Can you use the word atheistic to describe a lack of belief towards one specific religion?

I don't believe in any deities. Therefore I am an atheist. But if I were to just express that I don't believe in say Zeus, would it be correct to say "I am atheistic towards Zeus"? Take a person who follows and believes in religion X and who doesn't believe in any other religion including religion Y. This person is not an atheist in the broader sense as they believe in the deity of religion X. But is it correct to say that they are atheistic towards Y ? Or even that they are a Y atheist ?

Solution 1:

I would say, instead: "I'm a non-believer in/of Zeus."

An atheist believes in no deities, from any religion.

Atheist

noun 1. a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

^{Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.}

Solution 2:

No.

You'd be abusing language by assuming incorrect definitions of "atheist" and "theist".

If, per the comments, your desire is to reach common ground with theists, avoid this misusage like the plague. You'll most likely anger any theists with whom you converse, and destroy any empathy you'd managed to build up.

The reason for this follows from the common definitions of "atheist" and "theist".

Atheist: a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.

Theism Belief in the existence of a god or gods.

The crucial difference between these definitions and the one implied by redefining "atheist" to mean "a person who disbelieves one or more gods" is the accepted definition of "theist" is a positive declaration of belief.

Reducing "I believe in X, which necessarily excludes belief in Y" to "I have ruled out Y, and haven't bothered to rule out X" is simultaneously patronizing and an accusation of intellectual sloth.

The first will annoy, the second is an ad hominem attack on what is often a foundational part of a theist's identity.

Put another way, how much time would you waste on someone who cheerfully says, "a core part of your identity is a delusion which only exists due to your intellectual sloth"?

Additional Information

Apparently the intuitive explanation given above is insufficient, so down the rabbit hole we go.

First, some definitions:

For the sake of notation, ɢ is the set of all gods and the predicate G() represents "this god is true".

By the definitions of the terms given above, we arrive at these definitions:

T := ∃ g ∈ ɢ: G(g)
A := ∀ g ∈ ɢ: ¬G(g)

Or in other words, theism asserts that there exists some god which is true, while atheism asserts that no god is true.

Additionally, the English language supplies an invariant:

A ≡ ¬T

This comes from the word "atheism" deriving from a negation of the common root of both words ("theos", which is Greek for "god"). Lest I be accused of logical fallacy: this is consistent with the current, common understanding of this term, per the definitions above, and the common use of the prefix 'a-' to negate the following term.

If you attempt to redefine "atheism" to mean "lack of belief towards one specific religion" you arrive at this definition:

A' := ∃ g ∈ ɢ: ¬G(g)

Which is not at all the same thing. This breaks the language invariant (A' ≢ ¬T) and, even if they have trouble explaining why, will generally make people very uncomfortable.

Worse, if they are able to sit and think about it for a while, they'll realize that this implicitly redefines theism as well to correct the linguistic invariant that's making them so uncomfortable.

T' := ∀ g ∈ ɢ: G(g)

The negation here implies that, unless you're an atheist, you believe all gods exist. Therefore, if you don't believe a particular god exists, you are an atheist. If the person you are talking to defines their identity even partially on their belief in a particular god, this is offensive in direct proportion to the sincerity and depth of their beliefs.

Additionally, the following comments provide context to the use to which this will be put:

Thanks Mitch. But just to elaborate a bit and give some context. When some people hear the word atheist they think EVIL / BAD / DEVIL / STRANGE / UNKNOWN etc. I would like to be able to convince such people that atheists are not evil, and that religious people are atheistic towards other religions as well. Do you think it can be used in this way ? – Derek

@NuclearWang of course, the point you've just made is the core idea of Stephen Robert's famous quote: "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." So it's not an entirely useless descriptor, and is in fact a usage of the word that prominent atheists have sometimes embraced for rhetorical reasons. – Mark Amery

Arguing that theism is a limited form of atheism is deeply problematic, as it shifts the burden of proof. The inversion requires a theist to assert that they've examined and rejected all other possible gods, rather than asserting they've examined one to many gods and found reason to believe in at least one.

Particularly the quote from Stephen Robert implies that, if the theist would just stop being intellectually lazy (or cowardly, that's implied as well), they'd be an atheist as well.

Additionally, it begs the question by assuming that theists arrive at their belief by process of elimination, rather than by finding that which they believe to be true and having other options eliminated by default.

As a concrete example, I personally believe in the Abrahamic God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ. As this is an affirmative belief, based on my personal experiences, I do not have to research every single Hindu god to build a case for their individual non-existence, this follows logically from what I already believe to be true.

So when at attempt is made to redefine terms, such that this hard won belief is reframed as intellectual laziness or cowardice, you bet I'm going to be offended. The technical term for this sort of argument is "gaslighting".

How offended I'll be is a function of how well I know the person, and the extent to which I can trust their good intentions.

I don't attempt to characterize the atheism of my friends and family as "spiritual laziness or cowardice", which would be deeply offensive. Don't attempt to redefine the belief system of your theist friends and family.

They won't appreciate it.

It will make them uncomfortable.

If they understand formal logic, they may become quite angry with you.

Solution 3:

Trying to clear a confusion specifically regarding the word "atheist"; I'm aware that this takes up a large proportion about the answer, but I think it's important:

I don't believe in any deities. Therefore I am an atheist.

No. If you stop at this point, you are not an atheist, you are an agnostic.

• Atheist: denies the existence of gods ("anti-god").
• Agnostic: denies the sure knowledge of the existence of gods ("anti-belief").

The distinction is profound. Atheists would, if they were extrovert, go and try to remove religious symbols from schools and public places and such things. They would argue with religious people and try to convince them that they are wrong.

Agnostics may or may not care about gods either way; they acknowledge that there well may be gods around; or they may argue that we just cannot know. They would very likely not argue with religious people and concede that their believes might just be as valid as non-belief or non-"knowing".

"Agnostic" is much weaker, and can be used for other things than religion (e.g., "this USB dongle is agnostic about whether it is connected to a PC or a Mac").

"Atheistic" also implies that you are not only against gods, but also in favour of a completely natural universe".

But if I were to just express that I don't believe in say Zeus, would it be correct to say "I am atheistic towards Zeus"?

No. You could be an Atheist and therefore not believe in Zeus (or any other god); but you could also be a member of any other religion (therefore not being an atheist) and denying Zeus because he doesn't fit your belief.

atheistic towards Y ? Or even that they are a Y atheist ?

No, as described above. The usage would also not make sense semantically and is not used this way regularly, linguistically.

The claim is backed by https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheist, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheistic, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/atheistic and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism (first line in the article with many links to primary sources):

Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists.

Note that all senses here are always "all or nothing", not against a specific deity.