Atheism — What It Really Means (and What It Isn’t)

To start off with, let’s get one thing perfectly straight right off the bat: I am an atheist. I am also agnostic where it comes the existence of deities.

So, what is atheism? A channel member recently stated that “atheism is a core belief”, and that atheism is needed “if you are going to murder millions of innocent people”.

This channel member is obviously referring to Joseph Stalin who, for the sake that channel member’s argument, is supposed to have been practicing “atheism”. However, Stalin’s ostensible atheism has as much to do with the deaths of millions of innocent people as the mustache on his face did.

The problem with Stalin is that he was a brutal dictator who attempted to murder political rivals including Trotskyites to solidify his power. And that’s what drove these deaths: Stalin’s bloodlust-filled desire for power. Not atheism.

Atheism, at its core, is simply a lack of belief in deities. Nothing more. It is not a drive for power. It is not a religion. It is not an ideology. It is not a belief. It is a LACK of one. The only thing that links all atheists together is something they don’t do: Believe in deities. It is similar to those who don’t watch the latest new Netflix series (from my research, it’s “The Witcher” as of this posting). You cannot deduce an an ideology from those who do not watch “The Witcher”, and you cannot deduce an ideology from someone who is an atheist.

To claim that atheism is akin to Stalinism is the same as saying a mass-murderer who did not watch a television show is the same as everyone who does not watch that television show. And that’s just dumb.

So, why do people equate the mere lack of belief in deities to the most brutal dictators of all time?