Is Albert Camus an atheist Though, Camus is one of those who rejected the etiquettes of atheis existentialism but some people still refer to Camus as an atheist existentialis. Is he truly an atheist existentialist? Which works proved it.
Camus didn't want to be known as an existentialist. Nevertheless, on most philosophical definitions of existentialism and atheism, Camus is properly categorized as an atheist existentialist. The works where the theme of the absurdity of life without God comes out most clearly are Betwixt and Between (1937), Nuptials (1938), The Stranger (1942), and The Myth of Sisyphus (1942).
A lot of existentialist didn't want to be categorized, Camus was one of them. But if we consider his works - like The Myth of Sisyphus or The Stranger - I think his atheismus is clear. If he had belived in God a lot of his questions and ideas would make no sense. Just think an the beginn of Sisyphus about the suicide and the conclusion of the work: there is no God in the happiness of Sisyphus. Or read in The Stranger: the final "fight" with the priest, that's maybe the best example of his position about God. You can find a lot of Nietzsche's concepts in Camus words.
Camus was neither atheist nor existentialist. He is better described as an agnostic anti-theist and a philosopher who dealt with existential questions or questions about existence. He didn't want to be called existentialist, which has to do with his relation to Sartre and others, but also with the existentialist idea that existence precedes essence. Camus said that existence and essence go hand in hand.
Camus was not an existentialist, at least not in the specific meaning, that Sartre proposed in his publications on the movement. He explicitly remarked on significant differences in the philosophical undertakings of French thinkers, such as Sartre, Merleau-Ponty and Beauvoir and was also understood, by them, as independent from some of their conclusions. On a broader level, however, he did cover important elements and motives, that thinkers, understood as existentialists, did focus on. He confirmed, in one of interviews, that he accepted some of the premises of the current (the problem of the absurd, freedom, enstrangement), but was appalled by and hesitant to any combination of these premises with marxist (generally) conclusions. He was very persisnent on this issue, with his last published book, "The Fall", being an implicit critique of the development of existentialism in France. The debatable issue in this area is, how much of the common ground was there still between Camus and other thnikers. To me, one of the most important aspects here is, that ultimately Camus did not reject a possibility of existing with reference to - specifically understood - human nature, that demanded solidarity with others, which was a serious problem within Sartre's conception of freedom within existentialism. To add difficulty to this matter, it seems clear that his understanding of existentialism, and problemacy of separation / affinity from / with existential philosophy, developed in time, so to be more precise it seems fair to state, that his view of existentialism was completely different when he was writing Myth of Sisyphus from the view he proposed in the period 1951-1956, following controversy with Sartre.
As for atheism, he made it clear, that he is an unbeliever: he does not believe in the existence of God, which does not deny God's existence, but rather signifies the impossibility of the subject to have certainty as to his existence or inexistence. That said, he never claimed that the believers are wrong, he said, that he does not share their belief. Understanding Camus simply as an atheist is rather a projection of the interpreter, given the clear and precise statement of the author: "Je ne crois pas en Dieu et je ne suis pas athée" - I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.