ABSTRACT
It is pertinent to understand the lifeworld of atheist scientists to get a full picture of the relationship between science and religion. However, Indian atheism need not be, nor is it actually, identical with the brands of western atheism defended by Dawkins and other high-profile (and anti-God) liberal atheists. The ‘atheist’ Indian scientists practised various rituals and followed a lifestyle that is influenced by their religious and cultural backgrounds. The ‘atheistic’ scientists did not find any contradiction in following a ‘religious’ lifestyle and simultaneously identified themselves as atheists or non-believers. I argue that the acceptance of a western canonical understanding of atheism or unbelief imposes a closure on the multiple cultural meanings assumed by these categories. Any attempt to universalize or homogenize the experiences of unbelief against the scale of western modernity runs the risk of neglecting the enmeshing of these categories within the complex life worlds of Indian scientists.
