52.2 F
Spokane
Sunday, March 9, 2025
spot_img
HomeCommentaryAsk An Atheist: What if I Believe in Reincarnation?

Ask An Atheist: What if I Believe in Reincarnation?

Date:

Related stories

Dear cultural conservatives: Founders drew inspiration from the ‘Aeneid’ and the Bible

The founders valued the "Aeneid" as much as the Bible, seen in symbols like the Great Seal. Conservatives, why not teach both classics in schools?

What prophets would you share breakfast with?

Join an imaginary breakfast with five prophets, who served justice humbly with their powerful legacies and transformative wisdom.

Can personal trust survive as institutional trust erodes?

Learn how trust in institutions is fading, but personal trust remains strong. To rebuild, the author suggests making meaningful connections and being trustworthy ourselves.

How a bishop and humanist found peace in their shared childhood faith

A bishop and a humanist find peace in their shared childhood faith, navigating differences as adults without the need to change each other’s beliefs.

Perfectionist learns to embrace life’s messiness

A perfectionist father learns to embrace life's chaos, God's grace and his imperfection while balancing family life, kids and the pursuit of order.

Our Sponsors

spot_img

What do you want to ask an Atheist?  Fill out the form below or submit your question online

By Jim Downard

So I don’t believe in god or the devil, or anything like that, but I do believe in reincarnation. So, would that make me an atheist or no??

That’s a good question. The short answer is that a belief in reincarnation is not automatically an endorsement of gods (or “devils”, whatever they are), and so you can believe in reincarnation and be an atheist too.  I’ve mentioned this before in conjunction with whether being an atheist rules out belief in an afterlife (which doesn’t necessarily require supernatural gods either).  Nor is an afterlife a given even when it comes to the beliefs of religions.

Now it is more typical for atheists and agnostics to be more skeptical of afterlives (especially when the current neuroscience is included, which make incorporeal spirits a problematic concept), and so reincarnation would be in that “might be nice if it were true, but the evidence for it is very problematic” category.


Jim Downard
Jim Downard
Jim Downard is a Spokane native (with a sojourn in Southern California back in the early 1960s) who was raised in a secular family, so says had no personal faith to lose. He's always been a history and science buff (getting a bachelor's in the former area at what was then Eastern Washington University in the early 1970s).

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x