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Is Atheism a belief system? A religion?

Cable

Cable

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Atheism | Define Atheism at Dictionary.com

Atheism

1.the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

rejection of belief in God or gods
[C16: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos godless, from a-1 + theos god]

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Atheism is the denial of the existence of God or gods (deity). As it is impossible to prove God does not exist, there is no supporting evidence that He does not exist.
If one then establishes for themselves a conviction that God does not exist, it must be a belief.
One can then go about attempting to give the reasons behind this personal decision, but these are ultimately subjective conclusions based on what one has observed.

I believe Atheism to be a secularist religion, in that it is a belief system with it's own customs, practices, and moral code.

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Religion | Define Religion at Dictionary.com

Religion

1.a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4.the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5.the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

Idioms
9.get religion, Informal.
a.to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.
b.to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.
 
I don't think you can say not believing in god is a religion, whatever supplements god is the religion. So, for example, if you reject god and replace it with science, that would be the belief system.
 
Atheism is at best the non acceptance of the claim that god exists. It is not an established conviction, but in its broadest most encompassing sense is a verdict of "adjudication withheld" due to lack of evidence.

Definition 2 of the OP : 2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings

Until there is sufficient evidence or reason to believe in a supreme being, the default position is disbelief. It is the the null hypothesis. This in not necessarily a conviction nor an assertion that a supreme being does not exist, even if there are some who do make these assertions, that is a subset of the whole.
 
John Hancock said:
I don't think you can say not believing in god is a religion, whatever supplements god is the religion. So, for example, if you reject god and replace it with science, that would be the belief system.
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Can you explain what you mean by "Whatever supplements God..."
Science isn't a de facto replacement for God. Science in essence is just the study of Observable Fact. Many atheists claim to believe in science over God, but science neither proves nor disproves God. It is not by nature a replacement for God.
If science is then one's "belief system" would not the resulting customs and practices one employs as part of that belief system meet the definition of religion?
 
Not all beliefs are religion. I believe that I will have another beer and go fishing has nothing to do with religion. Religion is basically accepting, and attempting to follow, the beliefs of others that are said to please god(s) - thus I do not see atheists as having a religion.
 
No it isn't. This topic has been done to death by Evangelicals attempting to discredit atheism by comparing it to their own beliefs.
 
I believe there are very few actual "Atheists" in the first place. It seems to me that anyone considering the God hypothesis in a rational and scientific way likely does so from a position that accepts the idea that there is no way to prove it one way or another and leaves open possibility. As there is no acceptable data to prove or disprove this hypothesis.....Most would be defined as Agnostic.
 
marduc said:
Atheism is at best the non acceptance of the claim that god exists. It is not an established conviction, but in its broadest most encompassing sense is a verdict of "adjudication withheld" due to lack of evidence.

Definition 2 of the OP : 2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings

Until there is sufficient evidence or reason to believe in a supreme being, the default position is disbelief. It is the the null hypothesis. This in not necessarily a conviction nor an assertion that a supreme being does not exist, even if there are some who do make these assertions, that is a subset of the whole.
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You seem to be conflating atheism and agnosticism. Agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve. Atheist do not believe in God.


Agnostic

1.a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience. Synonyms: disbeliever, nonbeliever, unbeliever; doubter, skeptic, secularist, empiricist; heathen, heretic, infidel, pagan.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Not all beliefs are religion. I believe that I will have another beer and go fishing has nothing to do with religion. Religion is basically accepting, and attempting to follow, the beliefs of others that are said to please god(s) - thus I do not see atheists as having a religion.
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I would agree that not all beliefs are religion. But reason seems to indicate that beliefs that affect moral decisions would be religious.
 
tecoyah said:
I believe there are very few actual "Atheists" in the first place. It seems to me that anyone considering the God hypothesis in a rational and scientific way likely does so from a position that accepts the idea that there is no way to prove it one way or another and leaves open possibility. As there is no acceptable data to prove or disprove this hypothesis.....Most would be defined as Agnostic.
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I tend to agree that an honest rational person would be agnostic. Yet this forum seems brimming with self-proclaimed atheists.
 
Cable said:
You seem to be conflating atheism and agnosticism. Agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve. Atheist do not believe in God.


Agnostic

1.a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience. Synonyms: disbeliever, nonbeliever, unbeliever; doubter, skeptic, secularist, empiricist; heathen, heretic, infidel, pagan.
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No I am not conflating these 2, they are not mutually exclusive, I am both an atheist and an agnostic. One is whether knowledge is possible the other is whether or not belief is present. I am a person who "holds that the existence [and non existence] of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable" (at least into the foreseeable future), at the same time I also "disbelieve in the existence of a supreme being or beings".

I have been exposed to so many of these discussions on this very topic that it grows tedious. I will let others argue it, suffice it to say that I am well aware of what both of these terms encompass and do not encompass. Your stance is discounting definition 2 of atheist - which you yourself provided.
 
Cable said:
I tend to agree that an honest rational person would be agnostic. Yet this forum seems brimming with self-proclaimed atheists.
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Likely....this is a reaction to the concept of religious faith, and an urge to be as disassociated with it as possible.

Also...many do not "Self-Proclaim", but are instead labeled as such by those defending their own faith who use it as an insult.
 
The only "belief" shared by all atheists is that they lack a belief in a god. Sharing a single non-belief is not a system by any stretch of the most fertile evangelical imagination.
 
Cable said:
I believe Atheism to be a secularist religion, in that it is a belief system with it's own customs, practices, and moral code.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Click to expand...

What is the atheists set moral code and customs that would make it a religion?
 
marduc said:
No I am not conflating these 2, they are not mutually exclusive, I am both an atheist and an agnostic. One is whether knowledge is possible the other is whether or not belief is present. I am a person who "holds that the existence [and non existence] of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable" (at least into the foreseeable future), at the same time I also "disbelieve in the existence of a supreme being or beings".

I have been exposed to so many of these discussions on this very topic that it grows tedious. I will let others argue it, suffice it to say that I am well aware of what both of these terms encompass and do not encompass. Your stance is discounting definition 2 of atheist - which you yourself provided.
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The point of the OP was not about the definition of these two words, but whether atheism is a belief system and/or a religion. I accept your point regarding the word definitions. I had never considered it, and I appreciate your posting it.
My point in the OP was that based on a disbelief in God, one must form other beliefs which lead to moral decisions. These decisions and their reasoning's leads one into a religion.
 
Cable said:
Can you explain what you mean by "Whatever supplements God..."
Science isn't a de facto replacement for God. Science in essence is just the study of Observable Fact. Many atheists claim to believe in science over God, but science neither proves nor disproves God. It is not by nature a replacement for God.
If science is then one's "belief system" would not the resulting customs and practices one employs as part of that belief system meet the definition of religion?
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Well, many followers of the three main religions disregard some of the scientific theories presented, such as the Big Bang Theory or Abiogenesis, and instead say god created the universe and man.

If you don't believe 'x', that doesn't automatically mean you believe 'y', so to classify atheism as a belief wouldn't be correct. Although you might not believe in god, it doesn't mean you believe what every other non-believer does.
 
John Hancock said:
I don't think you can say not believing in god is a religion, whatever supplements god is the religion. So, for example, if you reject god and replace it with science, that would be the belief system.
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Precisely.

Whatever replaces one faith must be filled with another, different faith.

A Christian lives by faith, or is supposed to as does any believer of any faith.

The evolutionist also lives by faith, as since there is NO conclusive scientific proof of, say the big bang, then it becomes a matter of having a faith that that is true.
Global warming? Same deal.

What fascinates me is with a few exceptions, like Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons, the faithful pretty much leave atheists alone, however it seems atheists cannot live comfortably in their faith unless they are attacking religion, which is ubiquitous and usually aimed at Christians.

Not believing in any God is one thing, but living in hate and attacking the faithful is kind of sick isn't it?
 
Cable said:
I would agree that not all beliefs are religion. But reason seems to indicate that beliefs that affect moral decisions would be religious.
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That goes too far, IMHO. One treating others as they wish to be treated by others is more leading by example rather than follwing some predetermined code of behavior. Discovering that cooperation, kindness or sharing, (morality?) may benefit a group, at some lesser cost to each member of the group, is observable behavior in animals which are, presumably, incapable of religion.
 
Cable said:
That is an interesting consideration isn't it?
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That is why atheism is not a religion. It is a belief, yes, but not a religion.
 
Cable said:
The point of the OP was not about the definition of these two words, but whether atheism is a belief system and/or a religion. I accept your point regarding the word definitions. I had never considered it, and I appreciate your posting it.
My point in the OP was that based on a disbelief in God, one must form other beliefs which lead to moral decisions. These decisions and their reasoning's leads one into a religion.
Click to expand...

So not accepting a claim is a religion in your eyes? disbelief is not a religion, and it certainly is not a belief system. The only single unifying belief that there may be is that the claim that god exists has not been established as true.
 
marduc said:
Atheism is at best the non acceptance of the claim that god exists. It is not an established conviction, but in its broadest most encompassing sense is a verdict of "adjudication withheld" due to lack of evidence.

Definition 2 of the OP : 2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings

Until there is sufficient evidence or reason to believe in a supreme being, the default position is disbelief. It is the the null hypothesis. This in not necessarily a conviction nor an assertion that a supreme being does not exist, even if there are some who do make these assertions, that is a subset of the whole.
Click to expand...

Well, the default position of disbelief may be yours, but globally the default position is the opposite.

And even many self proclaimed "atheists" believe in astrology, seers, and paganism in the form of healing crystals and other "new age" idiocy.
 
Cable said:
The point of the OP was not about the definition of these two words, but whether atheism is a belief system and/or a religion. I accept your point regarding the word definitions. I had never considered it, and I appreciate your posting it.
My point in the OP was that based on a disbelief in God, one must form other beliefs which lead to moral decisions. These decisions and their reasoning's leads one into a religion.
Click to expand...

Your premise is flawed from the onset...a disbelief in something does not equate to an inherent need to replace the dissed belief with something else. There may very well be existing beliefs that lead to the disbelief in that something, but those beliefs were already there.

Using logical and rational scientific thought as the default process of data evaluation is NOT a moral decision.
 
Cable said:
Atheism | Define Atheism at Dictionary.com

Atheism

1.the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

rejection of belief in God or gods
[C16: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos godless, from a-1 + theos god]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atheism is the denial of the existence of God or gods (deity). As it is impossible to prove God does not exist, there is no supporting evidence that He does not exist.
If one then establishes for themselves a conviction that God does not exist, it must be a belief.
One can then go about attempting to give the reasons behind this personal decision, but these are ultimately subjective conclusions based on what one has observed.

I believe Atheism to be a secularist religion, in that it is a belief system with it's own customs, practices, and moral code.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Religion | Define Religion at Dictionary.com

Religion

1.a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4.the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5.the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

Idioms
9.get religion, Informal.
a.to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.
b.to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.
Click to expand...

I believe atheism is neither a religion nor a belief system. Those who do not believe in a god/super natural being are just that, nonbelievers. Now it is possible for these nonbelievers in a super natural being/s to put their faith into something else like science, in self, in society or government. But putting their faith or belief as you might call it into these thing does not constitute a belief system. At least in my opinion.

Atheist simply fall into the category of nonbelievers. It is called the KISS principal.
 
Fearandloathing said:
Well, the default position of disbelief may be yours, but globally the default position is the opposite.
Click to expand...

I don't know.

Without being taught religion, or at least the concept of it from an early age, the default position would be no belief, would it not?
 
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