History Main / Naytheist

* [[spoiler:[[ZenSurvivor Kreia]]]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' has this attitude towards The Force; she knows perfectly well it exists [[spoiler:and makes use of it as a Jedi ''and'' Sith]], but has a deep suspicion of it, is highly impressed by TheExile's ability to survive having it stripped from her body, [[spoiler:and considers The Force a manipulative 'god' whose 'will' keeps the sentient races of the galaxy from being truly able to self-determine. Her ultimate goal, after having witnessed first-hand from TheExile that life without The Force is possible, is to destroy it. Well, maybe; she's a ConsummateLiar and UnreliableExpositor who also claims several other "ultimate" goals over the course of the end game, leaving her true aims ambiguous]].
** Likewise, Consular Companion Tharan Cedrax in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''; no one can deny what Jedi and Sith are capable of, but he's highly skeptical of the idea of any mysticism attached to it. As he's a scientist, he trusts what he can observe, measure, test, and replicate, and seeing as he's not one Sensitive, he has no way of figuring out how The Force works. He'll disapprove if the Consular suggests a Force-based solution over a mundane, practical one.

A variant of this position is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misotheism misotheism]] where the person believes in but actively hates God(s). For media portrayals of atheists as misotheists (among other misconceptions), see HollywoodAtheist.

* James [=McCord=], Creator/SteveBuscemi's character in ''Film/TheIsland'':

* ''TabletopGame/WorldTreeRPG'': True atheists are very rare in the World Tree -- it's a difficult view to hold when the seven creator gods are visible in the sky at all times and there are multiple reliable records of the thirteen lesser ones interacting with civilization throughout history. Instead, atheists tend to take the view that, real as they may be, the gods aren't inherently better or more "divine", whatever that may mean, than anything or anyone else -- they're just bigger and more powerful. The sourcebook notes this to be a defensible position.

%%* ''Anime/OccultAcademy'': "[[CatchPhrase I hate the occult!]]" (zero-context, does not name the character who uses the phrase nor the context they use it in)

* Eppy Thatcher, of ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'', actually has "God hates me" as his CatchPhrase. And devotes all of his (crazy) effort to mess with the Church.

** Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encounters a couple of men possessed by demons. In particular, in the Gospels according to St. Mark and St. Luke. The man (or rather the demon speaking through him) says, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." before getting exorcised. (Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37)
*** By extension, James 2:19 says: "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder." It makes it very clear that the demons acknowledge the existence of God, but refuse to worship Him out of pride.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has Archaon, the Everchosen of Chaos and Lord of the End Times. Between the Gods' prophecy ruining his life and shattering his faith, then finding out said prophecy was a lie, Archaon's contempt for the realms and gods of the mortal world extends to Chaos. His ultimate goal is to annihilate all life in the hope of destroying the Dark Gods and their followers as well.

* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', followers of the God-Emperor of Mankind and Chaos are on mutual non-speaking terms with one another. The Imperial Cult preaches the divinity of the Master of Mankind and that the Ruinous Powers are false gods, while those who believe in the Primordial Truth accept that the Chaos Gods are the only deities around, and scoff at the notion that the shriveled corpse on the Golden Throne is worthy of worship. The truth is more complex - the Chaos Gods are fueled by the thoughts and emotions of all intelligent life, meaning that they were created by mortals rather than vice-versa, [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly and indeed could not exist without them]]. At the same time, [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the sheer number of people who believe in the God-Emperor of Mankind has more or less elevated him to deity status]], or at least to an equal level with the Dark Gods.

* ''LightNovel/MagiciansAcademy'' magic world is full of every imaginable creature from gods/demons to anthropomorphic cameras. Gods do not have any privileged status there and some even suffer great abuse from humans which they created.

** Somewhat [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] with the revelations of the Godsmoot in that [[spoiler: the Gods of the three surviving pantheons can vote to destroy the world so they can rebuild it as a prison for the EldritchAbomination that would otherwise kill them all and have done so plenty of times before.]] In fact, Thor, Durkon's patron deity, has been one of the primary movers to try and deal with it, but he notes that he nor any of the other Gods can get directly involved in mortal affairs. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1146.html Odin gives a pretty good explanation as to why.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/LegendsOfValhallaThor'', Thor's mother thinks of Odin as a deadbeat that is unworthy of the mortal's offerings.

This should not be confused with the FlatEarthAtheist, who simply doubts the existence of the divine despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Nor should it be confused with NoSuchThingAsSpaceJesus, where the "[[AncientAstronauts gods]]" in question are actually [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien aliens]], [[DeusEstMachina computers]], [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy time travelers]], or whatever. The Nay-Theist only applies to worlds where there really ''are'' genuine gods who are actively worshiped as such by most people. The Nay-Theist will be a favorite of a StopWorshippingMe style God.

* ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'' gives us an extreme example in Tanya Degurechaff: in her previous life as a salaryman, she seriously dissed God when He talked to her in the moments before her death, [[FlatEarthAtheist refusing to address Him as anything other than "Being X" as she believed that no loving God would allow suffering to exist]]. This pisses God off enough that, in her new life as a magical soldier in an alternate version of WWI-era Germany, she is forced to pray to Him to keep her SuperPrototype magical gem from killing her.

* DependingOnTheWriter, ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' seems to be this or an atheist, based on the fact that while he has met several entities who claim to be gods, he has also met just as many beings with Godlike power who do ''not'' claim to be gods, and since the former are usually the more [[SuperDickery dickishly]] AxCrazy, why should he distinguish? A common bit of fan description for Batman's view of religion is, "If there is a God, He'd better have a damn good explanation for all this shit."

-->'''Akiro''': The gods are pleased! They will watch the battle!\\
'''Conan''': Are they going to help?\\
'''Akiro''': No.\\
'''Conan''': Then tell them to stay out of the way!

* John Constantine, as portrayed by Creator/KeanuReeves in ''Film/{{Constantine}}'' (though some of this is present in the character from ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}''). He has this attitude because he's sentenced to go to Hell due to his suicide attempt as a kid. Since then he has battled demons and the like to try to "butt his way into heaven" but was told repeatedly it doesn't work that way. He's not permanently barred - an angel (well, half-angel, but whatever) points out that all any human needs to do to be forgiven of their sins is to repent. The fact that John refuses to do so since he believes suicide was a perfectly rational reaction to his "gift," is actually a great example of this trope.

-> She was praying for help, that never came.

** In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime]] Truth doesn't exist as it does in the manga. However, Edward's agnostic theism still pops up. Edward has several lines noting that, despite saying he's an atheist, he ''does'' believe in a God... He just has absolutely no interest in worshipping it and believes it's personally out to get him.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' features three nations -- Rahadoum, Touvette, and Bachuan -- whose official philosophy is the rejection of all gods and religions.

*** One notable nay-theist in this setting is Artemis Entreri, whose mother was raped by a priest of Selune while his neighbors in the Slums of Memnon were exploited by the rest of that Order. He knows the gods exist, but he sees them as powerful beings who pretend to be good or lawful while being petty monsters no better than anyone else. Though it should be noted that this backstory contradicts the canon that ''Forgotten Realms'' deities do not tolerate deviant behavior, and any priest of a good deity who commits an evil deed will have his powers stripped from him until he atones. It was implied in ''Road of the Patriarch'' that in Entreri's case, the worship of Selune had been usurped by an evil deity posing as Selune, possibly Ibrandul or Shar masquerading as Ibrandul.

* The title character of the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'' is very definitely this; all wombats in that universe apparently are. "We find [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly a lot of old gods underground]]. [[OddJobGods They're kinda a nuisance]]." One of the few things worse than Gods is [[MagicMisfire Magic]] ([[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame bloody Dwarfs]]), and the only thing worse than that is ''[[PropheticFallacy prophecy]]''.

* In the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' universe, the Global Occult Coalition has this stance on God. They view it as their job to kill God if ever given the chance or the means. Considering that they live in a CrapsackWorld plagued by every kind of EldritchAbomination imaginable, this is somewhat understandable. And indeed, they have killed several entities that could claim the title already.

* ''Literature/NoGodsForDrowning'': Alexander Stathos knows the gods exist and are meant to be protect humanity from the monsters known as the Glories, but has a poor opinion of them. He dislikes that humanity are meant to hold them in this regard but the gods abandoned them. His bad experiences creating sacrifices to the goddess, Logoi and seeing the carnage of killing in her name has also left him resentful of how humanity now has to do horrible stuff for them.