Spoilers THE ORVILLE S1, E12: "MAD IDOLATRY" - SEASON FINALE

Hit the nail on the head.

 

What if the No answer is worded: "You do not believe a god exists"?
"Not believe" does not equal "a belief", it equals "Not a belief."

 

Some atheists actually believe that God doesn't exist, but not all do, and that belief is not a requirement to be an atheist.

 

Atheism is not a religion. But atheism is a belief.

Replace God with extraterrestrial life. Whether you believe in its existence or not, without proof, it’s your belief.

That’s what I believe anyway.

 

Wrong.

When there is no basis for deciding between a proposition or its negation, you can literally say: "I don't know whether it is true or not." If you want, you can even formulate an estimate for how likely you think it is.

 

Exactly so.

 

I think someone who is religious simply can't understand atheism without considering it a belief system. It apparently blows their minds that someone simply doesn't hold a belief in something. It's difficult for some people to put themselves into someone else's head and understand how they feel or think.

 

I wonder if a useful analogy would be someone growing up in an isolated bit of the Amazon or such where religion was just never raised as a topic? So they don't have belief in a higher power because it simply never came up?

 

You may be right.

 

Good analogy. The same could be true in the inverse as well.

 

After reading this thread I have come to the realization that I am an atheist. I am still agnostic about the Bleem though.

 

My Mother has always referred to Atheists as people who hate god or are mad at god, not people who don't believe in it. The idea of not believing in the supernatural practically induces a panic attack.

 

No doubt true, but those folks are different than just plain ol' atheists without beliefs in the first place.

 

Folks who want to fight want to fight.

Still a lot easier to be a Christian than anything else in the U.S. though they don't want to hear that...

 

I dunno, I'm having no difficulty just not caring about being religious.
Merry Christmas all.

 

Y'mean like, irregular atheists? That could be me.

 

Try a little fiber in your diet.

 

I'm actually trying mira-lax. It doesn't seem to be helping. What do you suggest, more roughage?