Defining Atheism
(You may want to take a minute or two to brush on what the words objective and subjective mean. It's important to this overall topic and it appears a lot of people aren't quite sure of their definition or their uses.)
What is Atheism? If you ask a random sampling of people, you'll get a myriad of answers. Some more accurate than others. Many people will claim they're devil worshipers (which is an oxymoron), or that they hate Christians, that they enjoy murdering babies, and spreading false lies about religion, that they can't do anything good for a community, that they are the most evil scourge on the planet (fruitcake seems to be a close second). Most any given answer is probably incorrect.
So how does one define Atheism? The dictionary tries to explain it as:
I find each definition to be a bit off the mark. Let's break this down and analyze why each statement is inacurate.
Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
This statement is presumptuous by nature. It implies that deities do exist and that an atheist only denies their existence. To look at this another way, it's saying that the tooth-fairy exists, and the anyone above the age of eight just denies its existence.
The doctrine that there is no God or gods.
More implications! This definition implies that there is a set belief system for atheists to follow by labeling an absence of a belief system as "doctrine". This definition only makes the water more muddy. Not less.
Godlessness; immorality.
This defintiion is just pure denigration. It attempts to equate godlessness with immorality - "godfulness" = morality. That statement is purely ludicrous. With that, what exactly is morality? That's pretty subjective isn't it? For a dictionary definition, it doesn't help to better define much of anything. What this myopic definition really does is created hatred against Atheists.
Essentially, the first definition is circular, it just begs the question. The second definition is only about slander.
So, then what is atheism?
If you follow the etymology of the word, "A" meaning without, and "theism" meaning believe in the existence of a deity or deities, you will get the below definitions:
Atheism is the absence of (without) a belief system in any deity.
An atheist is a person that has an absence of a religious belief (concerning religions with deities).
That's correct, if you have belief in a higher power of some sort, an Atheist would have an absence of belief. This does not mean that an atheist is non-religious, as there are religions out there that hold the power of one self, or the power of mind as the focal point; meaning that they can still have a belief system, but do not have a belief system that regards an entity or being with with god-like status.
You'll find Atheists from all walks of life, each of which will have many different views on any given topic. The only thing any one Atheist holds in common with another Atheist is my definition above. Trying to throw anything else in there is irrelevant.
Analysis of the Definition
But wait, hold up there paadnah! What is with this absence stuff? Isn't it the same as "not believing"?
Well, yes and no. It's purely semantics, but for a good reason. Absence is more clear cut than "lack of" or "not believing". People still seem to think that those terms implies denial, while absence should hopefully clarify that issue.
There isn't any objective way to prove that your religion of choice is the right path or more simply, just correct. Religion is a very personal experience and it varies from person to person. Since it's a personal experience it's safe to say that it's also a subejective experience. If there's nothing to prove or disprove objectively, how can I even deny it in a way where it's viewed as a negative belief?
So please, understand that when people say they are an Atheist, despite what terminology they may use, they are not denying the existence of your deity, but instead take an objective standpoint on the issue and have an absence of belief or faith. A person claiming anything else (as far as the definition goes) and yet claims to be an Atheist might be closer to a Religious Skeptic.
I do want it to be understood that I'm not saying that your religious ideals and what they entail are somehow wrong. They are a personal experience and invoke some sort of emotion in you, and that is perfectly acceptable.