I’m big-time into what is being referred to as the “Skeptical Movement” which is not a great name as people tend to be confused as to what skepticism really is. One of the best explanations I’ve seen:
"Some people believe that skepticism is the rejection of new ideas, or worse, they confuse “skeptic” with “cynic” and think that skeptics are a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons unwilling to accept any claim that challenges the status quo. This is wrong. Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. It is the application of reason to any and all ideas — no sacred cows allowed. In other words, skepticism is a method, not a position. Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are “skeptical,” we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe. "
Basically, it’s like applying the scientific method in day to day life.
So, for me, any claims such as reincarnation that we can not directly observe and test is necessarily a waste of time. This is what James Randi refers to as “woo”, and skeptics do their best to combat those beliefs and practices that there is no evidence to support as they ultimately are a drain on the time, efforts, and resources of mankind. Megachurches suck up a shit-ton of money (just think of the A/C bills alone on those huge buildings that typically are in use just one day a week); so-called “alternative medicine” (accupuncture, homeopathy, reiki or therapeutic touch, chiropractic practices who claim that they are treating anything instead of just cracking your back, etc.) sucker people out of money and divert people from effective treatment (and sometimes actually can harm the patients); creationism distracts from the actual science education our children should be getting so they don’t continue to fall behind the rest of the world; ghost hunters and bigfoot/chupacabra documentaries just generally suck up a lot of brain cells in people who are too lazy to devote their mental power to things that actually matter and make a difference in this world.
To us, pondering any possible form of an afterlife that by definition is unknowable is a waste of time, and a bit of an insult to the universe. It is so vast and complex and amazing, and so richly detailed, that its specialness dwarfs any “supernatural” phenomena that a human mind can dream up. Similarly, claims like “aliens built the pyramids” is equally a slap to the face of mankind- humans are a remarkable animal and that is a milestone acheivement of our DNA that everyone should take pride in- why cheapen it, you know?
I’m an atheist, like 99% of skeptics. Humanist is great word too, as whenever I’ve hit hard patches in life, people were what got me through and people are what matter in my life. Reincarnation, or any other form of an afterlife, while they are nice ideas, and definitely appealing (dying sucks, after all), thinking about them at best distracts from the main issue, which is doing the most with the life you actually have. At worst, tolerance for such unscientific nonsense is actually harmful to human society, such as when politicians are elected who don’t care about acting in the interest of the future of humanity- people who believe that an end time is coming and that their reward comes after this life have no incentive to take care of and shepherd our resources or care for the wellbeing of others.
I was actually raised to believe in reincarnation. My mother is a wiccan high priestess (so is my sister fror that matter). I always felt like her religion was more peaceful and in tune with nature and the universe than the oppressive christian majority around us, but I never fully bought into it myself. As I grew older, the thousand and thousands of dollars she has spent on witchy books, crystals, feathers, herbs, etc. seems more and more wasteful, and when I see her bottles and bottles of herbal and homeopathic “remedies” that may or may not actually do anything and may or may not be actually harmful (especially as they are taken without the supervision of any sort of medical professional), I get downright scared. But I see the joy it gives her and her friends and the community they have, and you don’t want to trample on that unnecessarily when she has always been your biggest supporter. It’s a fine and frustrating line to walk. I guess I’ll just say that Reincarnation certainly has it’s appeal, and I wish I could believe in it but I just can’t. In my opinion, it’s one of the more harmless unreasonable beliefs you can have, so if you want to believe in it that’s fine, just don’t try to use reincarnation in a debate on public policy and we’ll be fine; and if someone tries to sell you enlightenment, don’t give them your money- I promise you they won’t deliver.
Sorry for the novel.