Atheistic Existentialism and Post-Rationalism in the Lives of Atheists Jews in Israel

Abstract

This paper explores spirituality and associated practices in the daily life of Jewish Atheists in Israel. While the atheist narrative excludes a belief in God, our findings show a bricolage of spiritual practices and strengthening strategies in times of crisis and loss of control. The article uses the ‘Lived Religion’ approach as a theoretical tool for exploration and focuses on everyday practices that facilitate a sociological examination of individual experience hitherto overlooked. Drawing from in-depth interviews and fieldwork conducted between 2019-2021, our article demonstrates a continuous internal discourse which emphasizes rationalism anchored in an atheistic perspective, and spiritual perceptions that resort to comforting practices influenced from a diversity of theological toolbox, such as luck management, specific prayers, perceptions of faith in a just-universe, and relating to Jewish sacred objects in their homes. Describing our interviewees’ daily experiences takes their worldview into account but also seeks to illustrate their ‘lived atheism’ as a whole within which rationalism is combined with what we term ‘post-rationalism.’ Our findings add a dimension to the understanding of Israeli secular identities as bricolage, as well as the understanding of religious and spiritual symbolism in ostensibly distant fields.