Do atheists have faith?
For example, sometimes people suggest that faith is believing in spite of proof, or at least the stronger balance of evidence, to the contrary.
For example, sometimes people suggest that faith is believing in spite of proof, or at least the stronger balance of evidence, to the contrary.
If atheism is only not believing in gods yes they can have faith. But do all atheists have faith? That is believe in things there is no proof for? No. There are all types of atheists.
ALL atheists have faith, even those that are complete vegetables for medical or disease reasons. Why? Simply because nobody knows anything about the future. We all have faith in our experiences that suggest that things are going to work out well today, just like they did yesterday.
If we knew anything about our future, there wouldn't be any car accidents, people would take precautions so that they wouldn't get sick or get broken bones, people would be a whole lot better at predicting the stock market, etc., and etc., and etc.
Think of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many of those people were walking, with a foot in the air as they took their next step. They knew exactly where their foot was going to land. Then, mid stride, all that was left of them was a shadow on the pavement.
You don't know. You live by faith.
That's stretching the meaning of faith beyond reason. Pun intended. What you are talking about isn't religious faith. Which I believe was what he was talking about. Yes people don't know the future. So they have to make assumptions about how things will work. And they act based on that. But that isn't religious faith. If things don't work how people expect, people change their assumptions. Change what they have faith will happen. If you want to use that word. But you can't do that in religious faith. You have to believe in something against all evidence to the contrary. Or lack of evidence.