Fisher
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Re: Is atheism a religion
Well it proves my post--depends on one's definition. That you subscribe to one particular definition does not preclude the other definitions from leading one to a different conclusion.
Still no. Atheism, in itself, doesn't share any belief about the cause and nature of things. One may believe the universe started in the big bang. One may believe it started at the end of the collapse of a previous universe -- sometimes known as the big bounce. One may believe that we do not, and cannot know, and that both of the aforementioned are likely wrong. One may believe that there are many, many universes, or only one.
If you want to talk about "religiously held beliefs", that's different from "religion", though. For example, I believe, in the most absolute way, that the Earth is round. My determined belief in that doesn't make it a religion. I believe with certainty that there isn't a massless, invisible, extra-dimensional hippopotamus sitting on my head -- even though it's impossible to prove. That doesn't make it my religion. Not believing in a thousand ridiculous things doesn't mean I have a thousand a-thing religions.
Well it proves my post--depends on one's definition. That you subscribe to one particular definition does not preclude the other definitions from leading one to a different conclusion.