[xzins]

“By definition, nontheists do not believe in deities, spirits, or the supernatural.

Actually, that's simply not true. "A"theists might not believe as they state above, but a "non"theist isn't necessarily an "a"theist.

That aside, their complaints are silly since the issue of the "esprit de corps" has been around a lot longer than the American Atheists.

And to suggest that the individual is not possessed of a "spirit" is to deny that death renders the flesh different than it was prior to death. Something has "left" or "leaked out" or "changed" or whatever term one wishes to use.

To define "life force" or "core of the person" as a spirit is acceptable to me with reservations withheld for my own theological take on those explanations.

[betty boop]

... a "non"theist isn't necessarily an "a"theist.....

That's certainly true, dear xzins! Buddhism and Hinduism are examples of "non"theistic belief systems.

To me, the term "American Atheist" is an oxymoron.... There were zero atheists among the ranks of the Founders/Framers.

You wrote:

And to suggest that the individual is not possessed of a "spirit" is to deny that death renders the flesh different than it was prior to death. Something has "left" or "leaked out" or "changed" or whatever term one wishes to use.

Indeed. We can't directly "see" what has "left" or "leaked out" or "changed" at death; but we can directly observe the result of its having left.

Thank you so very much for your insightful essay/post!