Lecture given in 1946 Source: Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, ed., Walter Kaufman, Meridian Publishing Company, 1989;
Existentialism is nothing else but an attempt to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position. Its intention is not in the least that of plunging men into despair. And if by despair one means as the Christians do – any attitude of unbelief, the despair of the existentialists is something different. Existentialism is not atheist in the sense that it would exhaust itself in demonstrations of the non-existence of God. It declares, rather, that even if God existed that would make no difference from its point of view. Not that we believe God does exist, but we think that the real problem is not that of His existence; what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself, not even a valid proof of the existence of God. In this sense existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only by self-deception, by confining their own despair with ours that Christians can describe us as without hope.
Jean-Paul Sartre 1905-1980
If you are opposed to endorsing a statement like this, as I am, then you likely see existentialism pessimistically. There are aspects of life which existentialism addresses in a helpful manner, but I see despair and self focus as unfortunate foundations to most expressions of existentialism.