Atheist Ijeoma Oluo gets the definition of Atheism wrong

Whether directly in the flesh, punctuated by a handshake and a smile, or indirectly via social media, I always find it refreshing to meet a new atheist. Especially if she's female and from Nigeria. Rare combination, trust me. Since I returned home five years ago in 2010, I've met just two women that are non-believers with one of them being more agnostic than atheist. Nigeria being the patriarchal, overly religious nation that it is, it's not as easy for women to be open about not subscribing to the supernatural as it is for men. The subject of this blog post doesn't even live in Nigeria. She lives out in the west, where it's easier for women to be more open about their diverse views on theism. See her Twitter profile below;

 Ijeoma penned an article on her beliefs for the Guardian which you can read HERE

The title reads as such; 

"My atheism does not make me superior to believers. It's a leap of faith too."

I am in 100% agreement with her that what you believe doesn't make you superior to others. The second sentence is where Ijeoma mixes up what she personally believes about atheism with what it actually is. Here is a quote from her article;

Ijeoma is of the opinion that because we as humans are unable to prove that a God doesn't exist, atheism can somehow be equated with theism on the basis of faith. This couldn't be more off the mark. The burden of proof doesn't lie with atheists, it lies with believers who made the claim that a God exists in the first place. If you make a claim that is only supported by how you feel, and is not supported by any tangible evidence, how can you make the argument that those who disprove your claim because of a lack of said evidence are also making the same "leap of faith"?

Let me flesh this out with a demonstration. I want you to take a moment to stop reading this blog post and look behind you. 

Did you see it? 

There is an aqua blue Unicorn with a translucent horn feeding on stardust 3 feet behind you. 

Look again. 

Still can't see it? 

Well guess what; I STRONGLY BELIEVE in my heart of hearts that it's there. I have no further proof than that. Just my "faith." Now, if you dismiss my belief in the existence of the aqua blue Unicorn filling its stomach with a healthy meal of  stardust behind you, can I reasonably state that your disbelief in my claim is a "leap of faith" simply because you can't prove that it is not there? I cannot. Hopefully this illustrates what Ijeoma gets wrong.

The lovely thing about social media today is that one can immediately engage with writers. Take a look at this exchange on Twitter between Ijeoma and a twitter user with the name "The Humble Atheist."

It was a very illuminating exchange that led to my conclusion that Ijeoma was projecting her personal thoughts on Atheism on the actual definition and muddying the waters. Atheism is a lack of belief in the supernatural. Simple.You can't change the definition of a word based on your feelings. If you think YOUR atheism is based on "faith" then that applies only to YOU. 

In closing, here are further analogies below that make it pretty clear that describing atheism as a "belief" is as ridiculous as saying "off" is a tv channel, "walking" is a brand of car, and "barefoot" is a brand of shoes. Haha!