For fun, I searched for the most commonly-asked questions on Google about atheism and answered them below. In doing so, I learned that many misconceptions about atheism persist. For instance, I think some people find it difficult to imagine life without religion, so they feel that “atheism is a religion” because it’s “a belief that God doesn’t exist,” neither of which are true, as I write below. I am hopeful that if more of us talk openly about atheism, we can clear up these misconceptions.
What do atheists say when someone sneezes?
I've thought about this. While most of us probably say "Bless you" unthinkingly, I prefer the German "Gesundheit!" or the Spanish "¡Salud!" because they don't have religious connotations. Both phrases are commonly-used and roughly mean "To your health!"
What do atheists swear on in court?
Nothing. Swearing on a Bible is customary, but not required. You need only "affirm" that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As far as oaths of office are concerned, there are very few (openly) atheist public officeholders in America, but it is customary for them to take their oath on the Constitution.
What do atheists worship?
This one is easy. We don't feel a need to worship anything. But many of us do have a veneration for the beauty of nature and the elegance of the natural sciences. Our conviction that we only get one life instills in us a deep appreciation for our material existence on Earth, for the fleeting time that it lasts. The supernatural holds less interest for us.
What do atheists believe in?
Atheism is not a belief system, but we are loosely-united in the belief that we only get one life and we should live it fully, enthusiastically, and with a sense of gratitude. Most of us have a very closely-held sense of morality derived from the conviction that there is no god looking out for us, so we must look out for each other. Atheists follow the same "Golden Rule" that most religions do—treat others as you would have them treat you, and we demand justice and fairness from our fellow man because we don't expect it from a god.
What do atheists celebrate?
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny have nothing to do with Jesus; the major Christian holidays have all become secular over time, and perfectly amenable to atheist participation. (Not that they were Christian to begin with—almost all of them have their origins in Paganism. Some atheists may also observe Pagan holidays, but usually not too seriously.) The solstices, too, are portentous events that have been observed by most cultures throughout history, and some atheists keep this tradition alive.[1]
What do atheists celebrate instead of Christmas?
We celebrate Christmas. In fact, no atheist in the world loves Jesus music as much as I do at Christmastime. I can’t explain that one.
What do atheist churches do?
Atheism isn't a religion, and there generally aren't atheist "churches." However, some atheist groups may use this term in a tongue-in-cheek manner. An atheist social group or book club may provide the same sense of community that a church provides to its congregants, but atheists don't gather on Sundays to sing hymns to the non-existence of a god. We sleep in.
What do atheists do for funerals?
There's no reason why a funeral must be religious in character. While it may be customary to read Bible passages at a funeral, a favorite poem of the deceased is more intimate, in my opinion. Because we generally don't believe in life after death, a funeral is a particularly poignant occasion, but like any funeral, it is also a celebration of the person's life. The Freedom from Religion Foundation has a lengthy resource on “funerals without god.”[2] (My personal preference is to be cremated and to have my ashes scattered amongst nature on San Francisco's Angel Island.)
How do atheists explain love?
I think love is like comedy—if you explain it, you ruin it. Love can be explained by science, but this doesn't make the experience of love any less powerful for an atheist, any more than knowing how a movie is made ruins the experience of watching it in a theater. We may know that there are biochemical reasons for the sensation of love, but we still fall in love as anyone else does. We just find it very strange to believe that love is somehow facilitated by a god.
How do atheists pray?
We don't. In fact, because of the futility of prayer, many of us think it's actually a counter-productive exercise that looks to a god for help rather than helping ourselves or our loved ones. The phrase "thoughts and prayers" has become widely-mocked as a platitudinous excuse to do nothing. That said, if you sincerely believe in prayer, then I would welcome your prayers in my time of distress, not for my sake, but for yours—because I want those who care about me to feel reassured.
Are "atheist" and "agnostic" the same?
It's complicated. In common usage, an atheist doesn't believe that a god exists, while an agnostic isn't sure if a god exists or not. But technically, atheists aren't sure either, because a god can't be proven to exist or not exist. For this reason, very few atheists will actually say "there is no god." But we live as if there is no god, because we find the probability that a god exists to be vanishingly small. Whereas an agnostic may hold some supernatural beliefs, such as a belief in ghosts, atheists tend to reject superstition in favor of scientific empiricism.
Are atheists nihilists?
Most atheists have, at one time or another, despaired at the thought of our brief and purposeless existence. It's easy to give in to nihilism. But it's perfectly possible to live a happy and healthy life with the values that I've mentioned previously; namely, a reverence for the beauty of nature and the natural sciences, a deep appreciation and gratitude for our material existence, and a commitment to justice and fairness on Earth. And, as mentioned previously, we atheists experience love and enjoy the company of friends and family as much as anyone else, if not even more so.
[1] https://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2011/12/atheistic-holidays/
[2] https://ffrf.org/publications/secular-funerals