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Is atheism a religion[W:711:831]

Is atheism a religion


  • Total voters
    119
Re: Is atheism a religion

Forcing the word "belief" on us....
Implying others have the power to force lables on you at all.

You just gave up power over yourself.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Implying others have the power to force lables on you at all.

You just gave up power over yourself.

It's the clumsy attempt at forcing the label which is wasting other people's time. Suggesting that it could ever be successful is your own vanity.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

I asked you to explain what you wrote to me ... Does it make sense to you? Maybe a typo?

Non-sequitur. Did you read through much of the thread?
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

they believe God doesn't exist, no?
If they say that God does not exist, that is an ignorant as saying that God does exist since neither one knows, which is why being an agnostic is the only rational choice.

They can of course say that they believe that God does not exist. That is the same as saying that he does. Both are subjective.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

If they say that God does not exist, that is an ignorant as saying that God does exist since neither one knows, which is why being an agnostic is the only rational choice.

They can of course say that they believe that God does not exist. That is the same as saying that he does. Both are subjective.

we agree ....
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

a belief ...

Your desperate semantics aside, I and I alone know what I believe, and what I do not believe. But since you appear to be unable to concede your inability to appropriately read minds, and obviously are one of those who insist upon having the final word, you may have it since I grow bored with what is obviously at this point, a silly game.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Fortunately, 85% of the people on this forum appear to have a firm enough grasp on logic and language to understand that atheism isn't a religion, but for those 15% who do I'd be curious what they consider to not be religion.

Swimming pools are not a religion. Neither is beer.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Swimming pools are not a religion. Neither is beer.

And yet you believe they exist. Hence you belong to the churches of swimming pools and beer.

Not that I'm judging you badly for that, mind you, unless you drink PBR or something.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Your desperate semantics aside, I and I alone know what I believe, and what I do not believe. But since you appear to be unable to concede your inability to appropriately read minds, and obviously are one of those who insist upon having the final word, you may have it since I grow bored with what is obviously at this point, a silly game.

What? Now I'm really confused ... it's late ... time to hit the sack ... another time ... perhaps we're talking past each other, no game ... good night.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Swimming pools are not a religion. Neither is beer.

I have a couple of uncles who would disagree with you on the beer ... in fact, I just left them an hour ago ... they were worshipping at the corner bar ... they're devote in fact ... gotta go ... have a good night ...
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Unfortunately, the definition is pretty clear. You do believe something even though you will never admit this. YOu don't admit it for other psychological reasons but if you can't accept definitions by Noah Webster and the Merriams.....well then do what you have to.

I don't use definitions of words that define the word in question with the same word. You're looking up what a word means. Why would you use a definition that includes the very word you don't know? That's idiotic. Again, I'm not an atheist. You can keep trying that line, but you keep looking more and more foolish every time.

This is a false equivalent argument and this analogy doesn't make sense for the point you are trying to make. Reason 1 as to why: Baldness and hair color can't be equated as even bald people have a hair color. Whether a person is bald because they shave or their hair wont grown anymore, at one time that bald person grew hair and it had a color. Therefore even if no hair shows, that person has a hair color.

Wow. Can you go to a further tangent to attempt to refute this? Furthermore, you made a mistake there. A person who no longer can grow hair has no hair color. They had hair color. Your argument only works in the past tense. But we aren't dealing with that. We're dealing with now. Therefore, the analogy is still valid as the person has no hair in the first place, and thus has no hair color. Merely because at some time in the past they did does not mean they have hair color now.

Reason 2, atheism isn't the lack of hair. Again, atheism is a belief. You are holding an opinion about a Thing. Therefore, atheism is picking a color, lets say Blue, and then saying Blue isn't a color.

That was completely nonsensical. Atheism is a lack of belief. Bald is a lack of hair. The fact that they aren't the same thing irrelevant. The whole point was to compare the lack of something.

Another analogy may be that black, the absence of absorption of all color wavelengths, isn't a color. But it is clearly is a color too. Atheism is just the belief in a negate.

Huh? How can lack of belief = belief in negate? What you are describing are physical property of lights and pigment.

Maybe you need to see other people who believe in a negative position.

Negative position is not the same as having no position.

Well, physics has a theory that nothing can travel faster than light.

Physics doesn't say that. Physics actually has multiple theories on how to do just that. Physical laws were never absolute. We know that the known properties of light do not behave the same way in a black hole. Your assumption is wrong and your argument that stems from it is based on a faulty and incorrect foundation.

Some physicist believe that nothing can travel faster than light. This theory is unproven as of yet but it is stilled theorized and is accepted in relativity theory. It is a theorized negative position held by people. This idea within physics is a belief because it is an opinion/truth about a thing held by people. It meets the definitions which you quoted.

This would matter if your first assumption wasn't totally wrong.

I am not redefining anything. I directly quoted both sites.

No, you are defining atheism as a rejection of a belief in deities, when Atheism is merely a lack of belief in deities.

Actually yes. When you think of anything, you create beliefs.

Which doesn't help your argument. You just said that you can't have lack of beliefs. If you don't think about it, you can't have beliefs. Therefore you are wrong.

Second, a belief that has no beliefs about deities is still not a religion.

This is a fact. When I ready your post about giant isopods, I actually formed a couple of beliefs at the same time: 1. giant isopods probably don't exist but I haven't researched them so I am not sure what an isopod is (as an aside: I am specifically not Googling isopod to see what you mean here. And biology is a mystery to me; I never study it, have never studied it. I pretty much dislike all the animal TV as well.); 2. the definition of a small area in the antarctic may be as large as several square miles given that the antarctic is several thousand square miles; 3. as "special type" may mean here several things, so I came to the belief that you don't define examples well if I am honest. And that is just three. The position you don't have in atheism but are describing as a lack (and I have to be specifically vague here so this is going to come across as strange) is if you don't believe in something you have never heard of. The problem is when you hear it you start to create beliefs about the new thing you just heard about. Since you have heard about God and rejected him/her/it, atheism isn't a lack. it just a belief in the negative.

There you go again, you define atheism as a rejection of beliefs if deities, when that is not what Atheism is. There is no point in talking to you if you refuse to use the actual definition of atheism and instead choose to define it as you so please with no regards for how it actually is defined.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Dictionaries have been quoted, atheism meets the criteria to be a religion.

If that's so, my lack of belief in Shiva makes my belief a religion.

Does rejecting a bunch of deities make those beliefs a religion? Does merely lacking a belief in some deities make those lack of beliefs a religion?

I reject that the God Emperor that sits on the Golden Throne on Earth and who commands the Space Marines doesn't exist. Does that make that belief a religion?

How about rejection of Khorne and Slaanesh?

The logic that makes Atheism a religion also mandates that every lack of belief or rejection of any belief is therefore a Religion.

I reject that it's good to wear black socks. Is that a religion?

I have no opinions or beliefs on polkadots. Is that a religion?
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

There are many religions which do not worship any god. Like Buddhism. These religions are deistic, not theistic.

Lack of belief in a god means atheism is a deistic religion.

Jerry..."a lack of belief" is more akin to agnostic. The "unadulterated absence of belief" is atheist. Been an atheist as far back in my life as I can remember...in other words since I was a kid. Most likely before you were born.

I'm college educated...I have a good understanding of the words "deist, theist, atheist".

Gods don't compute for me. I don't think about, ponder or make any considerations about a supernatural being, deity, etc existing in our universe or any possible universe or universes. I don't believe in ghosts, devil, demons...ZERO supernatural beings.

Taoists, buddhists etc....or more of akin to philosophy than religion.

Bottom line...Atheism is NOT a religion. Never has been nor will it be...unless I decide on starting an "Atheist Church" so I can be a tax free entity like Scientology.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

If that's so, my lack of belief in Shiva makes my belief a religion.

Does rejecting a bunch of deities make those beliefs a religion? Does merely lacking a belief in some deities make those lack of beliefs a religion?

I reject that the God Emperor that sits on the Golden Throne on Earth and who commands the Space Marines doesn't exist. Does that make that belief a religion?

How about rejection of Khorne and Slaanesh?

The logic that makes Atheism a religion also mandates that every lack of belief or rejection of any belief is therefore a Religion.

I reject that it's good to wear black socks. Is that a religion?

I have no opinions or beliefs on polkadots. Is that a religion?
Lack of belief in any god at all is deism.

It's called atheism, not adeism. There is no god required for it to be a religion. See Buddhism for an example.

You seem to think that religion = believing in a god. That's simply not true. Belief in a god and religion are not the same thing.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Jerry..."a lack of belief" is more akin to agnostic. The "unadulterated absence of belief" is atheist. Been an atheist as far back in my life as I can remember...in other words since I was a kid. Most likely before you were born.

I'm college educated...I have a good understanding of the words "deist, theist, atheist".

Gods don't compute for me. I don't think about, ponder or make any considerations about a supernatural being, deity, etc existing in our universe or any possible universe or universes. I don't believe in ghosts, devil, demons...ZERO supernatural beings.

Taoists, buddhists etc....or more of akin to philosophy than religion.

Bottom line...Atheism is NOT a religion. Never has been nor will it be...unless I decide on starting an "Atheist Church" so I can be a tax free entity like Scientology.
Unadulterated absence of belief in a god is atheism. Do we need to pull the dictionary back out? You don't have to believe in any god to be a member of or practice a deistic religion.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Its like saying bald is a hair style.

Excellent analogy.

Of course, bald is a hair style, at least when it is intentional.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Lack of belief in any god at all is deism.

No it's not. Deism is the rejection of religious authority and temporal associations such as miracles, revelations and the like. Lack of belief in a god is atheism.



You seem to think that religion = believing in a god. That's simply not true. Belief in a god and religion are not the same thing.

No, religion is a system of belief in the divine. Atheism is a single belief in the lack of deities.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Do we need to pull the dictionary back out? You don't have to believe in any god to be a member of or practice a deistic religion.

Surely you realise the root of the word deism is the same as the root of the word deity? Yet you claim they're opposite concepts. I think we do need to pull the dictionary back out.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

If they say that God does not exist, that is an ignorant as saying that God does exist since neither one knows, which is why being an agnostic is the only rational choice.

They can of course say that they believe that God does not exist. That is the same as saying that he does. Both are subjective.

I believe that Superman doesn't exist. I believe that the tooth-fairy doesn't exist. I believe that Freddy Kruger doesn't exist. I believe that Yoda doesn't exist. I believe that the crazy monster in space yhwh doesn't exist. None of these are my religion. I can't prove that none of them exist, but it's still not a religion. They are so ridiculous on their face that it would be childish to believe in them.

I'm willing to believe that any of them exist, if only someone can give an even remotely logical and evidence based argument as to their existence, but, in the lack of either logic or evidence, I believe that none of them exist. None of that is a religion.

1. giant isopods probably don't exist but I haven't researched them so I am not sure what an isopod is (as an aside: I am specifically not Googling isopod
to see what you mean here. And biology is a mystery to me; I never study it, have never studied it.

[ . . . ]

but I can theorize as a good scientist.

Wait. As a good what?


Who do they call for the tax exemption? And what do you put on a tombstone, this:
images

That's totally going on my tombstone.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Lack of belief in any god at all is deism.

Deism is a watchmaker God, God set in motion things and then left. That's not the same thing as lack of belief in any God. A deist believes in a God, it's just not clear what that God is.

It's called atheism, not adeism. There is no god required for it to be a religion. See Buddhism for an example.

Amoral is the absence of morals. It is not the rejection of morals. Buddhism has supernatural beings that Buddhists pray to. What supernatural beings and beliefs exist in Atheism?

You seem to think that religion = believing in a god. That's simply not true. Belief in a god and religion are not the same thing.

If we go with your measure, any set of beliefs or lack of beliefs or rejection of beliefs can be a religion. Don't confusing religion with philosophy.

Wearing orange socks on Wednesdays is a religion under the criteria you set. Your definition devalues the word "religion" to the point where absurd things become religions. When you have to devalue a word to the point of extreme absurdity to finally include atheism, you know you aren't acting in good faith or rationally.
 
Re: Is atheism a religion

Yes. Especially when Buddhists pray to them for help.

Nah.

So? Taoism has divination rituals. Don't play the "true Taoist" fallacy here.

And some don't. Are they nonreligious, then?

How is lack of belief a belief? Is being bald a type of hair color? C'mon. Stop being ridiculous.

Do you believe there is no god?

Definition of BELIEF
1
: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing

Atheism is not deities do not exist, Atheism is a fundamental lack of belief in deities at all.
Do you believe that?

Not an atheist.
Did I ask that?
 
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