What Do Non-Religious People Call Themselves?

If your parents were evangelical Christians, and you grew up participating and acting like one, you would still call yourself one, even if you stopped behaving or believing like one.

My family still calls themselves Catholic, even though we haven’t gone to church since 1992.

It’s somewhat like being a cultural Jew. You can be a cultural Christian (and do the Santa and Easter bunny thing) without believing in God.

This is why I’m a fan of Dawkins’ Out Campaign. I’ve been an atheist since I was seventeen, but I didn’t self-identify as such until eight years later. I’d just done it all on my own, so I didn’t really have a term with which I could refer to myself. I was just “inactive Mormon.” I hated still identifying as Mormon, but what else to do?

I have atheist acquaintances who won’t take the title ’cause of the bad rapport that comes with it, they’re all “agnostic” or “apatheistic” instead. Hell, I know people who would rather be labelled as “heathen” or “hedonist.”

Thanks to all of you who are working to change how we’re viewed!

they could be CINO’s(christian in name only) who go to church out of habit, or for people.

such as myself. im an atheist who goes to church for the nice people, and because it allows cool debates at times.

I, however, would be part of the 24% atheist.

well, it’s the whole herding cats thing.

being an atheist, by definition, does not imply a social affinity. it is simply a rejection of a belief in gods.

dawkins’ out campaign and other recent “atheist activists” are making the point that if we want our views/opinions/voices heard, we have to unite under some banner. I’m not so interested in it except that I’m tired of trying to voice my opinion in a sea of massive religious organizations opinions.

that said the word atheist is just fine.

I think this shows that a large number of people really don’t think about this sort of thing. It’s not so much that they don’t believe in god. It’s that they haven’t spent any time thinking about it. They are like the people who call themselves fans of a sports team but don’t know anything about that team. They will say “I’m a Yankee fan.” and you will say “Really? Name just one outfielder on the team.” and they will say “I don’t know. Babe Ruth?” and you will say “Um he died before your parents were born. Nice try. Are you sure your a fan of the Yankees? Are you sure it’s the Yankees and not nothing?” Replace yankees with God and you have religion for 25% of the people in this country.

I kink of like the shock value of the word “atheist” although that’s not the reason I’ve started using it. The “shock” of the word can get some interesting conversations going and help inform others of what I’m about.

I find myself sometimes coming up with excuses to inform people of my atheism. I even told my friends and co-workers that April Fools was my holiday (Psalms 14:1) and that they had to buy me presents.

Of course, I don’t really fear any real discrimination like I would imagine some would have to.

Myself, I’m a Black Protestant.

That is, if you count the last couple religious observances I’ve been to, which were primarily Gospel concerts. There IS something to be said for signing up with the religion that both has the best music and serves up the best breakfasts!

For a long time I was a “Follower of Christ” as opposed to a Christian. The label “Christian” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some it’s serving your fellow man, for others it’s peace, non-violence, and turning the other cheek.

I lost the label “Follower of Christ” when I realized that there were so many different Christs out there and that many of them were not very worthy of following.

I think at least part of it is the negative image of atheists. When they lose their belief in God, they just don’t want to label themselves with a name that they have seen as negative for a long time. Nobody wants a negative self image.

Tradition. You call yourself what you were raised as.

I’ve always called myself “Captain Marvel”…

I’m assuming it’s a cultural/ familial thing. The way that many people brought up as Jewish still identify as culturally Jewish, even if they’re not religious at all. I’m beginning to hear of people identifying as culturally Catholic in the same way.

And while a big part of me wishes these people would just call themselves atheists — or “atheist Jews,” “atheist Catholics,” whatever — I also can get behind the sentiment. If people can preserve the good things about their religion — the beautiful rituals, the sense of tradition and identification with their ancestors, the food — while leaving behind the problematic “religious belief” part… I’m down with that.

I wonder what order they asked the questions in and where the responders were from. For example, if they were asking people in a Bible Belt state first how they identified themselves, many would say “Christian” from cultural context.

But if they had asked the same Bible Belt crew “Do you believe in God?” first and then came back and said, “So how do you identify yourself?” I think they would get a much lower percentage of people saying Christian.

I think the moral of the story here is the next time someone tells you they’re Jewish or Christian you have to curb those internal thoughts of “what a dumb a$$ religious twit.”

Perhaps some people on the survey were cultural Christians? Or maybe they’re just people who don’t really go to church or think about the subject a lot, but they still identify as Christians because that’s what everyone else does even if they don’t think about God any otherwise? Or maybe it’s like what was said earlier that some people don’t know how to take polls?

I don’t find it surprising at all. Identity is a complicated thing. “Christian” is just a word, and it can mean very different things to different people. Clearly, to some people, it does not imply belief in god.

The exact same thing happens with the words “atheist”, “agnostic”, “freethinker”, “humanist”, etc., all of which have wildly varying definitions depending on who you ask.

I’m a new atheist, anti-theist who only on-line says it like it is about religion. I’m an ignostic- the God-notion is so vacuous.
Google any of those nicknames to see that I mean business!

Like Michael Herr said in Dispatches: ex-Marines are like ex-Catholics or ex-Feds …

It may be because they don’t under stand what “not believing in God” means.

I’ve met some Christians who think that they “don’t believe in God” simply because they have some doubts about Christianity (although they fully believe in the existence of a God).

They consider not being a Christian and not believing in God as being the same thing. And so since they have doubts about Christianity they say things like “I’m not sure if I believe in God”, but they still believe in the existence of a God and they continue to identify themselves as Christians.

If atheist Jew or Jewish atheist are acceptable terms, why do I never come across the following: Italian American atheist, British American atheist, WASP atheist, Evangelical atheist, Irish-American Catholic atheist?

It’s ridiculous. Ethnically, one is Jewish and maybe that seeps a LITTLE into culture (though there’s too much overlap between Jewish relgion and culture). But religiously, you’re either an atheist or a Jew, NOT BOTH! Choose one. I don’t see why atheists who happen to be Jewish ethnically always have to qualify their atheist moniker. I don’t see people of Italian or Irish ancestry doing the same. When it comes to religion, atheist is sufficient. When it comes to ethnicity, Jewish is sufficient.

“Why we will never see atheist-protestants.”

Polly, meet Spong.

It can be fear, weakness, or just an attempt to please everyone (and not have their family/coworkers give them dirty looks). Some people just don’t have the guts or don’t care.

The Unbrainwashed says:

I don’t see why atheists who happen to be Jewish ethnically always have to qualify their atheist moniker. I don’t see people of Italian or Irish ancestry doing the same. When it comes to religion, atheist is sufficient. When it comes to ethnicity, Jewish is sufficient.

Though I refer to myself as an Atheist, I often like to mention the Jew part, so Christians don’t go barking up the wrong tree, assuming I left Jesus or that I am familiar with their version of Hell… it happens quite often.

I’m Atheist all the way, but culturally Jewish. I suppose Christians can do the same? Still, if one lacks belief in a higher power (or god), then one is godless (aka an Atheist). But nowhere on this chart does it mention culture or heritage. So they must just be fearful or not thinking clearly (if they ever do).

So if it means that only 24% of the 5% of the population that dont belive in god call them selves atheist, than im proud to say im part of that 24%. I do call myself an atheist.
My parents are both catholic, and when i was born so was I, i was baptised in a christian church. But now, that doesnt mean im still a christian just because my parents are, i’v chose my own path. I am atheist, and im proud to say that i am, because not matter what other people say to me about being atheist could ever change my mind.