Atheism, Agnostic...? [Spirituality & Religion]

I’ve been struggling my spirituality as of late. I no longer identify as a Christian, but I still believe in some sort of high power. More like a conscious energy. I have been steering more towards atheism. Can one be an atheist and still be spiritual?

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IAmJess

I think atheist means you don't believe in anything spiritual or supernatural. If you do believe in a "spiritual plane" then I'm pretty sure you're not an atheist?

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ImGladAgain87 · 36-40, F

@IAmJess Interesting. I feel I'm in-between atheism and deist-ism, if that makes sense. I don't know if what I feel is necessarily some sort of higher power.

IAmJess

@ImGladAgain87 Then I think the word is agnostic. Not atheist, not deist, but in between ("not sure").

IAmJess

@Emosaur So, can you clarify that for me?

Someone who is "spiritual" by definition believes in a spiritual plane, in spirits. What are spirits if there is no god or gods? The belief in one necessitates the belief in the other?

The atheist does not believe in the supernatural; does not believe in the spiritual plane. The atheist, lacking a belief in an eternal soul or a creator, cannot simultaneously believe in a spiritual plane and spirits.

Right?

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IAmJess

@Emosaur That doesn't make sense. I think you are hanging on semantics.

If someone believes in a god or gods, then they believe in the supernatural plane. They believe that life here on earth is not all that there is. They believe in the spiritual world that transcends "this" world. Now there is huge variety in how those beliefs take shape... monotheism, polytheism, spiritualism, etc.

Atheism is the opposite of all that. Atheists typically reject the notion of a spiritual plane. They believe that the physical world is all there is and that, through science, we can eventually understand all it's complexity.