Good question. Why not just be an atheist? But names matter. Names matter a lot. Atheists are referred to, or refer to themselves, in the negative. A-theist, one who is without a god. How many other movements or beliefs refer to themselves this way? When one meets a Christian do they introduce themselves as an ‘Anti-Satanist’? Of course not. Would a Muslim refer to themselves as ‘Non-Kafir’? I doubt it. Would a Jew introduce themselves as ‘Agentile’? Never in a million years. And yet, Atheists cannot shake the whole ‘god’ thing, because it’s right there in the name. People who do not believe in a god can also be given other, less than desirable, labels such as ‘Non-believer’, ‘Nonreligous’, ‘Pagan’ and ‘Nones’ (as in ‘none of the above’ when filling out a form). We find this to be unacceptable. We refer to ourselves as ‘Reasonable’ because it is what we are, not what we are not.
