Can An Atheist Be Spiritual?

[Phantom]

So I recently got into this arguement with a friend. Can an atheist be spiritual?

Of course it matters what your definition of "spiritual" is. I want to know other's take on it.

I believe yes, but again it depends on the definition. I believe in the emotional standpoint.


The discussion came about when a friend said he was atheist but still very spirtual, and another person chimed in that that's "hypocracy".

 

[#1 bro]

Absolutely yes. iirc and this is a bit of extrapolation on my part, but "spiritual atheist" I think is the largest growing religious group in the US, maybe even the world today.

Also: me. I am an atheist, I guess (I don't believe that there is a God) although I dislike the label. You might consider me a pantheist, but these are two terms that are very practically similar, and yet possess separate connotations. I'd rather be considered a pantheist, I suppose. But uh yeah I might be considered a "spiritual" person in that I sort of make an effort to get "in tune with the universe", as silly as that sounds, and try to connect with nature and the inner me. I believe in some of that hippie stuff, I guess.

 

[Aisling]

I'm kind of in the same boat as Zeta. I don't believe there's a god, but I find myself considering things like luck, every rock, tree and creature having a life, spirit and name, etc anyway. I think the main reason people insist you can't be a superstitious atheist is that you say you can't believe in a god without having evidence... but there isn't evidence for anything else in the supernatural/superstitious/spiritual spectrum either. And I can get where that's coming from. So it's kind of more like an old bad habit I apply to my decision making than something I'd actually try to back up in an argument. I talk to inanimate things but I wouldn't honestly try to explain to you why it can hear me.

 

[shy ♡]

You definitely can be a spiritual atheist, as the members above will prove; that's a rather ridiculous question. I do think that being an atheist and being spiritual are contradicting beliefs. I'd like for someone to explain how/why they are doubtful of there being a god but not towards other spiritual things?

 

[Tarvos]

"The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. It was the experience of mystery even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man."

If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.

Einstein

 

[TANMAC43]

Budhism is the prime example of how you can be spiritual and atheist.

 

[Zuu]

You definitely can be a spiritual atheist, as the members above will prove; that's a rather ridiculous question. I do think that being an atheist and being spiritual are contradicting beliefs. I'd like for someone to explain how/why they are doubtful of there being a god but not towards other spiritual things?

some might claim that while evidence of a god is not obvious, there are some feelings that can't immediately be waved away as solely the workings of the human psyche with a clear conscience; such experiences could lead one to believe in a kind of "soul" or what have you.

 

[Eloi]

I think I'm Christian Agnostic. Jesus was important, had contact with the spirit world, died, rose, and is a good figure to get acquainted with before going to the spirit world. As for the true nature of the hierarchy of the spirit world, or if Jesus is the most powerful being in the hierarchy, is open-ended.

 

[Teh Ebil Snorlax]

Of course an atheist can be spiritual; my girlfriend is atheist and believes in Wiccan magic. She casts spells on me every now and then.

Even a total skeptic can be spiritual, take me for example; I don't believe in anything supernatural or paranormal or extrareal or whatever word the kids are using these days, I don't believe in gods, souls, magic, fairies, anything like that, but I put religious importance on my own sense of place in the universe.

I like to feel in tune with the rest of existence because at the dawn of time, I was quite literally one with the rest of existence. I revere the continuous use and reuse of matter and energy, the eternal flow of the physical and I dislike arbitrary breaks in that flow; hence, I want to be buried in a biodegradable coffin, so that the physical resources of my body can be quickly appropriated for use by other organisms.

I'm actually a rather spiritual person. I just think anything inconsistent with science is bullshit.

 

[surskitty]

I can't take anyone who identifies as wiccan seriously.


I'm atheistic, not antitheistic, and somewhat superstitious.

 

[Eloi]

I can't take anyone who identifies as wiccan seriously.

I'm sorry, but what is so bad about adherers to the Craft? They are just a group of people who believe utilizing the five senses better in relation to nature (represented by the metaphoric four classical elements and the fifth centering element) can help unlock some missed potential overlooked by casual observers. Their morality is mostly just treat others the way you want to be treated. Their concept of the afterlife is minimal, as they don't even put much focus into an after life, just continued reincarnation into the beloved natural world, and some (not all, mind you) don't even believe in gods, thinking the core deities of Wicca are metaphoric representatives of all gods in mythology, and what they represent and represented in the human mind psychologically. So to re-cap, they could theoretically (and some do) believe the natural world should be observed closely, to treat others right, possibly believe in the continued experience of existence represented in reincarnation, and all of the gods of mythology and religion are psychological constructs, who do rituals and festivals to connect with historical cultural heritage.
How are they any different than an ethical, spiritual, atheistic scientist of nature who appreciates historical cultures?

 

[Phantom]

I have to agree with Eloi on that. I have a healthy respect for Wiccans.

And why can't you take Wiccans seriously? You put no reason forward at all.

 

[Clover]

... who do rituals and festivals to connect with historical cultural heritage.
How are they any different than an ethical, spiritual, atheistic scientist of nature who appreciates historical cultures?

See the thing is, nothing in Wicca is over a hundred years old. Most traditions come from the 1960s.

I think Wicca's cute. Like LARPing or ouija boards. Doesn't hurt anyone (as far as I know) aside from making people rather more gullible, and it's like, 'aww, you think that combination of colors/candles/water/words will affect anything? Okay then, have fun. :3'


"Don't say you're a psychic. Say something vague, like we're from the 'alternative tactics division'." "How about the 'bureau of magic and spellcasting'?"

 

[Zuu]

the magic bits, probably.

 

[surskitty]

How are they any different than an ethical, spiritual, atheistic scientist of nature who appreciates historical cultures?

I have to agree with Eloi on that. I have a healthy respect for Wiccans.

And why can't you take Wiccans seriously? You put no reason forward at all.

Most of my mom's friends and acquaintances who identify as wiccan in particular, as opposed to one of many other occult-based religions, are weird and not in the good way. They tend to be kind of like the people going on about the mystical healing powers of crystals, and from what I've noticed, there's a significant amount of overlap.

I don't have too many experiences with people my own age saying that they identify as wiccan, but out of the people I've met, it mostly holds. :|

 

[Eloi]

See the thing is, nothing in Wicca is over a hundred years old. Most traditions come from the 1960s.

Yes, but most of the traditions are derived from older models. This is much like how the Brethren Reformed Church was formed in 2007, but is a derivation of about nineteen hundred year old beliefs.

I think Wicca's cute. Like LARPing or ouija boards. Doesn't hurt anyone (as far as I know) aside from making people rather more gullible, and it's like, 'aww, you think that combination of colors/candles/water/words will affect anything? Okay then, have fun. :3'

Y'know pity is just slightly above repulsion on the Riddle Scale, right?



Lordy you have no idea what Wicca is about.

the magic bits, probably.

Magick is a willed change to the world around you. Banishing and purification is more about psychological cleanness than it is able spiritual cleanness, consecration is basically designating a space for a purpose "I consecrate the kitchen to eating and creating food!", invocation can give motivation and confidence even if you don't believe in gods but can at least concentrate on a concrete representation of concepts the God or Goddess embodies, astral projection requires meditation which is considered good for anxiety, yoga, which is naturally good for you, divination is just careful and deep thinking about their choices and world around them, a magical weapon is a consecrated object that by its very existence is a willed change to the world around you, and can make continued changes and thus is magick, and so much more.

Dismissing stuff out of hand that you don't understand is a one-track road to bigotry.

Most of my mom's friends and acquaintances who identify as wiccan in particular, as opposed to one of many other occult-based religions, are weird and not in the good way. They tend to be kind of like the people going on about the mystical healing powers of crystals, and from what I've noticed, there's a significant amount of overlap.

I don't have too many experiences with people my own age saying that they identify as wiccan, but out of the people I've met, it mostly holds. :|

Y'know, a guy told me once that anecdotal evidence doesn't prove anything.

 

[Teh Ebil Snorlax]

Yeah, in an odd turn of events, I have to concur with Eloi (scare track), Wiccan magic is more about being able to make things happen through willpower. The objects used in the rituals are for mental focus, they're not considered to have any power more than pure symbolism. For example, one that my girlfriend has cast a couple of times is "Binding a Person From Doing Harm";

Need: A picture or artifact of the person, tape

Take an artifact or picture of the person and bind it with tape while saying:

(Name of person) I bind you from doing harm to others or yourself.

Repeat that 3 times.

Real Wiccans understand that it's about using the power of positive thinking to influence things than hocus pocus; the kind of people surskitty's talking about aren't real Wiccans if they don't understand that.

Admittedly, I used to think like surskitty before I started going out with Sabrina, which gave me reason to look into Wicca and realise "oh, it's basically applied psychology with occult symbolism, I can dig that".

 

[Eloi]

Real Wiccans understand that it's about using the power of positive thinking to influence things than hocus pocus; the kind of people surskitty's talking about aren't real Wiccans if they don't understand that.
[...]
"oh, it's basically applied psychology with occult symbolism, I can dig that".

That's pretty much what I meant, you are just a lot better at expressing it than I am, so no concuring necessary, I agree with you.




ETA: can you please stop deleting posts for no reason, it breaks the readability of the thread; it really does not matter if you made a simple mistake - uv

 

[Teh Ebil Snorlax]

Um, "to concur" means "to agree".

 

[Eloi]

Um, "to concur" means "to agree".

I accidentally associated it with the pseduohomophone "contradict", sorry.

You agreeing with me threw me off too. XD