#as that's an entirely different kettle of slaughterfish!

[dwellerinroots]

Hello there, hopefully I'm not just barging in..! Naturally, feel free to disregard any of this. I am in no way an Elder Scrolls Master, ahaha, but...

I think 'atheism' is not something you're going to find in any setting with semi-verifiable divinities. And it shouldn't be, directly; modern atheism is very much in reaction to modern religious organisation, and would have developed very differently under different systems. A lot of fantasy settings suffer by trying to attach, for example, modern monotheist structure to classical polytheist structure. The two may have in common rules, orders, and tenets, but that's like trying to make a comparison between a modern state and a state that existed millennia prior. What is going to be popular - and is actually present in a lot of NPCs, not just Else - is misotheism, the idea that the Gods exist, but are either not powerful and good, not powerful at all, fundamentally wicked, or any other of a number of grievances. Misotheism functions on a spectrum; from the light grumbling of a sailor who hasn't seen Kynareth's fair winds once to the ruminations of a Necromancer who thinks of Arkay and thinks of crushing tradition and short-sightedness. Else, for example, isn't an atheist; she is dissatisfied with the predominant gods, and has turned to a different divinity to carry her cause. (And that brute, Mehrunes, too, when Vaermina is always with us... Oh, well.) Misotheism exists, isn't seen, and is largely tolerated, but almost certainly varies in practise from region to region, from people to people. Think of how many people blaspheme mildly and don't really have any thoughts on the divinities of their area or culture..? Drawing from my area of expertise... Can you imagine the Imperial Cult going after someone who goes 'aye, that darn... Stendarr... Owes me money, bloody useless god...'? They aren't going to. Why would they? But theoretically, there are probably laws on the books regarding devotion and mors minorum (sorry, i laughed) that Imperials who follow the Imperial Divines are meant to observe and theoretically remain enforceable. Very very rarely, this might even be leveraged against a criminal when no other charge sticks; some guy had this happen to him, though his name eludes me. The Dwemer, I would say, are not an atheistic people; they are described as being pious, but simultaneously ambitious, and I think - with the acceptance that there are many Dwemer we will never be able to hear from or read of or talk to in any capacity, whose opinions are lost - were not misotheistic, either. Rather, they saw divinity as something like the hypercosmic gods of Neoplatonism; There, interesting, worthy of emulation until they could be surpassed. This explains the jump from 'observant of Dwemer religion in their own way' to 'we're the gods now;' to them, it was a natural progression towards the 'One,' or in their own case, Godhead. Does atheism exist in Tamriel in any capacity..? Absolutely, yes; though I think rather then being akin to atheism as we know it, it is best to understand it as tangibly different from our own. The atheist in Nirn is not going to turn down divine intervention (or ALMSIVI, as it were); they probably acknowledge the existence of the gods, or that they existed, but do not see their presence in the era they are in of the time. So, finding them would depend entirely on looking in unusual sources. Those that follow some form of visible, observable gods are not going to be more prone to it, of course; and so long as there are shrines that cure disease and gateways to actual realms of Oblivion, they are going to be a very small minority. My likely candidates would be, in no particular order...

Argonians who believe all gods are dead (I can't remember where I read this, I have the Imperial Library open, but please feel free to punt me back to Quagmire if I'm wrong); if the gods are dead, they are not worthy of worship. Baleful Sithis gave instructions to embrace change, and these provided useful tools for a society, cultural instructions, but they no longer need religious dogma. If the gods are dead, why worship any of them? Probably still pretty rare, as the Hist is a religious experience or so I'm told.

In the various Nedic peoples, or peoples of Men, amongst those who have somehow travelled to a realm E.G. Sovngarde; if it is just kind of like a place on Nirn, is it really that mystical? These are the closest you'd get to what we'd think of as atheists, I think - disputing the divinity believed to be present there, and wondering at a scholarly and/or naturally magickal explanation. Even still, however, I think it's important to caveat that they will be influenced by their culture and the religious dogma they were raised in, and may be semi-atheistic; denying the divinity of other interpretations of godhead/the Monomyth, but not their own.

The Thalmor. Not exactly a happy interpretation to be sure, but, an elaboration of the above; if non-existence is preferable to existence, and some divinities are false, why not all of them? This would obviously go against the very religious doctrines that permeate the Thalmor as a whole, since it is - in essence - religious extremism that fuels their end goal, but I would imagine there are quite a few who are quietly attracted to the idea.

Among the world in general, I think atheism would only be found reliably in those hermits who do not see or interact with anything supernatural, the heart of the Empire or sufficiently large cities where you'll find outre beliefs simply by virtue of size, and among cultures or people where gods are acknowledged, but have recently lost something, real or perceived. Leading to the sense that our gods didn't protect us; they are hardly worthwhile. And a split between those who adopt no divinities or ways, and those who question faith - close to modern agnosticism - and abandon it. (Different again because many of them will acknowledge the gods; but simply will not worship them, honour them, or interact with them in a meaningful way of they can help it.) Whew! I wrote quite a lot there, so do feel free to ignore it. Keep in mind that I'm probably missing one (1) obvious lore book that obviates everything that I've written, but as world-building goes, this is a pet interest of mine. Since I'm quite proud of a character I've written that completely understands gods as divine, but also wants to open 'em up, that sounds cool, I'm obligated to weigh in here. I hope, even if you disagree or aren't sure, it was a fun read, and I in no want it to be seen as a final answer!

There are probably literal atheists in Tamriel the same way there are flat-earthers in the real world. There must also be people who disavow religion, folks who acknowledge the existence of gods but don’t venerate them (much as we accept the power of gravity without fanfare.) Then there are people who are skeptical of gods actions and intentions, people who think that deities exaggerate their impact on the physical world, who cast doubt on commonly accepted religious beliefs and refuse to worship on that basis…

I guess my question is, what would all of these types of people be called? Would they all be called atheists and would they call themselves atheists?