Isn't being an Atheist a religion?

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iHaveNoIdea

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Technically being an Atheist is a religion right? I mean religion is loosely translated as a belief no? So if we (Atheists) believe there is no religion that is a belief yes? Which means that we do have a religion. Being an Atheist actually goes directly against our belief. Ironic no? Well, tell me what you think and if you think being and Atheist is really a religion :D.


- Isoke
 
iHaveNoIdea said:
Technically being an Atheist is a religion right?
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What sort of technical elements give you this impression?

I mean religion is loosely translated as a belief no?
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No. Because this reductionist attempt would lose the entire meaning of religion as (a) Social (b) Organised/Institutionalised belief system which promotes (c) Non-existing super heroes and their power/creation regime in "real time".

So if we (Atheists) believe there is no religion that is a belief yes?
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If you (Atheist) believe there is no religion, that means you are simply nuts. There are religions, we see their historical and daily life effects. Because people believe in them, and they try to understand every crucial concept (life, death, existence, etc.) through their religions. Moreover, they organise their lives according to what they imagine.

And if you do not accept that there are religions, how on earth you become an atheist in the first place? You can be an atheist because you would not believe in the idea of deity, God, and related concepts presented by religions. You can still be spiritualist, yet again be an Atheist at the same time, if you are against only what those religions offer.

Which means that we do have a religion.
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I don't think many Atheist would want to see their Atheism next to yours, if you say this. Especially if you are consuming the traditional and conventional meaning of the word of "religion".
Being an Atheist actually goes directly against our belief. Ironic no?
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No. Imagine you are an Atheist, and you are believing in non-theistic but supernatural things (such as Jedi force); you are still against the ideology of theistic religions. Imagine you are an Atheist, and you are against the whole idea of supernatural things, although you are still believing in probabilities of establishing more secure, just and ethical society, based on human civilization. In any case, you are not believing in what religions promote.

If you want to take Atheism as a belief system, especially as a "religious" belief system, you must find the object of this belief: What do you believe in? You are against what they believe in, but do you suggest an alternative to it. If your answer is No, that means you are simply not believing in it. And not believing in something doesn't count as a religion. In order to become a religion, you must have something to believe in in the first place. Denying a story doesn't automatically makes you a member of another religion. If someone says that there are flying elephants, and I do not believe in it, that doesn't mean that I do not believe them just because I am "Anti-flying elephants. It simply means that elephants can't fly because of the lack of evidence.

Well, tell me what you think and if you think being and Atheist is really a religion.
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Forget about this "We atheists" generalisation: I think you should first tell us what do you believe in as a member of "Atheist religion" (?), then we can discuss if it fits the norms of a religion...
 
No, atheism is the lack of religious belief; though there is a distinction between weak and strong atheism. I consider myself an agnostic atheist; I do not hold religious beliefs, but I acknowledge the fact that the topic is unknowable.
 
iHaveNoIdea said:
Technically being an Atheist is a religion right? I mean religion is loosely translated as a belief no? So if we (Atheists) believe there is no religion that is a belief yes? Which means that we do have a religion. Being an Atheist actually goes directly against our belief. Ironic no? Well, tell me what you think and if you think being and Atheist is really a religion :D.


- Isoke
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A belief is a position on a matter. Atheism is the belief that there is no dieties. It's practically a religion. When people ask what religion somebody is, typically, an atheist will say he is atheist. Atheism is his religion meaning he doesn't believe in God. Atheists follow their own doctrine. They hate people who impose their beliefs on others. So atheists impose their beliefs that people shouldn't impose their beliefs on others.
 
lixluke said:
A belief is a position on a matter. Atheism is the belief that there is no dieties.
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Or a lack of belief in god.

When people ask what religion somebody is, typically, an atheist will say he is atheist.
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Correct, because it's a shorthand way of saying "I don't have a religion".

Atheism is his religion
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Wrong.

Atheists follow their own doctrine.
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What doctrine would that be?
 
The best response I've seen (on another forum) as to atheism being a religion, is calling not collecting stamps is a hobby.
 
I think I get it...

Oh I get it more I think. What you're saying is that Atheism isn't a belief that there is no religion it's a lack of a religion. It's also that there are no gods no that there's no religion?
Correct, because it's a shorthand way of saying "I don't have a religion".
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iHaveNoIdea said:
Oh I get it more I think. What you're saying is that Atheism isn't a belief that there is no religion it's a lack of a religion. It's also that there are no gods no that there's no religion?
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Atheism is not plain non-theism. Atheism is the belief that there is no deity. There is no such thing as atheism being simply a lack of belief in a deity. Not all non-theists are atheists.
 
lixluke said:
Atheism is not plain non-theism. Atheism is the belief that there is no deity. There is no such thing as atheism being simply a lack of belief in a deity. Not all non-theists are atheists.
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This again?

Who are you to tell atheists how they may and may not define themselves? What gives you the right?
 
The letter A in the context of the word atheist means without. Just as asymmetrical means without symmetry, and asexual means without sex. If you do not believe in Quetzalcoatl, you are an atheist to that particular god. Lix has been corrected on this point many, many times, but refuses to accept the correct definition of the word.
 
A-sexual signifies 'without' gender just as A-theism signifies without diety. There is no 'A' that is used to described somebody that doesn't believe in something. It's absurd to do so. All 'isms' are a belief.

James R said:
This again?

Who are you to tell atheists how they may and may not define themselves? What gives you the right?
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Anybody can define themselves as anything they want. I'm providing proper standard usage of the terminology. I wouldn't argue with non-theists who like to call themselves 'atheists' mostly because most of them actually do believe there is no diety even though they refuse to acknowledge their actions despite their words.

However, if somebody were to proclaim that the term 'atheism' is by standard, meant to signify all non-theists, that somebody would be incorrect.
 
Atheism is not the belief that there is no religion, everyone knows religions exist. The difference between atheism and a religion is there is no dogma. If evidence of God's existence were to appear, atheists would dutifully examine it, not dismiss it due to a belief system. Science is like a belief system to some degree, in that I accept certain hypotheses that I have not tested personally, based only on the authority of some scientists, but even these are based on published data, and the experiments reproducible in principle.
 
"Isn't being an Atheist a religion?"

How can being an Atheist mean a person is religious? That is like saying if a person believes in ufos they are religious and also like saying 'if someone does not believe in UFOs then that is their religion.

As far as i cat tell, you are calling something a religion for the simple reason that it has a name attached to it.
 
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spidergoat said:
Atheism is not the belief that there is no religion, everyone knows religions exist. The difference between atheism and a religion is there is no dogma. If evidence of God's existence were to appear, atheists would dutifully examine it, not dismiss it due to a belief system. Science is like a belief system to some degree, in that I accept certain hypotheses that I have not tested personally, based only on the authority of some scientists, but even these are based on published data, and the experiments reproducible in principle.
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So the scientific method isn't a dogma? Facts can be proven millions of ways - yet there's significant homogeneity amongst atheists that the scientific method is the most effective way. Of all the "religions", atheism included, Christianity and Hinduism seems to be the least homogeneous.
 
an atheist can believe anything. even statements by lixluke like this "They hate people who impose their beliefs on others." are not true for many atheists.

so if you would define a religion as something that includes "someone who doesn't believe in the existence of a god, but can believe anything beside that" then atheism is a religion. but most will say that's ridiculous. it's a bit like saying creationism is science.
 
s0meguy said:
an atheist can believe anything. even statements by lixluke like this "They hate people who impose their beliefs on others." are not true for many atheists.

so if you would define a religion as something that includes "someone who doesn't believe in the existence of a god, but can believe anything beside that" then atheism is a religion. but most will say that's ridiculous. it's a bit like saying creationism is science.
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So...what is a Christian..."Someone who believed Jesus was the son of God, but can believe anything beside that". I've met Christians who don't even believe there ever was a Jesus. Saying atheism is not a religion is a bit like saying science has valid application in daily living, insane :).
 
CheskiChips said:
So...what is a Christian..."Someone who believed Jesus was the son of God, but can believe anything beside that". I've met Christians who don't even believe there ever was a Jesus. Saying atheism is not a religion is a bit like saying science has valid application in daily living, insane :).
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a christian is anyone who proclaims themselves a christian, and christianity is a religion by definition. so, are you saying that any belief is a religion? last i checked, the reasonable definition for religion seems to be a belief system that includes the belief in the existence of a god.

this labeling of atheism as a religion is just a lame attempt by theists to discredit atheism because they have no good arguments against it, but since definitions are actually totally subjective, they can believe it is a religion, but it still doesn't make it any more reasonable to believe in a random fairy tale (that you happened to be indoctrinated with) with no evidence at all.
 
s0meguy said:
a christian is anyone who proclaims themselves a christian, and christianity is a religion by definition. so, are you saying that any belief is a religion? last i checked, the reasonable definition for religion seems to be a belief system that includes the belief in the existence of a god.

this labeling of atheism as a religion is just a lame attempt by theists to discredit atheism, but since definitions are actually totally subjective, they can believe it is a religion, but it still doesn't make it any less retarded to believe in a fairy tale with no evidence.
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What if a guy believed in Jesus and had never even heard of a Christian? Is he a Christian? You can't just say "christianity is a religion by definition" and it's magically true. Sorry :rolleyes:.
You should buy a better dictionary, not one of those discount ones.

I really couldn't care much less about atheists and their childish beliefs - if they want to live in a state of perpetual malnourished adolescence that's their prerogative. You can also insert some random denigrations of religion if you want...it doesn't change the fact; atheism is a religion by its mutual agreed upon philosophy...or theology if you will. Read Christian theology, it's full of disagreements in theology, the assemblage of which is what constitutes "Christian Theology" practiced or unpracticed.
 
CheskiChips said:
atheism is a religion by its mutual agreed upon philosophy...or theology if you will.
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There is no "mutually agreed" philosophy for atheists, simply an individual statement "I don't believe in god" from each.
 
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