In the ongoing resurgence of atheistic thinking, the term
naturalist has taken on a nuanced and politicized meeting.
Spokesatheist Richard Dawkins, in his book The God Delusion, recognizes that the term "atheist" has a negative definition, i.e. a person who does not believe in gods, and that a negative definition unnecessarily frames atheists at the margin rather than at the center of the discussion. Additionally, this particular term has a negative semantic orientation among moderate, influenceable Americans.
Instead, he has proposed the adoption of the alternate terms "naturalist" and "supernaturalist." This frames atheism with a positive definition and at the center, i.e. a person who believes in the natural world, with all of the positive associations of the word "natural." This consequently frames believers at the margin, de-privileging the concepts of gods, angels, and devils, by underscoring the salient similarity between them and the concepts of ghosts, psychics, and the X-Files.