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Is atheism a religion[W:711:831]

Is atheism a religion


  • Total voters
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Re: Is atheism a religion

No, by pretty much every definition of religion it isn't. I don't understand why this is something that a lot of people feel the need to argue for. If atheism is a religion it makes all atheists hypocrites I guess. I just think there are better ways to attack it if that's what you want.

Depends on what definition you use.
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

You don't see the flaw in your logic here?

No. Because what you fail to realize is that atheism is not dogmatic. Atheism, in the deity debate, is basically just a placeholder where knowledge does not presently exist.

You're thinking of atheism as a religion. It isn't.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Depends on what definition you use.

No, it depends how selective and rule-dependent your thinking is. The absence of a belief is not a belief. Your inability to conceive of a lack of belief does not make it one.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

No, it depends how selective and rule-dependent your thinking is. The absence of a belief is not a belief. Your inability to conceive of a lack of belief does not make it one.

:spin: :alert It's not an absence of a belief. It is the belief that there is no God.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

:spin: :alert It's not an absence of a belief. It is the belief that there is no God.

You keep telling yourself that, if you repeat it enough times, you might even convince yourself that it's true.

Reality doesn't seem to mean much to you people.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Atheism is not a religion.

Although many atheists may have dogmatic faith in their belief that god does not exist.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Nope. Atheism is not a religion..religion is and of its self is a crutch.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Please point me toward alleged explanation. "Above" doesn't narrow it down enough to find.

*sigh* What's wrong with the search function, exactly?

Agnosticism is a position about what is knowable. Atheism is practical philosophy based on the knowledge we have.

Use the search function.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

You keep telling yourself that, if you repeat it enough times, you might even convince yourself that it's true.

Reality doesn't seem to mean much to you people.

Are you denying that athiests believe there is no God?
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

*sigh* What's wrong with the search function, exactly?

Agnosticism is a position about what is knowable. Atheism is practical philosophy based on the knowledge we have.

Use the search function.

Just to make it simpler.

Atheism/theism addresses belief in gods. Theism requires an active belief that one or more gods actually exist in reality. Anything that does not fall into that category, including "I don't know" and "I don't care" is an atheist.

Agnosticism/gnosticism addresses the availability of knowledge. It answers the question of whether you think it's possible to know about the existence of gods or not. It does not make claims about people actually having knowledge of gods because *NOBODY* has knowledge of gods. Knowledge requires some basis in fact and no one has yet produced any evidence that gods exist.

Agnosticism is not some mid-point between atheism and theism, it answers an entirely different philosophical question. Saying you're an agnostic in that sense is like someone asking what your favorite flavor of ice cream is and you answering "blue". It makes no sense. Some people are terrified of the "atheist" word because of the negative social connotations that centuries of theist-rule has given it, but those negative connotations are largely non-existent these days because atheists make up a much larger segment of the population and it's growing every day. If you can't own a word and use it properly because you're afraid of how it might make you look to others, there's something wrong with you as an individual.

Hope that helps everyone involved.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Are you denying that athiests believe there is no God?

I am saying that there is a difference between denying the existence of something and rejecting the claims that something exists based on a lack of evidence. It's not a disagreement between two groups making positive claims, it's one group that makes a positive claim that gods exist (theists) and another group which looks at those claims and rejects them because they are unsupported (atheists).

I doubt you can appreciate the difference though.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Atheism is not a religion.

Although many atheists may have dogmatic faith in their belief that god does not exist.

Just like people who want to sit down have dogmatic faith in their belief that chairs don't run away when you try to sit on them.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Just like people who want to sit down have dogmatic faith in their belief that chairs don't run away when you try to sit on them.

Which is entirely true, but to be honest, there are atheists out there who are not rational people and there is nothing inherent in atheism which demands that the non-religious must be rational, intellectual, educated, objective people. There are atheists who are atheists for very bad reasons. That said though, I have yet to meet a single theist anywhere who was a theist for what I considered a good reason.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

So instead of trying to force your preferred context and definition upon those who self identify as atheist, would it not make more sense to accept their explanation of what they mean when they use the term to describe themselves instead?

I an an atheist - by definition, and I am an agnostic - also by definition. It gets really old trying to argue with someone who insists that the meaning we are trying to convey when we identify ourselves is something other than the meaning that we intended.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

I am saying that there is a difference between denying the existence of something and rejecting the claims that something exists based on a lack of evidence. It's not a disagreement between two groups making positive claims, it's one group that makes a positive claim that gods exist (theists) and another group which looks at those claims and rejects them because they are unsupported (atheists).

I doubt you can appreciate the difference though.

You didn't answer the question. Yes or no, do you deny that Athiest believe there is no God?
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

So instead of trying to force your preferred context and definition upon those who self identify as atheist, would it not make more sense to accept their explanation of what they mean when they use the term to describe themselves instead?

I an an atheist - by definition, and I am an agnostic - also by definition. It gets really old trying to argue with someone who insists that the meaning we are trying to convey when we identify ourselves is something other than the meaning that we intended.

But see, if they did that, they couldn't pretend to have moral superiority and that's really what they're trying to do. Theists will try to misuse words like "atheist" and "faith" to show that their own position is just as credible, or at least no less credible, than anyone else, thus they shouldn't endure criticism. That's ridiculously fallacious on it's face, but there you go. This isn't about honest debate, it's about image.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Atheism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition of ATHEISM
1
archaic : ungodliness, wickedness
2
a : a disbelief in the existence of deity
b : the doctrine that there is no deity

See atheism defined for kids »
Origin of ATHEISM
Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek atheos godless, from a- + theos god
First Known Use: 1546
Other Philosophy Terms
dialectic, dualism, epistemology, existentialism, metaphysics, ontology, sequitur, solipsism, transcendentalism
Rhymes with ATHEISM
absurdism, activism, Adventism, alarmism, albinism, alpinism, anarchism, aneurysm, anglicism, animism, aphorism, Arabism, archaism, asteri...
[+]more
atheism
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)

Critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or divine beings. Unlike agnosticism, which leaves open the question of whether there is a God, atheism is a positive denial. It is rooted in an array of philosophical systems. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus argued for it in the context of materialism. In the 18th century David Hume and Immanuel Kant, though not atheists, argued against traditional proofs for God's existence, making belief a matter of faith alone. Atheists such as Ludwig Feuerbach held that God was a projection of human ideals and that recognizing this fiction made self-realization possible. Marxism exemplified modern materialism. Beginning with Friedrich Nietzsche, existentialist atheism proclaimed the death of God and the human freedom to determine value and meaning. Logical positivism holds that propositions concerning the existence or nonexistence of God are nonsensical or meaningless.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

You didn't answer the question. Yes or no, do you deny that Athiest believe there is no God?

I can only answer in my own case, but no, I do not take a positive position that there are no god(s), I see no reason to think that there are. And no, you don't get to redefine me as an agnostic because you feel like it.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

I can only answer in my own case, but no, I do not take a positive position that there are no god(s), I see no reason to think that there are. And no, you don't get to redefine me as an agnostic because you feel like it.

Except that is agnostic.....:shrug:

ag·nos·tic
/agˈnästik/Noun
A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena;...

That's not redefinition, that IS the definition.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

I can only answer in my own case, but no, I do not take a positive position that there are no god(s), I see no reason to think that there are. And no, you don't get to redefine me as an agnostic because you feel like it.

Oh, and by the way.....

athe·ist noun \ˈā-thē-ist\
CloseStyle: MLA APA ChicagoDefinition of ATHEIST
: one who believes that there is no deity
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Let us know when you actually decide to be honest. I'm not holding my breath.

Um, I posted the definition for you. Not sure what isn't honest about that..... :shrug:
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Which is entirely true, but to be honest, there are atheists out there who are not rational people and there is nothing inherent in atheism which demands that the non-religious must be rational, intellectual, educated, objective people. There are atheists who are atheists for very bad reasons. That said though, I have yet to meet a single theist anywhere who was a theist for what I considered a good reason.

I was really more trying to emphasize how silly it is to say that disbelief in something can be "dogmatic". Are we dogmatic in that we think with 100% certainty that if we stand outside in the rain, we'll get wet? Or that if we completely stop eating, we'll die from it? Or that if we close our eyes and wander down a street, we'll get hit by a car?

Yes, it's possible that those things won't happen. But it's so absurdly unlikely that there's no reason to consider them as realistic.

Either way, theists love to declare us a religion or dogmatic in order to discredit us (which is hilarious to begin with), but it always involves attempting to argue that any opinion is as good as any other. A well reasoned conclusion based on evidence is just as good a fanciful hope that you convince yourself is true. And that is nonsense. And it shows how much doublethink and cognitive dissonance is required in order to really ascribe to religious beliefs in the modern age.
 
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