The Search for an Atheist Symbol

?

So the other day (actually more like 6 months ago) I was sitting at my computer, procrastinating for something or other, when I had a thought: most religions, political philosophies, etc. have a symbol that represents them, whereas I have never seen a decent symbol for Atheism.

Immediately questions arise of whether or not we even need a symbol. Basically the only thing that all Atheists have in common is the fact that we don't believe in God, and there's a wide range of beliefs in spirituality, morality, utilitarianism, humanism, and so on. Can something as broad as a lack of belief in a deity can be summed up in a symbol? Questions of its utility aside, I find the actual search for a symbol intriguing.

The slideshow on the page is actually a part of that search, since it just shows anything tagged with the word "Atheism" on Photobucket. As a result, some of the images are amusingly anti-atheist, but its a good collection overall.

Another good collection is on this page by "a finnish atheist." It does a really god job outlining the pros and cons of several symbols, as well as the debate about wether or not we need a symbol at all. My favorite serious ones from this site are the simple circle and the "two ellipses". I also like the secular humanist's symbol of an empowered-looking human.

There's a couple of really funny symbols out there, including the Darwin Fish and a new one on me, the "invisible pink unicorn" which looks more like a cross between a bird and a spaceship than a unicorn. I would consider the flying spaghetti monster to be an atheist symbol, or at least a symbol of the ridiculousness of religion.

I just found out about the OUT campaign (say that three times fast) which was started by Richard Dawkins and is encouraging people to come out as atheists, with the goal of empowering atheists and showing our numbers. Their symbol, the scarlet A, is now one of my favorites. I actually kind of like the literary allusion, and the symbol is hip and stands out and makes a statement. Actually, the only problem with it is that it is hip, and thus prone to fading away with fashion. For now, though, its a great way to start conversations and "come out" as an atheist to those around you.


I was also thinking about what I would use, and I came up with the infinity sign. Its symmetrical, it looks good on paper and its easy to draw. Its a good alternative to a zero or a null sign, in that it is kind of the positive opposite of what those things represent. Unfortunately, it also carries a bunch of religious connotations and might be confusing, but hey, so are all the others. I also came across this t-shirt with a cross between an Atheist "A" and an infinity sign, which makes for an interesting and original symbol and is probably now copyrighted.

In all likelihood, we're gonna have to wait for a decent story or event to portray through our symbol, like someone dying on a cross or passing out fish to people. Until then, we're going to have to stick to the story of Flying Spaghetti Monster, and I think I'm ok with that.