9 Misconceptions about Atheists

Refuting some common sentiments.

What’s up nonbelievers, doubters, and skeptics?

Welcome to The Ex-Christian Observer: a weekly newsletter from a former Christian unpacking the madness that is evangelical Christian America.

Being an atheist on social media, I often encounter people who don't understand atheism very well. Many generalize us, put us into certain buckets, or make a lot of assumptions about who we are and what we believe. Because of this, there are plenty of misconceptions about atheists that I think are worth addressing.

Here are nine common misconceptions I’ve encountered. If you think of any others, drop them in the comments or hit me up on social media at @JesusUnfollower.

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1. Atheists Think Everything Came From Nothing

This is a big one. An atheist is simply someone who lacks belief in a god. Some atheists assert that no gods exist (strong atheism), but most fall under the “weak atheism” category, simply rejecting god claims without asserting their own.

Atheism itself makes no claims about the origins of the universe. Many atheists accept the Big Bang theory as the best scientific explanation for the beginning of our universe, but when it comes to what happened before the Big Bang? Most of us are comfortable saying, “I don’t know.”

The only thing atheists universally have in common is that we don’t believe in a god.

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2. Atheists Are Atheists Because They Want to Sin

As an atheist for over 10 years, I’ve been told this a lot since running atheist-themed social media accounts. The idea is that we reject God because we want to live without rules.

The reality? Atheists don’t believe in the concept of sin. My lack of belief in a god isn’t an act of defiance; it’s simply the conclusion I’ve reached based on the evidence (or lack thereof). Beliefs aren’t choices. I didn’t choose not to believe—I just don’t.

If there were compelling evidence for a god, I’d believe it. Simple as that.

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3. Atheism Is a Religion

Bill Maher put it best: “Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.”

Atheism is not a religion. There’s no dogma, no higher power, no rituals. It’s just a lack of belief in gods. Sure, atheists sometimes gather in communities, but that doesn’t make it a religion—any more than sports fans or chess clubs are religions.

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4. Atheists Don’t Believe in God Because They Were Hurt by the Church

While it’s true that some atheists were hurt by the church, that’s not why they don’t believe in God. Being hurt by the church might open the door to questioning faith, but atheism itself is simply a lack of belief in gods.

Bad experiences with religious institutions might sour someone on religion, but they’re not the reason people reject the concept of a god.

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5. Atheists Have No Morals

“If you don’t believe in God, where do you get your morality from?” This one’s common. Many assume that without a divine source, morality is impossible.

The truth? Morality comes from empathy and human evolution. Humans don’t want pain inflicted on them, so they’re less likely to inflict pain on others. Empathy is observable in nature and is part of how we’ve evolved as social beings.

Also, let’s not forget that the Bible itself contains examples of subjective morality—from condoning slavery to ordering the slaughter of entire groups of people.

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6. Atheists Obviously Believe in God Because They Talk About Him So Much

This one’s almost funny. People say, “If you don’t believe in God, why do you talk about him so much?”

Here’s the thing: Religion affects the real world. Laws get made in the name of God, suppressing people’s rights—like opposing gay marriage or women’s reproductive rights. These are the issues we care about, and they’re often justified by religious beliefs. So while we don’t believe in God, we’re responding to the real-world impact of religion.

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7. Atheists Hate God

We don’t hate God. We don’t believe in God. What we take issue with is the harm done in religion’s name.

For example, when someone’s child wears a shirt to school saying, “Homosexuality is a sin,” and then cries persecution when people call it out—that’s the problem. It’s not God we dislike; it’s the intolerance justified by religious belief.

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8. Atheists Worship Satan

This one’s more of a joke, but I’ve heard it before. Some people think atheists worship Satan. But… how could we worship something we don’t believe in? Even the Satanic Temple doesn’t worship Satan.

Atheists don’t believe in God, and we don’t believe in Satan either.

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9. Atheists Think They’re Smarter Than Theists

This one might get me into trouble, even with fellow atheists, but it’s worth addressing.

While some atheists do think they’re smarter than theists, this isn’t universally true. There are smart and not-so-smart people on both sides of the belief spectrum. Intelligence isn’t determined by your religious beliefs or lack thereof.

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Comments From Christians

It’s time to see what fun, nice, interesting comments the Christians left me!!

Is science always disproving itself? Science is about understanding, testing, learning. It’s not making definitive “I’m right” statements. That’s religion.

For being accused of hating Jesus a million times per day, you’d think that I actually have said that I hated Jesus at some point. I haven’t. I don’t.

When I say that most of these people aren’t worth my time, this is what I mean. They just blurt out opinions as facts and have no desire to actually understand other perspectives.

That’s sad and unfortunate for most Christians.

Ugh. Where to start? Abortion isn’t “killing babies.” And the fact that these people are against gun control proves that babies dying isn’t actually what they are concerned with. They want control.

I don’t have any desire to debate. That’s not because I’m scared; I legitimately just do not want to spend my time doing that.

Anyway, I’m glad that el-capitan523 got that out of his system.

I hear Christians say “prove there is no God” literally every day haha

Yoy.

“I’ll type slower,” as if that would make a person read slower.

Oh, look! Number 3 from our misconception list!

Blaming god and questioning why a god would hypothetically allow suffering are two different things.

Do they not understand that people can just exist and not call anything god?

You don’t know that, actually. Opinions and facts aren’t the same.

Why would someone DM me this???

I’ve been badly and deeply hurt.

Bitterness.

Hardening of the heart.

They will never stop making assumptions.

I’ve never been happier in my life than right now. Ever.

I’d rather have a hardened heart than be gullible af.

Do some of these people truly think the only reason people are atheists is because they were sexually assaulted?

L is for Leave me alone, and never return to my page, mawkcos.

Remember: You don’t need a god to be good.

Kevin

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