You are being downvoted because people have problems separating the two since they've been so tightly coupled for millennia at least in western civilization. B

You are being downvoted because people have problems separating the two since they've been so tightly coupled for millennia at least in western civilization. But you are right, nothing in "atheism" prohibits someone believe there is an afterlife, or ghosts, or reincarnation, etc. Atheism just means you don't believe in gods; with a little imagination an afterlife can still exist without any overlords.