Atheist Labels

[TheAtheistBiker]

Hi:

We should not underestimate the power of labels because like any other meme it conveys real meaning, real value and should be one of the tools of a successful social movement...

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Kind regards

TheAtheistBiker

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Welcome! I see you're on the Skeptic Forum too. (I'm disguised as "Gawdzilla" over there.) I can guess how you found your way here.

[Hermit]

You have a good description of agnosticism:

the atheist and agnostic labels are not mutually exclusive, one deals with belief the other knowledge. Consequently, agnosticism is not the middle ground between atheism and theism, as some would have you believe. If we are intellectually honest, we are all technically agnostic about a lot of things but I am no more agnostic about fairies than I am about god(s). I do not have knowledge that there is or isn’t a god(s), therefore I am an agnostic, but I do not believe that there is a god(s). It is this non-belief that makes me an atheist.

As for labels, I am grateful that you are not advocating the use of "Bright". It's not that I am opposed to the use of labels. They can be a useful abbreviation of positions, but I do not see much else they are good for. What, for instance did labels themselves actually do to advance the cause of, say, gays, blacks or roundheads? I label myself a humanist, democratic socialist and atheist, but see no practical advantage in using those labels, except for them being a convenient way of summarising where I stand.