A common religious apologetic against us atheists is that we also make claims on our reality that need support. Is this true? Most atheists I know are agnostic on the question of a God because there is no evidence for such: "We don't know." This is consistent with science-based thinking, as such is uncertain and deals with plausibility and probability only. However, many times atheists do make positive statements to apologists such as, "There IS NO God." Does this mean that such a statement opens up the obligation to produce supporting evidence that there is no God? Ah, not really. Why? There is such a thing as "Practical Certainty":
- "Philosophers sometimes also speak of “moral” or “practical” certainty. Descartes 1985 takes a belief to be morally certain has when it is rational or justified enough to be relied upon in moral or practical deliberation, or in deciding what to do. Similarly, Locke 2015 takes a proposition to be practically certain if it is close enough to absolute epistemic certainty for practical purposes." (link)