First of all, atheism is solely not believing that a god/deity/higher power exists. It does not mean you believe in evolution or that you do not believe in an afterlife. Too many labels become attached to things, and popular belief does not redefine what an athest is at the core.
That being said, for those having trouble grasping the conept of "darkness" after death. This may help you understand, and maybe even accept that "nothingness" is logical and probable, considering what we factually know as human beings.
Before you were born (before your organs functioned, your immune system was intact & blood coarsed through your veins etc.) you didnt see anything. You didnt see darkness, you had no consciousness, no memory, emotion, choice or anything. When you physically die, those same vital organs that allowed you to be alive cease to function. Just like before you were born. The two can be related in the example I just gave, therfor the pre-life stage can be assumed to be the same as the post-life stage.
Now I know that there are miraculous things in this world. I know everything is so fucked up, yet so perfect. I cannot explain why we exist, and what the purpose is. But for what I cannot explain, I cannot assume. Therfore ONE theory on death I have is what I explained above. Im not claiming it to be correct, just the most logical possibility I can come up with.
God, spirts, souls, afterlife is all speculation. Speculating is fine, obsessing and commiting to something as important yet unanswerable as death BASED upon those speculations is what I have a problem with. There is only one way that I know of to find out for sure, and that is death itself. I hate to settle for "darkness" at the end of my life, but I have to be fair to myself.
Hope this helps.
