Hacker News Reader

Comment by CM30 | Hacker News Reader

Not too surprising. Nothing necessarily says 'disbelieves in God/gods' means 'is a rationalist/sceptic'.

And nowadays, it seems like a growing number of people are simply not believing in the narratives provided by organised religions and churches, while still maintaining beliefs about other supernatural concepts like reincarnation, ghosts, an afterlife, etc.

In some sense, it feels like a bit of a pagan resurgence in some parts, with more people being open to the supernatural while still not believing in religion in the traditional sense.

View on HN

You also have to take cultural and linguistic differences into account. In my experience, Japanese people tend use terms like "atheist" and "non-religious" less in the sense of a personal system of belief, and more in the sense of "not being a member of a formal, established religious institution."

I've had variations of the following conversation with several Japanese people:

  Q: Are you religious?
  A: No I don't have any religion.
  Q: Oh, I see. By the way, what did you do on New Year's Day this year?
  A: I went to the neighborhood shrine to pray, like I always do!

Even in among native English speakers the usage is not consistent. I know people who believe in a spirit world where their dead family members hear their prayers, and they do not describe themselves as religious, because they associate religion with a shared dogma and belief in one or more superhuman deities. I guess most people don't describe themselves "religious" unless there is some organized religion that they are able to identify as the source of their beliefs.

Then there are people who say, "I'm not religious -- I have a relationship with God"

Reply on news.ycombinator.com