someone who does good things because they are good, as opposed to Theists, who do good things solely in order to earn brownie points with some sort of God in order to get into heaven

There are two in-use definitions of the word 'atheist':

1.) A person who lacks belief in a god or gods. People who use this definition categorize atheists as either negative (or implicit or weak) atheists or positive (or explicit or strong) atheists. Negative atheists, while they don't believe in a god, do not positively assert that no gods exist. Positive atheists, however, do.

2.) A person who believes that no god or gods exist.

Those who consider themselves atheists (who are usually positive atheists) tend to define 'atheist' using the former definition, and those who believe in a god or gods tend to define 'atheist' using the latter. In both cases, this seems to be a demagogic practice intended to classify either as many or as few people as atheists as possible. Negative atheists are usually referred to as agnostics.

While neither definition of atheism entails any personality traits of atheists or of those who do believe in a god or gods (sometimes referred to as 'theists'), both atheists and theists tend to believe that certain traits apply to all atheists/theists. Common myths about atheists include: all atheists are arrogant, immoral, rebellious, and/or intolerant; all atheists really believe in (the Christian) God and are simply in denial; all atheists are depressed...

A person who believes that there is no god. A person who rejects the validity of religion as a concept and generally has more faith in science and logic.

One who believes in no god/divine creator/supreme deity. There are many different types of atheists:

1. An atheist who attacks others because they have a religion.

2. An atheist who accepts the fact that everyone has different beliefs. Describes me.

3. An atheist who can be either one of the above, yet is also a selfish ass hole who celebrates Christmas just so he can get shit. Also describes me :)

1. A person who does not believe in a deity or God.

(In extreme cases, it is also a person who criticizes others for believing "fairy tales" from the Bible. These people are not atheists, as they would have you think, but elitists, and should be given a severe beating.)

A person who believes in the absence of any supreme being or anything regarding the supernatural...There are 2 kinds

Good Atheist: A person who has read and studied thoroughly the concepts of science and religion. He/She has come to the conclusion that there is no supreme being and therefore does not believe in any god or gods. In spite of this however they are open to the concept and enjoy having mature, intellectual debates on the issue without being critical or condescending.

Bad Athiest: A self-involved, egotistical jackass who does not believe in a supreme being not because what they have read or studied but usually because they hate religion or religious people. They usually go out of there way to make religious people feel bad and accuse them of being close-minded while they, themselves, will not listen to any other arguments but there own. They are impossible to try to reason with because they are usually self-centered, condescending,unscientific, and downright immature. Their arguments are usually full of anti-religious cliches and therefore easy to break apart.

Let's end the stereotypes about atheists now.

I'm an atheist. Does this mean I love science? Not necessarily. I simply did not feel anything whatsoever going to church when I was little, and therefore, stopped believing. It was when I got older that the "Is realigion really plausible?" thoughts popped into my head.

Does it mean that I have faith in the government? Au contraire--I think the government and politicians and all that junk are mostly corrupt and stupid.

Do I hate other people for believing in God? Nope. In fact, I love diversity. The world would be boring as hell if we were all atheists.

Have I ever gone out of my way to convince a theist that what I believe is right? That's wrong too. I can't tell you for sure whether I'm right or wrong--it's not like a have proof or anything--so I don't bother with arguing over it. Unfortunately, a lot of theists don't pay me the same respect. :(

Am I evil? A theist may think so, but I don't. I love giving to charities, I participate in my school's choir, I love my family, and I don't smoke, drink excessively, or take sex lightly, I've never betrayed anyone, I get good grades, and I'm really nice to others.

I also have faith--not in a God, but in myself and those around me. I believe in living my life as happily as I can, since it is the only life I think I have to live. I don't constantly look to God to pull me through tough times; I pull myself through and make myself stronger.

An atheist is a person who does not believe in any sort of deity. Though this does not neccessarily precipitate smugness, it can often lead to it. Atheists however are impossible to stereotype just as any person of any other faith is impossible to stereotype due to the wide nature of this group.