Vegans eating meat: The varieties of non-religious experience

 

What is atheism? Is it "merely a lack a belief in God", what is sometimes humorously referred to as "lacktheism"? On one level, it *does* seem so, since only 35% of all atheists in a global survey regarded themselves as metaphysical naturalists. Interestingly, only 8% of all Chinese atheists did so! Ahem, I assumed the PRC was Communist? 

But, of course, this opens an entire can of worms. Can you really be an "atheist" if you believe in qi, worship ancestral spirits or feed the hungry ghosts during a Chinese festival? And what is this thing called "God" atheists supposedly don´t believe in? "God" is notoriously difficult to define (outside the strict enclosures of a fairly orthodox theological seminary). 

People are frequently inconsistent in their religious beliefs (for instance, a large minority of Christians believe in reincarnation), so why should "atheism" be any different? In the United States, the label itself is mostly used by affluent, White, young, progressive types, while actual atheism (of the strict naturalist variety) is a much broader phenomenon. To some, atheism is an intellectual worldview based on metaphysical materialism, a form of political activism, or a subcultural identity marker. To others, it can apparently include beliefs in some supernatural phenomena?! By some standards, "spiritual atheism" is a thing. To others, that´s like being a vegan eating meat...

The video also mentions that there is a stigma against atheism among women, Blacks and Natives. Women "should" be "pious", Natives "should" identify with their ancestral religious traditions, and so on.

The YouTube channel ReligionForBreakfast will apparently post about ten videos on the varieties of non-religious experience, so stay tuned. Oh, and "religion" can be defined in different ways, too...