| It's a Religion! |
| yep that's correct |
|
11% |
[ 12 ] |
| uhh no, professing a non-belief in God(s) is not a religion |
|
57% |
[ 58 ] |
| sometimes it seems like a religion |
|
20% |
[ 21 ] |
| I'll just take some Gold |
|
9% |
[ 10 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 101 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:25 pm
I've heard so many people claim that it is a religion and it astounds me since atheism is typically defined as a lack of belief in any deity(ies), or a belief that there are no deity(ies) depending on which way you want to look at it.
I'm curious as to why it is called a religion by some.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:15 am
I don't think it's a religion.
I like the way my sociology (sp?) teacher put when I was in high school.
He said that there is no way any one can be athiest, because they are always believing in some thing, or making some thing some sort of god. So they would be thiest in a sense.
That is just strictly his opinion on the matter, but I agree with it, because I can see what he is trying to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:40 pm
That's an interesting way to look at it, I think I see what he's trying to say too. I'll have to think about it, overall it depends on how you define God.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Semiremis That's an interesting way to look at it, I think I see what he's trying to say too. I'll have to think about it, overall it depends on how you define God. That's what he was trying to say also. And like you said it all depends on how you would define what a diety is, or how you define God.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:01 pm
No, it's not a religion. A religion is a belief system. Atheism is a singular belief/position. Just as theism is not a religion, atheism is not a religion
Also, your teacher is mistaken. Empiricists place their faith in empiricism, but empiricism and/or science is not a deity, nor a god. It is not worshipped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:28 pm
Semiremis I'm curious as to why it is called a religion by some. In my experience, two reasons: 1. They were told it was and believe it, possibly (but not necessarily) due to being impressionable and/or stupid. 2. They feel they need to justify their (lack of) belief and think calling it a religion will make it more acceptable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:44 pm
Technically, no, but I've seen people who are just as large-scale zealots. It ranges from assuming that anyone with faith must be an idiot to full-blown support of anti-religious genocide. Dogma at all?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:31 pm
Gho the Girl No, it's not a religion. A religion is a belief system. Atheism is a singular belief/position. Just as theism is not a religion, atheism is not a religion Also, your teacher is mistaken. Empiricists place their faith in empiricism, but empiricism and/or science is not a deity, nor a god. It is not worshipped. Maybe, maybe not. But he did have a point and was just speaking in general terms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:00 pm
In believe its just a word for someone who doesn't believe in any deities. It doesn't require much to be an atheist, so no it is not a religion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:34 pm
In most cases, atheism isn't even a belief. It's an absence of a belief. Some atheists do profess a positive belief that "there is no god," but all that is required in order to be an atheist is that they lack any belief in any deities. That's not a positive belief.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:53 am
Atheism is a belief stance in the lack of the existence of deities, i.e. beings worthy of worship.
Since atheism is a singular belief and there is no dogma for being an atheist, atheism is not a religion. Thus atheist that do not subscribe to any religion are irreligious.
There are religions that are atheistic. Some examples of such religions are LeVey Satanism and some sects of Buddhism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 8:23 pm
Nines19 Semiremis I'm curious as to why it is called a religion by some. In my experience, two reasons: 1. They were told it was and believe it, possibly (but not necessarily) due to being impressionable and/or stupid. 2. They feel they need to justify their (lack of) belief and think calling it a religion will make it more acceptable.
Let's burn monkeys in the name of science!
Um,no comments for #1...I guess that's your personal opinion.
But I just need to note something about your second point...
Most nonreligious people don't like it when people define atheism as a religion...Some even see it as an insult.
Usually theists are the ones who label atheism as a religion,and they usually do that when debating against atheism.
I really can't imagine why an atheist would willfully label atheism as a religion...
To me,that's like a heterosexual homophobic man willfully deciding to have sex with another man.I've never seen anyone even consider doing either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:04 pm
I'm still deciding on this one.
Technically, I can see how it would not be a religion but then again it could be defined as a belief about God just like how zero is a lack of anything but is still considered a number.
I think it's best to call it a religion. If not, atheism could get special rights that other belief systems/lack of belief system (haha, don't know how to phrase this exactly) don't. Or it would be treated differently than other "religions". That's just my thoughts on the matter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:09 pm
The reason I call atheism a religion... because it's a stance and it's still a belief.
Even if one claims it's an "absence" of belief, you have to realize that every statement you make when you claim your "absence" starts with "I believe." Even if you have to say "I believe in no deity."
This is more like a war of definition rather than any war of ideology...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:26 pm
In 2005 a federal court of appeals ruled that atheism was a religion in the case where an atheist prisoner wanted to be able to form a group for atheists. Quote: "Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a belief in a supreme being," the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said. SourceOverall it's not considered a religion but in that ruling it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
