Athiests; a question.

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atheists do not believe in a soul or reincarnation.

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Buddhists are atheists, and major branches of Buddhism believe in reincarnation. Souls, likewise, can exist without God existing.

Atheists don't believe that God exists. Period.

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Kip, disagree. See the below item taken from http://atheism.about.com/b/a/208011.htm

Discussion: Atheists and Souls
A forum member writes: There is nothing in atheism that excludes a belief in souls and the like. An atheist can believe in vampires, werewolves, magic, ghosts and faeries all they want and still be an atheist so long as they do not believe in a god or gods. After all, many Buddists believe in reincarnation, which would by necessity require the existence of a soul, and are atheists also.

It's certainly true that atheism is compatible with belief in souls or an afterlife — atheism only excludes belief in gods. At the same time, though, belief in souls or an afterlife is more often associated with theism than not. If you are an atheist who believes in souls or an afterlife, what is the context for your beliefs and why do you hold them ?

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I fail to see how your quoted text does anything but confirm what I previously stated.

The question you bolded, could be rephrased: "why are some atheists irrational"? That doesn't mean they aren't atheists... it just means that believing in souls and reincarnation is irrational.

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Most atheists I know are extremely rational. And in my personal opinion belief in a soul if you are an atheist is IRRATIONAL. After reading more in the above mentioned site, I must admit there were some people who claimed to be atheists as well as believing in a soul. Thus the reason for the poll question. I just have never met any - and I have met many, many atheists. Almost everyone in my family and most of my friends I associate with are atheists.

I never really considered Buddists true atheists because of the spiritual aspect of their beliefs - but I am no authority.