Please tell the VC that you don't want their money, since obviously you're too proud to to business.
I studied global management and international business, and it is hard to fit into a new nation with different people who believe or don't believe different stuff. It would be just as hard for an atheist to fit into his nation, as he has trying to fit into our nation. Remember that this is happening globally as other nations get into tech startups and they aren't aware that they are offending people. It takes some getting used to and you have to forgive him because he is new to our culture and way of life. He has to make some changes to adapt and fit in.
He seems to have a difficult time understanding Evolution, said something like humans evolved from monkeys, some people think other humans are animals. It seems to be some sort of misunderstanding. Maybe in his country they don't teach evolution but something else? He seems to lack understanding of western culture and science, and I think we should help him out.
But I agree his words do insult atheists, but he doesn't mean to insult anyone, he doesn't know any better because he might never have met an atheist before. He hasn't learned how to phrase his words to be more accepting of others who don't share his belief system. He is still learning English and I think we should help him understand that praying for an atheist is an insult to an atheist, and might lead to a series of conflicts.
Our culture and nation is a bit alien to him, and he's still trying to learn it. Got some myths about Evolution he needs to work out. Needs to learn how to get along with others who don't share his religious beliefs. Needs to learn how to phrase his words better to avoid offending people.
Who knows, he could be the Steve Jobs of his nation and not be ready for it yet. I recall Steve Jobs followed Buddhism that believed people should find their own path, I recall Steve Jobs struggling in 1985 and leaving Apple to start over again. Steve Jobs had to learn from his failures to get back with Apple in order to save it. So too must this person learn form their failures and mistakes to fit into western culture and get along with atheists, etc.
The term denotes the lack of belief in deities, and exactly this and nothing else. This also means that it is not based on "faith" at all, as it does not posit any assumptions.
Humanism, on the other hand, can be described as a belief system.
Not to start the ball rolling in a religious debate or anything.
I'm saying that the claim that atheism is a "belief system" that makes the same kinds of assumptions as religions is intellectually dishonest at best.
This is my point:
There is a difference between a belief that something does not exist (what you're talking about, and a false equivalence), and a lack of belief in that same something (what the term actually means).
Also, not all assumptions are equal: neither "New" Atheists nor taxi drivers go around believing every assumption they hear that has not been disproven.
"I don't believe in god" is not the same as "I believe god doesn't exist".
The latter statement is of atheists. As an agnostic, I think agnosticism is the only actual "lack" of a belief system, since I don't hold a belief either way (for/against god's existence).
I've touched upon this in a reply, but atheism asserts the former - not the latter.
Additionally, atheism itself does not posit any assumptions, so I don't understand what this alleged system of beliefs would consist of. I'd really like to hear a sound argument for the assertion that it is, though.
Atheism is not an alternative to religion, so much as a rejection of religious claims – absence of belief. It might, for instance, be formulated in one personal case as something like "These claims are dubious and unsubstantiated, so I see no reason to believe in them."
This would be an atheist concluding that they do not believe in (a) god, by way of atheism (the lack of belief).
A tired analogy would be that of a lack of belief in unicorns or pixies; neither of which would constitute a "belief system".
Agnosticism states [4-6] that it is unknown (and perhaps unknowable) whether or not the supernatural exists – so one could argue that agnosticism is not really a lack of a belief system, but a lack of taking a stance or excluding any supposition.
In my own case, I'm an agnostic atheist – in the sense that I don't think that many religious claims can be tested (by their nature). I also don't think that this is a sign of a good argument, or that they should therefore be taken at face value.
[1]: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/atheism
[2]: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism
[3]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atheism
[4]: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/agnosti...
An atheist doesn't want you to pray for them as they find it offensive. Atheists think instead of pray. They hold people in their thoughts instead of praying for them.
I know that you are trying to adapt and be respectful. That you believe praying for people is respectful. I respect your religion, but you must be careful around people in how you use your words. In the West there are a lot of different types of people to deal with and you have to learn what offends them and try to avoid it.
Just as you hold beliefs, an atheist has different beliefs. They don't believe in God or prayer, they believe in nature and the universe. They are often materialists and skeptics, who don't believe in a super natural or spiritual world. They don't see any scientific evidence for God, for example, and believe in Evolution, the Big Bang Theory, that the universe created itself, etc. You have to respect those beliefs just as much as you respect your own.
Diversity is a good thing, because it means different people think and observe in different ways and can find problems when nobody else can and fix them before they happen.