Prove that you are an atheist

Here is a response that you can freely use when a theist asks you to "prove that you are an atheist."

Atheism is simply the lack of belief in any gods or divine beings. It is not a positive claim that no gods exist, but a negative one that there is no sufficient evidence or reason to believe that any gods exist. Therefore, when I say that I am an atheist, I am not making a statement about the reality of the world, but about my own psychological state. I am telling you what I do not believe, not what I know or can prove.

To prove that I am an atheist, all I need to do is to honestly report my own mental attitude towards the proposition “God exists”. Of course, you may doubt my sincerity or question my motives, but that is a different issue. You may also ask me why I do not believe in God, and I can give you some reasons that led me to my conclusion. But those reasons are not proof of my atheism, they are just explanations of how I came to lack belief.

On the other hand, theism is a positive claim that at least one god exists. It is a statement about the reality of the world, not just about one’s own psychological state. To prove that a god exists, one needs to provide some evidence or argument that supports the existence of a god. This evidence or argument must be objective, verifiable, and consistent with the available facts. It must also be able to withstand logical scrutiny and possible objections. Otherwise, it is not a proof, but a mere assertion or opinion.

Therefore, asking me to prove that I am an atheist is not analogous to asking you to prove that God exists. The former is a request for personal information, the latter is a demand for objective justification. The former can be satisfied by a simple declaration, the latter requires a rigorous demonstration. The former does not imply any burden of proof, the latter does. The former is based on subjective experience, the latter is based on objective reality. Unless of course you’d like to argue that god is subjectively real inside of your mind, and not actually real in reality. I am happy to accept your claim that god only exists inside of your mind.

My atheism is based on my lack of belief in a god. You can either accept that or not. I respect your claim of theism, and for this conversation, we should respect each other’s claims about our own psychological states. If you don’t accept mine, that’s fine, but then we have no basis for further discussion.

- Brian Sapient