Atheists come in a variety of shapes and sizes:

Default Atheists – those who never really thought about it, and hence don’t really believe it. The big questions don’t resonate with them, and blindly accepting the absence of spiritual phenomena justifies their lethargy in exploration. Ignorance is bliss.

Philosophical Atheists – those who profess that belief in God is intellectually immature and philosophically naïve. Although they themselves lack empirical evidence, they profess their explanations, elaborately worded and stylishly packaged, as the rational alternative

Emotional Atheists – those whose disbelief is driven by disenchantment. Disgusted with hypocrisy, control and materialism in the name of religion, they turn away. Others experience suffering, trauma and personal challenges, puzzled at how a loving God could be so cruel. Letdown and livid, they emotionally disconnect.

Covered atheists – those who assert that, though temporarily deluded, we are all ultimately God, part of the bigger oneness and universal consciousness. Though appearing in theological garb, this existential position removes the distinction and relationship between man and Supreme, and thus veers towards godlessness.

Statistical polls suggest that just over 30% of UK residents are self-proclaimed atheists. In terms of the above categories, I’m not quite sure what the breakdown would be. My theory, however, is that the largest number of atheists may well come from an entirely different category. I would hazard a guess, that a good few of the 70% of ‘believers’ are also atheists…

Psychological atheists – those who profess belief in God, but repeatedly demonstrate their inability to practically live in His presence. Dress spiritual, talk spiritual, act spiritual… yet simultaneously harbor an ego-centric mindset. For such persons, God is in the picture, but they are the stars of the show. It sounds crazy, but we can end up using God in our attempt to usurp His position!

It’s painful to admit. I never thought of myself as an atheist, but nowadays I wonder.