Received 2.13.2000

Thank you for your words on the Closet Atheist. You are doing a service that all mankind can benefit from. I would humbly ask that you add the following three issues that might help your cause.

1. Atheism? - Semantics of the word atheism. I never did like the word Atheism, because it always puts the religious above the atheist, given that the word atheism has the morpheme -theism, which refers to God. Atheists, who don't use the word God, should be given at least enough respect to be described by a word that doesn't include a reference to God, since most Atheists I know aren't in competition with non-atheists. The word secular seems to equalize the playing field as far as self-righteousness is concerned. I like to bring myself down to the down-to-earth level, where no one is superior to another.

2. Religious vs. Spiritual. - I tell people that I am not religious, but that I am spiritual - that I believe in something bigger than me, like Mother Nature, and For-the-good-of-Man or the World. And, I have a soul I say, but one that mostly dies with me. Mostly I say, because parts of our souls, or personalities, influence others through out our lives, however small that influence may be. So, we live on after death by the influence we have in our own small little worlds. And God does exist! - In many people's minds. As far as I can tell, the word God represents an abstraction of all the possible love that has existed, that exists, and that will exist in people's hearts; and it is also represents the hope that people have, faced with death, depression, the Unknown, and chaos in general.

3. Personal Moral System. - What I propose here is for those who think they are good people despite the fact that they are secular. Take your first name and add -ism to it. Now, you have invented a word the could describe your own system of belief. If you'd like to be more specific and distinguish yourself from the other John's of the world the add the -ism to your whole name - Ex. John J. Smithism. Be warned though, it's hard work to think of how you are truly different and similar from others, especially as far as morality goes. This leads us to another question: What is morality - What you should do? or what you think is right? Long live the spiritually moral!

Brian  - chemicalbrian@yahoo.com

My Reply:

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree with your first point. Describing oneself as an Atheist is like a man describing himself as "not a woman." A Secular Humanist is a good label, but unfortunately since it is not heard often it sometimes requires a lot of explanation.

As far as your second point, I think the use of religious metaphors to describe secular things, such as love, hope, and influence, can further confuse an already abstract and murky topic. Telling someone that you are not religious, but spiritual probably leaves them more confused about your beliefs than they were before they asked you. If your God is real, but only exists in people's minds, your definition of God is different from the commonly understood meaning, which would also be confusing. I think people who are leaning toward atheism, but aren't completely comfortable with the idea yet, often describe their beliefs in vague ways such as this. I'm not, however, implying that this is the case with you. Just as you illustrate in your first point, that the word "Atheist" is not a good label, perhaps there are also better secular words to describe the more subjective aspects of being human.

Your third point-- creating a different name for every individual's beliefs-- may be liberating for some by lifting the pressure to conform to belief culture they are formally a part of. After all, everyone ultimately needs to decide for themselves what they believe or don't believe. It seems that even people who profess to be of the same faith, often have different belief systems when it comes down to the details.

I enjoyed your note. Thanks again for writing the Closet Atheist.