The word atheist is defined in relation to gods. I prefer the phrase “not slave to superstitions” of which belief in gods is but one of many that must be suppressed. There are natural tendencies in humans to be superstition and so suppression must be an active process.

Christians are slaves to superstition. Both conspiracy theories and gods fall under the umbrella of superstition.

Discernment of cause

Are we good at discerning the truth of our reality? I would like to say, ‘yes, yes we are’ but I fear that we really are not very good at discerning our reality. If you are asked, ‘What causes the wind?, the tides?, the sunrise?, or fire?’ you might be able to give a reasonably accurate answer. None of those answers is directly obvious in itself. Your ability to correctly answer any of those questions depends upon a chain of knowledge that certainly was not available to our long-ago ancestors.