Is atheism a religion?

atheism is like theism... is theism a religion?

Atheists only believe in one less God then Christians do, Christians, Muslims and Jews share their disbelief in ALL Gods other than that one

there are religions that do not believe in Gods that would fall under Atheism (some flavors of Buddhism would be an example)

there are religions that do believe in Gods that would fall under Theism (Christians would be an example)

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Atheism is not a religion since by definition it has no object of worship and no dogma.

some theists think that science is an atheists "religion", which is simply a stupid but not unsurprising misinterpretation of what science is.

Atheism is a belief but it isn't a belief system in and of itself.
An atheists "belief system" is one that must be deliberately discovered and developed by the individual since an atheist has no scriptural doctrine to define it for him.

Hell I know atheists that believe in ghosts and foresight and precognition. (granted they are a tad weird - sshhhh don't tell my wife I said that).

 

actually Atheism doesn't qualify as a religion or anywhere near it.

1. Religion requires a belief system (not necessarily a godhead) that may include a supernatural being but is a shared belief in something that is used as a foundation for behaviors.

2. Rituals and/or expectations of behavior. Religions have shared expectations of behavior in daily life and often have common rituals.

3. Community/Collectivity. All religions are a community either based on shared belief or cultural connection.


Since simply being an atheist does not make you part of a religion. Humanism is becoming a religion in some circles. But simply being atheist is not a religion.

 

Could believing in a spiritual existence simply be "not a religion but more of a way of thinking"? Of course.

Religion is an organized form of belief, "a particular system of faith and worship".

If atheists form an organization, meet together about their dis-beliefs, share books and articles about their beliefs, is that a religion?

 

I had a god for 13 years, I rejected it, I don't need one, and could never again accept such a deity.

nd of course I can't prove my position nor can anyone else, or ever will be so able, while they are still on this plane of existence.

 

You are talking about a Church, not a religion You pay no taxes on a religion. A religion is a belief, nothing more.

 

Science is "MY" god, (sort a) but I am hardly a nerd about it.

 

You got it (sort'a)

 

what definition requires an object of worship?. My dictionary doesn't reqire that.

True, Pure atheism is not a religion in itself, but atheists may have a religion, which I do. it just doesn't have a diety.

 

I suppose words can mean anything that you want them to mean.

 

Your point 1, and postscript are both accurate, but not points 2 and 3, in that I person can have a religion that is not shared by anyone else.

 

Exactly, and it bothers me when people make laws of philosophical points that break when you start shifting definitions, because that means the points weren't really accurate from the start.

 

then it is not a religion

 

Simple solution: Redefine "accurate" to mean "whatever I believe".

 

There is more than one way to look at atheism. The militant ones are just as fervent in their unprovable beliefs as the religious fundamentalists.

As the theists are incoherent so are the atheists. Both believe in something, and neither can prove, yet both act as if they have. Theists assume god exists, atheists assume that it doesn't. Yet they then forget, or are too ignorant to comprehend that both are assuming, or they try to call their assumptions proof, evidence and so on.

Theists when confronted with science, like evolution, the intelligent ones will say that this is simply the way god works in his creating. An atheist, basing his arguments upon science, will invent dark matter to keep the existing equations from imploding. Neither side wants to change their beliefs, and both sides will invent to keep from changing beliefs. Two peas in a pod.

An honest, non agenda driven human brain would just say the question of the existence of a creator, a god, is unknowable, and leave it there. The demand to KNOW, even that which is impossible to know, is most powerful, and irrational. And if one cannot see this, one is lacking basic rationality. And that is the problem on both sides of this argument.

 

Atheism is nothing more than the negation of theism: the belief in a deity. Adding "a" to theism turns it into "lack of belief in a deity". It does not equal belief there is no god.

 

And such a person would be a non-theist. Theists insist that they know the unknowable.

 

re·li·gion

/rəˈlijən/

noun

noun: religion
1. the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
"ideas about the relationship between science and religion"
synonyms: faith, belief, worship, creed; More
sect, church, cult, denomination

•a particular system of faith and worship.

Now if you wish to use the secular definition of religion:
•a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.
"consumerism is the new religion"

I guess you would be right from a purely semantic perspective. But I was using it in the context of the first and second definition since that was the question posed by the OP.

 

saying what religion is Atheism is like saying what religion is Theism

 

Some do, some don't just like some atheists claim they know there is no God, gods, afterlife, etc and some simply believe there isn't.

 

Atheism can be defined as a religion based upon a very broad definition of religion. NASCAR is a religion to some. But no, atheism is not a religion as some theists like to claim. Although there are Atheist Churches, they are just a one finger salute to theism... kind of like the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

 

So you will testify as such at the IRS audit?


It's also good to know those atheist groups are the equivalent of trolls and liars.

 

If a person does not know with certainty that God exists, then, by definition, they are not theists. I agree that non-theists need not be adamant that God does not exist. There is a difference between merely accepting that there is no evidence for God's existence and not really caring and insisting that God absolutely does not exist. I'd consider that to be the difference between a non-theist and an atheist. I've never personally met such an adamant atheist, but I don't doubt that there are some folks who take that position. I think that most folks consider the word "atheist" to simply refer to a non-believer, or what I have called a "non-theist".

I consider non-belief in the existence of things for which there is no objective evidence of existence to be the normal, default position for a sane human to hold. Just because I don't believe in the existence of Unicorns doesn't make me anti-Unicorn. I don't mind if Unicorns actually do exist. I've just never seen a reason to believe that they do.

At any rate, atheism, even very strident atheism, is not a religion any more than not collecting stamps is a hobby.

 

Yes. But means little as I am not an atheist... but I know many.

Please tell me that you are not a Christian. Because if you are then you are a hypocrite. Read Matthew 7.

 

No, science is god when in reference the physical laws of nature. Denying that science is god is denying that you are a product of the physical laws of nature which no one can deny except maybe Jesus who was born of a virgin.