Posting this because I think it’s an interesting examination of the overlap (or lack thereof) between atheists and general skeptics. It’s worth remembering that the term ‘atheism’ only means a rejection of theistic beliefs; non-theistic beliefs that are nonetheless irrational and unsupported by evidence are not relevant to the term. And yet one can easily see why there is an overlap between these two communities and why many atheists scoff at other atheists who profess belief in things like astrology, ghosts, reincarnation, etc.
I’m definitely one of those who doesn’t believe in anything supernatural, but I’ve certainly met atheists who do. It’s worth remembering the two groups aren’t synonymous.
I think I fall into this category, but it’s complicated. How much I believe in the supernatural depends on how much the belief will benefit me in the moment. Most of the time, it only goes as far as making jokes, coping with grief, and explaining weird but mundane occurances. There are a few beliefs where I’m more into them, such as the idea of reincarnation, but I’m still aware that there’s no scientific evidence to support them and that “brains are weird” is the best explanation for them. In the end, it’s about what helps me feel better, and only me. When I mysteriously lose an object, sometimes it’s fun to say a ghost moved it. When I’m sad about the passing of a pet, imagining their spirit frolicking in pet heaven is comforting. I don’t really believe in these things with my whole heart. Sometimes it’s just nice to pretend.
Before I even open the article: bad title. Without no context or restriction, “Atheists” conveys “Atheists in general; for all intents and purposes, all Atheists”. This sounds like bullshit from a distance (and it is). A better way to convey the findings would be to put “some”, “many”, “a few” etc. before “Atheists”, but plenty media sources give no fucks about being accurate or correct.
And did the writer really share a fucking print screen as source???
A quarter of Brazilian atheists believe in reincarnation
Plenty people in Brazil label themselves “Atheists” while being more accurately described as either Monotheists or Pan[en]theists. For example, people who say “I don’t believe in gods, I believe in one God”, or who’d rather not be associated with institutionalised religions; the later is specially relevant, I think, because they tend to gravitate towards new age and syncretic religions. So depending on the methodology, and how this data is being contrasted with people who pay taxes to other governments, data regarding Brazil may or may not be useful.
The study also found that non-believers are not all nihilistic, moral relativists, or unable to appreciate the inherent value of the world around them.
That’s roughly on the same level as saying “the study found that not all Jehovah’s Witnesses hate your Sunday morning sleep”. This sort of generalisation is expected to be false, at least for some members within the group; as such, the “not all” is not a piece of news, it’s rubbish.
So everybody chill out — across the spectrum, we all tend to believe in the uncanny.
And here the author bites his own generalisation fallacy.
While I understand your complaints and admit that the author of the article strays too far into a tone that discredits atheists than I’d personally like, that’s not the view I share and not the reason I posted it. Also, plenty of headlines adhere to the convention of “[x group] thinks [this]” without meaning all members of that group. Whether or not you think that’s a shitty editorial standard, it’s not unique to this article.
Understood within the context I’m trying to present it and to the audience I’m presenting it to, I felt this article was a worthwhile contribution to the forum. I’m sorry if you disagree.
Yeah I disagree. Your article should be titled “we found one random dude on earth who claims to be an atheist and believes in ghosts”. Also I don’t care that other “journalists” do this, the standard is good behavior not other people.
Being an atheist doesn’t mean you are immune from superstition. It means that you don’t believe in a single type of superstition.
Many atheists I’ve spoken to still believe in free will, which is a faith based belief with no scientific basis. So I’m not too surprised that some of them also believe in ghosts and shit.
lolnope
