the Christian Brothers had neglected to tell me about other religions --- although I will NEVER accuse my wonderful teachers of any of the awful things that are thrown about today!

I very soon came to the realisation that there were huge numbers of religions in the world, including a number that had immense followings! They could not ALL be right, and I decided that on the balance of probabilities, NONE of them were!

I have no problem at all about calling myself and atheist. I have been a paid up member of the Australian Skeptics for decades and a paid up member of the Australian Atheists for almost as long!

I employ a lot of people and have done for a very long time, and all my staff know my attitude to gods. They accept it and we often laugh about it together!

At the same time, I have people who work for me who are religious and I welcome them --- provided their beliefs do not affect their work performance --- and I am yet to see a case where it did!

I'm fine with it, and think we should be open about it, so that the word loses some of its baggage with the general (religious) public. The more people that are public that they are atheists, the more that will be comfortable with the word, until eventually we no longer need it as we will be the majority.

David Silverman talks about this in his book, and points out that most people don't understand many of the other words used by atheists (eg. humanist, freethinker, etc.), so will assume you believe in a god until you explain otherwise.

I don't see why the word should make one uncomfortable. It's a word that describes a perfectly respectable point of view.

I suppose that discomfort with some words is situational. If I found myself surrounded by armed, and angry, Christian extremists I don't think I'd be comfortable peppering my conversation with the word "atheist".

As comfortable as saying the sky is blue. Not kind of blue. It is what it is and that is what I am as much as I am a non stamp collector.

Completely!

Natural, clean, proud

Very

For me, it is just a label defining a person who don't believed in supernatual beings. Fine with me.

I have considered myself to be athesist for past 20 odd years. Earnestly for the last 11 years fighting and debating theists who would attempt to make us fear an unreal God. Recently I have described myself as an agnostic atheist. That does not mean I have gone soft. If a God appeared in front of me (extremely unlikely) then I would have to believe. However, I don't believe as there is no good reason to believe so..there is no credible evidence. As for the term Atheist itself I like to think I am a freethinker, but I do read philosophy and would recommend Dennet and Harris whose ideas have influenced me. Does that make me a freethinker?.

I have never believed in Gods since childhood and have always been firm and comfortable with the term Atheist and referring to myself as such . Are you uncomfortable because maybe you still have some belief that their is a God?