New name for atheists?

[andrew1707]

I don't like having to describe myself as an Atheist. The word atheist describes what I am not, but not what I am.

So come on ABers, get your thinking caps on and come up with a new name that doesn't sound too pretentious or superior.

You never know one day the new name may be adopted worldwide!!

[jake-the-peg]

I'm not an Atheist I'm a rationalist

You can be an Atheist and still believe in Homeopathy, Astrology, Ghosts Unicorns, ley lines and all sort of rot

[cupid04]

Unbelievers, heathens, heretics, infidels, sceptics.

[Frank97]

The wise.

[andrew1707]

Cupid <Unbelievers, heathens, heretics, infidels, sceptics.>

But these only describe what I believe in with relation to what YOU believe in. This is not quite what I was looking for else I would just get a t-shirt that said "I have an invisible friend"

[mike11111]

I beg to differ but the word theist describes someone who believes in a God whilst the word atheist describes someone who does not believe in a God. The word IS saying what you are: someone who does not believe in a god.

[anneasquith]

non believer.

[jake-the-peg]

This is why I say rationalist

Empirical Rationalist to be pedantic - And to pi$$ off theoretical physicists dealing in string theory and multiverses which only seems one step down from Unicorns if you ask me

[mccfluff]

fred

[andrew1707]

Mike and Anne, It is true that I don't believe in any god but I don't want all that I do believe in to be described in relation to what I do't believe in. That would be a bit like describing an astronomer as a non-flatearther.

[ludwig]

I'd just like to be known as a person.
I don't think we need a special name for someone who isn't religious.

[mike11111]

The trouble with the words "unbeliever", "non believer" or, to use its Latin origin, "infidel" is that they are used by people with religious beliefs to describe people with other religious beliefs which do not coincide with their own. Similarly with the word, "humanist", now largely regarded as synonymous with atheist. The word meant something quite different a few hundred years ago; some of the most deeply religious people were humanists.

[cupid04]

I vote Mccluff best answer! Made me laugh!

[anneasquith]

ok..... God non believer, which could be shortened to a GNB

[mike11111]

It would be helpful, therefore, if you could give us a brief summary of what you DO believe in, then. Armed with this information I am sure that we can come up with a suitable nomenclature.

[DTCwordfan]

Nogod, plural Nogods

[sandyRoe]

NUTS? Not Under Theological Stress?

[wolf63]

Fluffy - We could be Murphites (or Frankites (my little boy) or Merlinites (my Princess).

Disbelievers cynics sceptics realists - there are many possible names but why don't you just ask a crowd to each pick a letter and then scramble it up until you get a nice looking word.

Or use a portmanteau . .

[Kiki-frog]

Humanists? (But that presupposes that you think human life is to be celebrated of course.) Failing that, I think Sandy's idea of NUTS is pretty good.

[andrew1707]

McFluff> I think Fred is an excellent answer

Mike> I think a list of what I believe in my need a thread of its own and at a time when I'm not sitting at work pretending to work!!.

I think Wolf has the best idea: get a crowd to supply some letters and see if they can be re-arranged to form an interesting word. Isn't Wolf clever.

So If I can get you ABers to supply 1 letter each and I will take the first 10 and come up with something. (assuming anyone is still reading this thread apart from Wolf who will, no doubt, give me a Z or an X)

Ready, steady, go................