James Baquet

    Mark and Ming again discuss words to describe non-religious people in the common room of their dorm.

    Ming: Hi, Mark. Do you have time to tell me more words that describe atheists?

    Mark: People who don’t believe in God? Sure. Let’s see: Especially in terms of politics and society, some people call themselves “secularists.”

    Ming: Secular is the opposite of sacred, right?

    Mark: Yes, the two words are similar to “worldly” and “heavenly.” Secularists try to make sure that the government doesn’t do anything to give one religion advantage over others.

    Ming: I see.

    Mark: Another term is “freethinker.” Freethought is the tradition of not letting a religious institution —

    Ming: Like a church or temple?

    Mark: Right, not letting them tell you what to think.

    Ming: Got it.

    Mark: More recently, some people are sort of “branding” themselves as “Brights.” It’s part of a modern public relations effort.

    Ming: That sounds odd.

    Mark: Yeah, it is. But they’re trying to get rid of old associations with words like “atheist.” An earlier way, around a hundred years ago, was to call oneself an “ethicalist.”

    Ming: Putting the emphasis on ethics? Why?

    Mark: They called their movement “Ethical Culture.” They were reacting to the idea many people had that atheists were not moral people.

    Ming: Why would people think that?

    Mark: Because most of the morals in Western culture are based on the Bible.

    Ming: Oh, I see.

    Mark: But nowadays there is a popular slogan: “Good without God.”

    Ming: I’ve heard that!

    Mark: Okay. Here are two more common words for atheists: “naturalist” and “materialist,” meaning they don’t believe in anything outside of nature and this world.

    Ming: I thought materialism was the desire to get a lot of money and things?

    Mark: True, that’s another meaning of the word. But in this case, it means they don’t believe in the existence of anything non-material, like ghosts or spirits.

    Ming: What about love?

    Mark: That, they say, is a result of physical processes.

    Ming: Hmmm …

    Mark: I have to tell you about one more modern movement.

    Ming: Go ahead.

    Mark: Some people have made up silly religions, sort of satires on real religions.

    Ming: A satire is a funny thing with a serious intent, right? Like a book that makes fun of some social problems, like “Gulliver’s Travels?”

    Mark: Right. So one of these is about a god called the “Flying Spaghetti Monster.” And here’s the best part: They call themselves “Pastafarians.” That’s “pasta” — another word for spaghetti and other Italian noodles — plus “Rastafarian,” a religion in the Caribbean Sea.