I am not a theologian, but if you are .. or even have knowledge, please read on and let me know your thoughts.

For the longest time I was taught that an atheist is someone who does not believe in ‘a god’.

BUT

On more than a few times recently I have heard it defined as not believing in ‘religion’.

In my mind, ‘god’ and ‘religion’ are not interchangeable.

Has the definition changed through the morphing of language, or is the refined definition just wrong?

If the latter, who’s agenda is it serving to push that narrative?

For the record … I define myself as an agnostic, a classification that seems to not be as common as it once was, which makes me wonder if the spectrum of religious belief has become as polarized as that of politics … and that maybe people are using ‘atheist’ when they mean ‘ agnostic’, maybe even spurred on by the Fry, Hitchens and Dawkins debates that don’t seem to allow for that grey area.

Would welcome considered thought from you all.