While I, personally, don't believe in souls or an afterlife ... that doesn't mean it is an atheist belief. Just because someone doesn't believe god(s) exist, doesn't mean they can't believe in souls or an afterlife or karma.
I (atheist) disbelieve in God, gods, the soul, like anything else supernatural as mythological beliefs therefore nonexistent. However I am inclined to believe that a 'residual force' of the deceased person continues to exist and is 'shaped' according to the person's past life. A bad person's residual force can mean to cause harm while the good person's force could be helpful. Eg like the story of the young girl about to step off the curb on a green light when according to her she heard her deceased grandmother's voice distinctly warn her to 'stay put, don't leave the curb!'. She heeded the voice and observed a vehicle blow through the light iright in front of her.
There are MANY similar stories where a person has been helped by a deceased person.
Everyone has a soul. A "soul" is simply one's beliefs; their core values, or what they believe to be true. Just to say that one is an atheist attests to the fact that they have a soul.
I think it may have been driven into me by that Homer like kid who seriously convinced me there is no soul! 'He says 'There is no such thing as a soul! Okay!'?
This post was edited by CosmicWunderkind at April 16, 2021 1:03 PM MDT