Atheism

There is this famous quote from Richard Dawkins: “We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.“ 1/5

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Assuming N deities in human history (the exact value of N does not matter here — estimates of 10,000 are common), the believer believes in just 1 (or one pantheon), and firmly rejects the remaining N-1 because they are mutually exclusive (sometimes to the point of heresy). 3/5

The typical atheist rejects just one more deity, for a total of N, but not as firmly: the atheist’s lack of belief isn’t symmetrical to the believer’s faith. It’s just a default position that awaits incontrovertible evidence, without rejecting the tenuous possibility. 4/5

The believer’s position is, in aggregate, a much more resolute position against the existence of most deities than the atheist’s position against the existence of all deities. 5/5

I would go one step further and propose that not only is everyone an atheist to *some* degree, but none more so than an actual believer. Why? 2/5

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It’s also often attributed in a different form to Stephen Roberts: “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours”. It’s a possibly ancient argument and not super original

It’s funny Ricky Gervais pretty much lifted this line and uses it in any set piece he has about himself and his lack of belief

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