So according to SpaceCricket atheism is a religion because there are atheist think tanks and secular groups. Not much a definition, but we will play with it. The NFL has a group of literal Saints: http://www.neworleanssaints.com/ The NFL recognizes the Sainthood and Holiness of particular players in the Hall of Fame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame The NFL is separated into two denominations/sects: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_Conference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Football_Conference The NFL worshipers attend these places of worship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_National_Football_League_stadiums People believe that God intervenes in football games (because we all all football games are more important than starving children). http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/10-things-that-prove-god-must-favor-tim-tebow Also, the NFL God made sunsets orange to glorify a particular team: http://static.zoovy.com/img/tlstuff/W180-H63-Bffffff/ifgod.jpg So, using the cited intellectually loose and dishonest definition of religion, the NFL is a religion. As are most if not all clubs, associations, groups, etc. etc. etc. that have supposed "leaders", meeting places, and events. I suppose the best means of avoiding this pitfall is to be intellectually honest and simply admit the disbelief in the unproven is not a religion. Restricting the nature of religion to the belief in the unprovable/supernatural.
Oh hell no. The Cowboy gave 'god' a hole in the roof so he could watch HIS team. This is fact because he blessed the boys in blue and silver with 5 Super Bowl Championships! Clearly 'god' is a Cowboys fan!
religion is faith based. atheism is the absence of faith. therefore, atheism is the opposite of religion.
And in Germany. They are really into that stuff! When I studied there back in 2008, I saw a big drunken revelry in the city (Eichstätt) when the championship game was over. The world over, people devote thought and emotion to pro sports. It's all quite "religious" in my opinion.
Not sure about football, but soccer fans have been known to attack or even kill rival fans just for being a fan of the wrong soccer team - so it just goes to show that atheists' arguments about religion aren't religion exclusive, they can be applied to non-religious institutions as well.
It's funny. Religious people attack atheism by saying it's a religion. So being a religion must mean something is automatically wrong.
More amusing, they dismiss "made up religions", yet consider the NFL a religion when the alternative is a nice serving of crow.
Yep. As I've been saying, there's a basic mentality that is fed into & encouraged by religion, though it is certainly not limited to religion. I was still a Christian when I was in Germany, and I was positively offended at how devoted they all seemed to soccer I kept thinking that they were distracting themselves with that when they should be thinking about God. I guess it's kind of interesting how pro sports are a kind of non-religious religion, as it means people can be religious devoted to both sports and an official religion such as Christianity, and neither will necessarily exclude the other. It seems to be a case of non-overlapping magisteria
People often recognise what is wrong with religion & religious thinking, provided that the subject is a religion other than their own.
More amusing, they dismiss "made up religions", yet consider the NFL a religion when the alternative is a nice serving of crow.
Only a vile Broncos fan would think those sunsets are meant for them, and not a holy endorsement of the Chicago Bears.
It is very interesting to note that in this thread, none of the usual suspects who are atheist haters are present. They are avoiding this analogy like the plague. And for good reason. Nice work, Wolverine.
