Can An Atheist Have A Soul?

I would like to hear from atheist that reject all forms of spiritual ideas. Most Atheist I encounter are very comfortable debating or disproving Judaic-Christian mythology as well as Muslim belief etc I do not belong to any religion or have any theological beliefs myself.

So to make my question clear I want to know what philosophical reasoning leads most atheist to reject all spirituality even when the spiritual ideas presented are stripped of religion or theology? If atheist applied the same type of reasoning to quantum physics that they typically apply to the idea of a soul or reincarnation the exploration of physics beyond Newton would come to a screeching halt.

In fact quantum physics seems to point to awareness (The Observer) as the cause behind random events overthrowing determinism much to the chagrin of atheist and theological determinist alike. Most atheist like predetermined behaviorism just as theologians like predetermined design to prove their God concepts. And for the same reason. So that those in power can dominate the sheep who give up their freewill to appease the psychology of "the norm" so as to fit in or to appease the church they belong to that they are obedient so they can get the benefit of the group.

So my question remains why reject all metaphysical questions relating to spiritual ideas just because religion is obviously blind and misguided? Why agree to be an unquestioning cog in the behaviorist machine to avoid being one of the religious sheep? What is wrong with replacing Descartes meditations on "I think therefor I am" With "I am aware therefor I have freewill"? For me I can doubt that I think.

Maybe thoughts simply occur because my brain is wired for language. My brain could be generating random words and I am simply rejecting what I have been programmed to believe by society as nonsensical or non adaptive etc and accepting the thoughts that my brain generates randomly that seem to benefit me... as my own... not because I created these thoughts... but simply because this has been the type of thinking that has benefited me in the past.

This would explain consensus or conformist thinking such as religious thinking when the benefits of "belonging" outweigh the disadvantages of nonsensical reasoning. So I can doubt that I think. And I can believe thoughts just "happen" to me no different than me tuning into a radio station over other stations because that type of music appeals to me. My thoughts are not me. I have experienced a sense of self without any thoughts occurring whatsoever but I have never had any experience where I had no awareness.

I can not blame this on my senses receiving input. Even in sensory deprivation there is awareness. Sometimes I am awake before my body wakes. I can not sense my body at all yet I exist and I am aware. So if I am not my thoughts and I am not my senses and I am not my body...then I must be my awareness because there is nothing left for me to be unless I do not exist at all.

But if that were the case then somebody must be imagining me. Unless you are a nihilist or solipsist you must admit that my argument that the only thing I can not doubt if my awareness and from my awareness I can infer that I exist. If observation creates reality then quantum physics can be used to prove together with the premise that I am my awareness to prove that I not only exist but that I am free in a way that is relevant to the argument for freewill. This does not prove I have a soul but I moves the question out of the domain of pure speculation.

This does not automatically open the door for religion or religious concepts of God. Yet the atheist will argue against the soul usually without even considering the points I just made because religion has all but demanded that the soul can only be discussed in a religious context. Why do atheist give them this? Why do atheist just give religion this power so that if an atheist were ever to decide on any basis that maybe they did have a soul they would have to convert by default to some nonsensical faith or religion? Do I need to choose between accepting an invisible man in the sky that controls me like a puppet or being the end result of a chemical bath of my brain? Isn't this the fallacy of the false alternative?