Posted May 18, 2019
dtgreene: In a fantasy setting, where magic does indeed exist (and can be proven to exist), an atheist would believe in magic. (We're assuming a setting where the existence of deities can't be proven.)
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This happens in Final Fantasy Tactics; a character's Faith stat, which can be changed permanently in either direction, affects the character's ability to cast spells, and *also* affects the power of spells cast on the character. A character with only 3 Faith (out of 100) is nearly immune to magic, and can therefore be very effective for fighting against enemy spellcasters (and probably doesn't even need a Chameleon Robe if you have a 97 Faith character casting CT5 Holy every turn).
(SaGa Frontier 2 has a similar mechanic, except with steel interfering with magic rather than a character trait, and not as dramatic an effect (even though, according to the plot, it *should* have a more significant effect than it actually does in gameplay).)
Also, I would argue that an atheist not wanting to use magic in a fantasy setting would be like an atheist not wanting to use technology in the real world; I don't see it happening. (Remember, the situation of "magic" in a fantasy world is different because it actually exists, just like everything else in the fantasy world exists.)
1. Some might be in denial and just flat out choose not to believe in/use magic/the help of gods or deities...even with proof(I've known some who are this way on both sides, believers and non-believers). ==========================================
This happens in Final Fantasy Tactics; a character's Faith stat, which can be changed permanently in either direction, affects the character's ability to cast spells, and *also* affects the power of spells cast on the character. A character with only 3 Faith (out of 100) is nearly immune to magic, and can therefore be very effective for fighting against enemy spellcasters (and probably doesn't even need a Chameleon Robe if you have a 97 Faith character casting CT5 Holy every turn).
(SaGa Frontier 2 has a similar mechanic, except with steel interfering with magic rather than a character trait, and not as dramatic an effect (even though, according to the plot, it *should* have a more significant effect than it actually does in gameplay).)
Also, I would argue that an atheist not wanting to use magic in a fantasy setting would be like an atheist not wanting to use technology in the real world; I don't see it happening. (Remember, the situation of "magic" in a fantasy world is different because it actually exists, just like everything else in the fantasy world exists.)
2. Again, they might not want to use it because they are against it in general/principle and/or they feel that using/acknowledging it would somehow invalidate/tarnish their "beliefs" and thus not use it on principle/because they choose not to change their mindset out of stubbornness.