[Bean]

I don't feel that there is a common way that atheists deal with the death and surrounding grief of losing a loved one. We are all individuals and we all deal with it in our own ways.

Atheism is simply a disbelief in a god/gods. I would imagine that there are some people who don't believe in a god but do believe in an afterlife.

I personally have been an atheist and a disbeliever in an afterlife for a number of years, and have recently had to come to terms with the deaths of several people who were very close to me. On a side note, I found, at least in my circles, little support, and even acceptance for someone who is grieving the loss of important people in their life and do not believe in any afterlife, so I just had to grin and bear comments such as 'She's in a better place now' (no she isn't, she's lying in a box 6 feet under the mud -.-). The comments I've received from some believers have been incredibly hurtful, and make out that atheists are heartless creatures, incapable of love, compassion and joy. But anyway...

I deal with their deaths knowing that I did my best to love them. I know that I will hold on to the wonderful memories that I had with them. I will share stories and memories about them with the people who knew them also, and we will be able to remember how much we enjoyed their (statistically improbable) existence on this earth, coincidentally crossing paths with us to make our lives better.

Of course, dealing with any death or loss is hard, and it always will be regardless of what you believe in. Every individual person will cope with it differently, there is no one answer to your question.

My apologies if my ramble doesn't make much sense, it's late here.