Author Bio

D. E. McElroy is the founder of World Christianship Ministries and a long-time researcher of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). Over decades of ministry and study, McElroy has curated extensive NDE testimonies and written accessible books that explore spiritual history, forgotten wisdom traditions, and compassionate, Spirit-led Christianity. His work emphasizes openness, balanced inquiry, and the lived experience of love across faiths and worldviews.

Copyright & Permissions

© 2025 D. E. McElroy · World Christianship Ministries. All rights reserved. You may quote brief excerpts of this work for noncommercial educational or review purposes with proper attribution to the author and ministry.

Introduction

Every age wrestles with questions of belief and disbelief. Some embrace faith in God with fervor; others turn away, convinced that no deity watches over the universe. Yet both sides — believer and atheist — are engaged in the same human struggle: to find meaning, truth, and purpose in a fleeting life.

This book was inspired by a direct “download” from Spirit Guide — a sudden stream of insight that would not let me rest until I gave it form. The question was simple yet profound: Is atheism really so different from religion? Or is it, in its own way, a religion without a god?

Atheists often see themselves as entirely outside the religious spectrum. Many recoil from any suggestion that disbelief could resemble faith. Yet atheism offers a worldview, a moral compass, and sometimes even rituals and communities. In that sense, it mirrors religion more than it may admit.

This book is not written to condemn or to convert. It is written to explore. To lay side by side the similarities and differences, to examine history, psychology, and even testimonies of Near-Death Experiences where atheists suddenly confronted a spiritual reality they did not believe in.

Readers will find here:

• An honest look at atheism’s roots.
• The shared traits between atheism and religion.
• The professions and communities atheism tends to attract.
• Side reflections where atheism and belief overlap in unexpected ways.
• Stories of atheists who, through NDEs, glimpsed something beyond disbelief.

At its heart, this is not a book about winners and losers in a debate. It is about the human journey toward truth, whether one begins in a church, in a laboratory, or in the silence of disbelief.

The Spirit Guide who pressed this subject upon me seemed to whisper a larger truth: belief and unbelief are not enemies; they are mirrors.

And perhaps in holding them up together, we may see more clearly the face of humanity itself.

Chapter 1 – What is Atheism?

Atheism is often misunderstood — both by those who embrace it and those who reject it. To some, it is simply the absence of belief in God. To others, it is a bold rejection of religion, an identity in itself. At its core, atheism means without god — from the Greek a-theos. But like religion, atheism has many shades.

Historical Roots

The roots of atheism go back much farther than modern debates. In ancient Greece, philosophers like Epicurus questioned the role of gods in human affairs. While not always fully denying the gods, they described a universe that operated according to natural laws rather than divine will. In India, strands of early Buddhism and Jainism flourished without reference to a creator god. In China, Confucianism emphasized morality and social harmony rather than worship of a deity.

These movements reveal that disbelief, or at least non-theism, is as old as belief itself. It has often emerged in cultures where intellectual curiosity, philosophy, or social need outweighed devotion to traditional gods.

The Enlightenment and the Rise of Secular Thought

Atheism took clearer shape during the European Enlightenment. As science revealed the mechanics of the cosmos, belief in divine intervention began to wane among intellectuals. The works of Voltaire, Hume, and later Darwin gave momentum to a worldview in which reason, evidence, and progress replaced scripture and dogma.

The Enlightenment also birthed a new confidence: humanity could understand the universe without appeal to the divine. For some, this confidence solidified into a conviction — that there is no God, and that belief itself is a relic of superstition.

Modern Distinctions

Today, atheism is not a single position but a spectrum:

• Strong (or positive) atheism: the assertion that there is no God.
• Weak (or negative) atheism: the simple lack of belief in God without asserting certainty.
• Agnosticism: holding that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable.
• Secular humanism: building an ethical framework without reference to the divine.

It is important to see atheism not as a monolith, but as a collection of views united by one common thread: the absence of belief in a divine being.

The Rise of “New Atheism”

In the early 21st century, a movement sometimes called “New Atheism” emerged, led by voices like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. Their approach was not quiet disbelief but outspoken criticism of religion. They described faith as harmful, irrational, and even dangerous to society.

New Atheism attracted millions, especially in the West, and positioned itself almost like a rival church — with bestselling books, public debates, conferences, and outspoken leaders. Ironically, while rejecting religious structures, it mirrored them in tone, community, and passion.

Atheism, then, is not just a passive absence. It is a living movement shaped by philosophy, history, science, and culture. Understanding its nature is the first step before asking: is it really so different from religion after all?

Chapter 2 – What is Religion?

If atheism begins with the absence of God, then what defines religion? To answer fairly, we must look beyond churches, temples, or holy books. Religion is more than belief in a divine being. It is a framework through which humanity seeks meaning, identity, and order.

The Core Elements of Religion

• Belief in the Sacred: a god, spirit, force, or ultimate reality.
• Ritual: ceremonies, prayers, or practices that reinforce belief.
• Community: groups of believers who share identity, belonging, and moral codes.
• Ethics and Morality: guidance on how to live, drawn from divine or sacred authority.
• Worldview: a story of where we came from, why we are here, and what happens after death.

Institutional vs. Personal Religion

Religion exists on two levels.

• Institutional: Churches, mosques, temples, doctrines, hierarchies, and laws. Institutions organize belief and give it authority.
• Personal: The lived experience of faith — prayer, meditation, devotion, or moral choice. A person may feel deeply religious even if they rarely step into an institution.

This distinction matters, because many atheists reject institutions but still hold spiritual curiosity or ethical frameworks that mirror personal religion.

Non-Theistic Traditions

Not all religions require a god. Buddhism, especially in its early forms, teaches no creator deity. Taoism centers on harmony with the Tao — the Way — rather than worship. Even strands of Judaism emphasize law and tradition over literal belief.

This reveals a fascinating truth: religion does not always depend on God. Which raises the question: if atheism also builds community, morality, and meaning without God, does it cross into religious territory?

The Blurred Edges

The line between religion and philosophy is not always clear. Stoicism in ancient Rome offered moral guidance and ritual-like practices, yet many see it as philosophy, not religion. Likewise, modern humanism offers ethical principles and ceremonies without invoking a deity.

It seems that whenever humans organize meaning and morality, something that looks like religion emerges — with or without God.

Chapter 3 – The Overlap Between Atheism and Religion

At first glance, atheism and religion appear to be opposites: one denies God, the other affirms Him (or many gods). Yet beneath the surface, they often mirror one another. The similarities reveal much about human nature — our shared need for belonging, meaning, and moral guidance.

Community and Identity

Religions create communities where people gather, worship, and support one another. Surprisingly, atheists often do the same.

• In many cities, there are atheist or humanist groups that meet regularly, offering fellowship much like a church.
• “Sunday Assemblies,” sometimes called atheist churches, celebrate life and community without reference to God.
• Online forums, podcasts, and conferences create networks of belonging, mirroring religious congregations.

Shared Moral Frameworks

Religions provide moral codes: commandments, laws, teachings of compassion and justice. Atheists, though rejecting divine authority, often arrive at similar ethics.

• Secular humanism promotes values like dignity, fairness, and empathy.
• Utilitarian philosophy emphasizes reducing harm and increasing well-being.
• Many atheists are deeply involved in social justice, environmental protection, and humanitarian work.

The difference is not in the morality itself, but in its foundation — divine command vs. human reason.

Ritual Substitutes

Religions thrive on rituals: baptisms, weddings, funerals, holidays. Atheists also create rituals, even if they avoid religious symbols.

• Secular weddings and funerals, often officiated by humanist ministers.
• Celebrations of science and discovery, such as “Darwin Day.”
• Seasonal festivals like solstice gatherings that mark nature’s cycles rather than divine intervention.

These ceremonies fulfill the same human need: marking life’s transitions with meaning and community.

Symbols and Stories

Religions use sacred symbols — the cross, the crescent, the lotus. Atheism too has adopted symbols, such as the scarlet “A.” Similarly, stories of great scientists, philosophers, and reformers serve as guiding myths, akin to saints’ lives in traditional religions.

Reflection: The more one looks, the harder it becomes to draw a clean line. Atheists may deny God, yet they often build structures that resemble religious life. Religion, meanwhile, is not always about God, but about meaning, belonging, and ethics — things atheists also cherish.

Chapter 4 – Atheism as “Religion Without a God”

The central puzzle of this book is simple: if atheism shares so many features with religion, is it itself a religion without a god?

This question has stirred philosophers, courts, and ordinary people alike. The answer depends on how broadly or narrowly we define “religion.”

The Parallels

• Conviction: Many atheists hold their disbelief with the same strength that believers hold their faith.
• Evangelism: Just as religions send missionaries, “New Atheists” write books, give lectures, and debate in public forums, seeking to persuade others.
• Community: Congregational structures, secular assemblies, and organized groups offer belonging.
• Symbols and Creeds: While denying scripture, atheists sometimes rally around slogans or statements that function like creeds.

Legal Recognition

In several cases, courts — especially in the United States — have treated atheism as a religion under constitutional law. This does not mean the courts think atheism is literally a religion, but that for the sake of protecting freedom of conscience, atheism deserves equal treatment.

This legal recognition strengthens the argument that atheism functions like religion in society, even if it resists the label.

The Resistance to the Label

Most atheists reject the idea that they are part of a religion. For them, religion represents dogma, superstition, and coercion — things they have chosen to escape. To call atheism a religion feels, to them, like an insult or a trap.

Yet paradoxically, this very rejection sometimes mirrors religious zeal. To not believe with passion can become its own kind of faith.

Religion Redefined

If religion is defined narrowly — belief in a god, holy texts, and worship — atheism is clearly not a religion. If religion is defined broadly — a system of meaning, community, ritual, and conviction — then atheism easily fits the pattern.

The answer, then, depends less on atheism itself and more on how we choose to understand what religion is.

Chapter 5 – The Psychological & Social Dimension

Atheism is more than an abstract idea. Like religion, it shapes the way people live, think, and relate to one another. Beneath the intellectual debates lies a deeper truth: both atheism and religion spring from the same psychological soil. Humans are meaning-makers, and whatever worldview they adopt tends to grow into community, identity, and life choices.

The Human Need for Belonging and Purpose

From tribal rituals to modern secular meetups, people crave connection. For atheists, identity often comes from shared convictions about reason, science, and freedom from dogma. These bonds may not involve worship, but they create the same sense of belonging that churches or temples provide for believers.

Dogma and Rigidity

Religion has often been criticized for becoming rigid, intolerant, or dogmatic. Yet atheism is not immune. Some atheists cling so tightly to their disbelief that it becomes as unyielding as the faith they oppose. Debates between “fundamentalist believers” and “fundamentalist atheists” often mirror one another in tone and passion, each convinced of absolute truth.

The Search for Meaning in Knowledge and Progress

Both atheists and the religious long for purpose. Where believers may find it in God’s plan, atheists often find it in the pursuit of knowledge, the betterment of society, or the unfolding story of human progress. Science and philosophy become avenues of transcendence, offering a sense of awe similar to religious wonder.

Fields of Work That Tend to Attract Atheists

• Science & Academia: Cosmology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and other fields that question traditional explanations of the universe.
• Technology & Engineering: Professions rooted in problem-solving and logic.
• Philosophy & Literature: Traditions of skepticism, existentialism, and humanist ethics.
• Medicine & Psychology: Evidence-based approaches to health and the mind, often emphasizing biology over spirituality.
• Law & Politics: Engagement in secular governance, separation of church and state, and human rights advocacy.
• The Arts: Writers, musicians, and filmmakers who explore existential or human-centered themes.

Chapter 6 – Contrasts with Specific Religions

While atheism rejects belief in God, its role in human life resembles that of many religions. To see this more clearly, we must look at how atheism compares and contrasts with specific traditions.

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism

In the Abrahamic religions, belief in God is central. God is the Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge, giving life its ultimate meaning. Atheism, by contrast, denies this foundation. Yet both frameworks attempt to answer the same questions:

• Where did we come from? (Creation vs. evolution and cosmology)
• Why are we here? (Divine purpose vs. human progress and ethics)
• What happens after death? (Heaven, hell, or resurrection vs. natural dissolution or uncertainty)

The stark differences in answers highlight the core divide, yet the shared questions reveal a common human need.

Buddhism: Religion Without a Creator God

Buddhism provides an interesting comparison. While it is deeply spiritual, many forms of Buddhism do not require belief in a creator deity. Instead, it focuses on suffering, impermanence, and the path to enlightenment.

• Like atheism, Buddhism can operate without a god.
• Like religion, it provides rituals, ethics, and community.

This makes Buddhism a bridge between belief and disbelief. It shows that humans can form rich religious traditions without a central deity, blurring the line atheists often draw between themselves and “religion.”

Mystical and Gnostic Traditions

Some mystical paths within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam focus less on external worship and more on inner knowing (gnosis). They downplay dogma and institutions, emphasizing personal experience of truth.

• In this sense, they resemble atheists who reject organized religion but still hunger for meaning.
• Both challenge the power of institutions, though mystics find truth in spirit while atheists look to reason or nature.

Philosophy as a Religion Substitute

Stoicism, Confucianism, and existentialism all operate as guiding worldviews without requiring divine belief. Atheism often aligns with these philosophical traditions, echoing religion’s ethical and communal roles without its supernatural claims.

Chapter 7 – Atheists and Near-Death Experiences

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) have been reported across cultures and religions — and even by those with no belief at all. Atheists who undergo NDEs often face the greatest shock, for they encounter realities they never expected: light, love, and realms beyond the physical.

The Disbeliever’s Surprise

• Encounters with Light: Some describe a radiant presence that communicated unconditional love, despite their disbelief.
• Life Reviews: Atheists, like believers, report seeing their lives replayed, with emphasis on how their actions affected others.
• Out-of-Body Experiences: Even those who denied the possibility of a soul sometimes describe floating above their bodies, watching doctors try to revive them.

Transformations After NDEs

• Greater compassion and empathy.
• A diminished fear of death.
• A recognition that consciousness may transcend the body.
• In some cases, an embrace of spirituality, though not always religion.

The testimony of one NDE survivor summed it up: “I went in an atheist. I came back a believer in something greater, though I still don’t know what to call it.”

Implications for Atheism

NDEs challenge the atheistic framework, which often assumes consciousness is purely biological. They suggest that the human experience may extend beyond physical life, nudging atheists toward questions religion has always asked.

For some, this creates tension — a desire to reconcile reason with the mystery they experienced. For others, it sparks a lifelong journey into spirituality without returning to organized religion.

Reflection: NDEs show that disbelief does not shield anyone from profound spiritual encounters. They remind us that truth may transcend labels, and that atheism, like religion, may be only a stopping place on the wider journey of the soul.

Chapter 8 – Is Atheism Its Own Faith?

After exploring history, psychology, and lived experience, we return to the central question: Is atheism, in its own way, a faith? The answer is not simple. Both “yes” and “no” carry weight.

The Case For Atheism as Faith

• Conviction: Many atheists hold to their disbelief with the same intensity that believers hold to God.
• Community and Rituals: Atheist assemblies, secular weddings, and shared symbols create a culture resembling religious life.
• Purpose and Morality: Atheists develop ethical codes, guiding principles, and visions of human progress that mirror the function of religious commandments.
• Legal Recognition: Courts in some countries protect atheism as if it were religion, recognizing its role in conscience and identity.

The Case Against

• No Deity or Sacred Text: Atheism rejects the supernatural, making it fundamentally unlike religion.
• No Unified Doctrine: Atheists disagree widely — from strict materialists to spiritual-but-not-religious individuals.
• Self-Definition: Most atheists strongly object to being labeled religious; to them, it undermines their identity as people who stand outside faith.

A Matter of Definition

If religion means belief in God, then atheism is clearly not a religion. If religion means a system of meaning, community, and conviction, then atheism shares enough traits to qualify.

The truth may be that atheism is religion’s mirror — different in substance, but similar in function.

Chapter 9 – A Spirit Guide’s View

When Spirit Guide placed this topic in my mind, the message was simple yet urgent: look beyond labels. Atheism and religion may appear to stand on opposite sides of the spectrum, but both are part of the same human story — the search for meaning.

Why the Human Soul Seeks

Whether one turns to God, science, philosophy, or denial, the root impulse is the same: to understand existence. The soul does not rest easily in ignorance. It asks, Who am I? Why am I here? What happens when I die? Religion answers with faith; atheism often answers with reason or silence. Both answers spring from the same restless hunger.

Atheism’s Place in the Journey

From a spiritual perspective, atheism can be seen not as failure but as a stage. Some souls incarnate to live in skepticism, to challenge assumptions, and to learn the lessons of reason. Others incarnate to live by faith, trust, and surrender. Both experiences enrich the soul’s growth.

• The atheist, questioning, sharpens human understanding.
• The believer, trusting, nurtures love and devotion.

Neither is superior; both are teachers.

The Mirror of Belief and Unbelief

Spirit Guide’s whisper suggested that atheism and religion mirror one another. Each reflects the human tendency to create structures of thought, community, and meaning. Each becomes dogmatic at times, yet each also opens the door to compassion and purpose.

Seen this way, atheism is not the enemy of religion — it is its reflection, showing believers what faith looks like without God, and showing atheists what disbelief looks like when organized.

Beyond Both Paths

Perhaps the deepest truth is that both atheism and religion are stepping stones. They guide humanity, but they are not the destination. NDE testimonies reveal a realm beyond belief and disbelief, a Light that welcomes all — believer, atheist, and everything in between.

Spirit Guide reminds us:

• No worldview captures the fullness of truth.
• Souls are loved regardless of labels.
• The purpose of life is not to win a debate but to grow in compassion and awareness.

Final Reflection: Atheism is not just disbelief, nor is religion just belief. Both are part of humanity’s great spiritual tapestry. And when the veil of this life is lifted, it is not our labels that matter, but the love we have given and the truth we have sought.

Conclusion – Beyond Belief and Unbelief

The journey through atheism and religion has shown us something surprising: the differences are real, but the similarities are undeniable. Both provide frameworks of meaning, communities of belonging, and systems of morality. Both can inspire love and compassion — and both can fall into rigidity and dogma.

Is atheism a religion? The answer may depend more on how we define “religion” than on atheism itself. What matters is not the label, but the recognition that humans everywhere are seekers. Some seek through God, others through reason, others through a mixture of both.

Near-Death Experiences remind us that at the threshold of life and death, labels fall away. The Light that so many describe does not ask whether we are atheist or believer. It asks only what love we have carried, and how we have grown in spirit.

In the end, atheism and religion are both mirrors reflecting humanity’s deeper hunger. The search for truth unites us, even when our answers differ. And beyond both, Spirit whispers a greater truth: love transcends all divisions.

Appendix

Selected Quotes

Atheist Voices

• “I don’t believe in God, but I believe in human dignity.” – Secular Humanist perspective
• “We are made of star stuff.” – Carl Sagan

Religious Voices

• “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.” – Blaise Pascal
• “God is love, and whoever lives in love lives in God.” – 1 John 4:16

NDE Testimonies of Atheists

• “I expected nothing after death. Instead, I found myself in a place of overwhelming light and love. It was realer than real. I came back changed forever.”
• “I was a skeptic. But when I left my body and watched the doctors work on me, I could not deny consciousness continues. I am no longer afraid.”

Suggested Reading

• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (atheist critique)
• The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade (study of religion)
• God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (atheist polemic)
• The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (psychological study of faith)
• Life After Life by Raymond Moody (pioneering NDE research)

End of Book