It's a fairly common colloquial (online at least) term for describing, as you noted, atheists who arrived at atheism from christianity. ... specifically because their/our approach to faith, belief, and the interpretations of belief etc are rooted in christian philosophy...
(not that everyone is aware of this of course, but we all still carry the imprints of sunday schools gone by) And I think it's important to understand that this is something non-christians (not non-practicing or former) will always see in us. Because our concepts are rooted in xtian foundations.
Ironic that many of these people - myself included - so desperately seek to shed the yoke of Christian doctrine yet in doing so often reveal the metaphorical scars of its presence in their lives
that said I have never before this heard the term "Christian Atheists" used in the manner of the OP
I think the more you engage with people who don't share the same worldview and background as you, the more you will see it. I've been coming across it in online spaces for over a decade now. Particularly in discussions about faith and belief.
It did not arrive at the same time as all the atheists lamenting the loss of church community in the mid 00s and early 10s, but it followed fairly soon after, because it's highly reflective of that same group. I think it's a useful term for non-christians to understand people's terms of reference.
And with humility, I think it's also a really useful term for christian-origin atheists to reckon with. Because, whether it's baked in and cultural or not, we are stewed in christian references that other religions and atheists/agnostics just do not have or hold.
I'm more than little engaged with people outside of my worldview and background and I haven't encountered it, only the other definition of the term. I don't think it was your intent but that did come across as a bit presumptuous
Well, I am sorry you perceived it as such. I have certainly encountered it more while engaging with people who do not come from a christian background. However, it has been discussed within "ex-christian" groups too, seeing as they seem to dominate the evangelical atheist movements.
Perhaps a bit, although regarding me at least it's presumptuous in an understandable way, since I do look white and come across as fully Western.
I think that is part of it for sure... a fair number of the people presenting the objectionable christian atheist attitudes (that were being rightfully criticized by the OP) ARE North American or British white people who have been influenced by people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
I know little about Hitchens, but with regards Dawkins I do wonder to what extent people have taken away messages he didn't intend. Like, a lot of atheists who quote Dawkins seem really belligerent toward Christianity, whereas he himself has said he likes Christian music/hymns.
Oh agreed. It's like a lot of things, "it's not the band I hate, just their fans". Dawkins has gone off the edge into belligerence since, but less about atheist dogma and more about other grumpy old white man stuff.
For the record, I'm half Korean and was born there. Which affects my experience of atheism: in Korea the biggest religion is Christianity, but in fact half the population isn't religious en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religio...
While born in America and raised as a heavily-Protestantized Catholic, I lived in Japan at a pivotal time in my life and credit a great deal of my sociopolitical evolution to that experience and its ongoing effects. It's hard to keep a rigid Christianized definition of religion when you meet that.
What is the religious makeup of Japan? Christianity being the biggest religion in Korea can surprise people until they think oh right post-war
I would describe it as overwhelmingly a sort of secular Shinto-Buddhist demographic. Christianity has never had a significant purchase there, I believe the Christian population is around 2% unless things changed since the 2010s.