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> Is Atheism A Religion?
byronarnold
post May 14 2008, 03:09 AM
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I'm just curious as to what everyone's opinion on this is. I know this is a very controversial topic, so everyone please be nice!

My opinion is that it is not. You know what they say, "Atheism is a religion like bald is a hair color."
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t3jem
post May 14 2008, 04:24 AM
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I think atheism is a religion, because instead of serving God, you are serving the world. In Christianity you try to become more Christ like; whereas, in atheism you become more like the world. It's not a defined religion with rules and guidlines to identify atheists, but I think it is a religion, but it isn't viewed as one since it doesn't honor a god per se, but rather worldly things.
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mikeyboy63
post May 14 2008, 06:21 AM
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I'm an atheist. I know many atheists. It's definitely not a religion. Atheists simply put the human species first. We realize that human beings are the greatest thing known to us. Worshiping some imaginary powerful alien from outer space and looking forward to being its slave for all eternity is bizarre. Love your family and friends, be productive, and die with a clear conscience.
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byronarnold
post May 14 2008, 09:46 AM
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QUOTE(t3jem @ May 14 2008, 12:24 AM) *
I think atheism is a religion, because instead of serving God, you are serving the world. In Christianity you try to become more Christ like; whereas, in atheism you become more like the world. It's not a defined religion with rules and guidlines to identify atheists, but I think it is a religion, but it isn't viewed as one since it doesn't honor a god per se, but rather worldly things.

WOW... If that's your strongest argument for atheism being a religion...

First of all, what does it mean to serve the world? To better the environment? Or the world's people? these are known as environmentalism and humanism, respectively. And atheists are represented in both camps, but there are also atheists in neither camp. And if we wanted to "be like the world", we'd accept belief in god since that is what the majority of the world believes. While there are conformist atheists, there are also a lot of non- conformist atheists out there too.
So, in my opinion, none of your arguments hold water.
peace to all! have a good day!
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osknockout
post May 14 2008, 11:39 AM
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I break it down simply. Worshippers of Athe are obviously Atheists.
Those who don't worship Athe but still don't worship anyone else are also called Atheists.

So Atheism is sometimes a religion.
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rayzoredge
post May 14 2008, 01:56 PM
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Er, if you look at the definition of what a religion is, you'll see that a religion is not always related to a deity or spiritual concept. rolleyes.gif

A religion is a set of beliefs, simply put.

With that said, atheism and even science are religions. Heck, all of your superstitions, traditions, and whatnot are included into the definition of what a religion is.

As far as that argument for atheism... that was kind of out there, no offense. I think that I'm more atheist and less agnostic; however, I don't see how it works moreso for serving the world. It's simply having no belief in a higher deity. Of course, I know a lot of Christians aren't exactly out to serve God either... it's just the level of dedication to your faith. Some people are hardcore Bible-thumpers and others just are religious just to fulfill any spiritual needs and/or need an "answer" to the unexplained. Whatever floats your boat, really... as long as there are no conflicts that have to deal with making others believe what you believe. Everyone has a right to believe what they want to believe and not have anything forced on them... which is why I hate those door-to-door people that want to "save" you. mad.gif
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kobra500
post May 14 2008, 04:30 PM
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Well yes and no... it has enough followers to be a religion but lacks certain quality of things which it needs, i.e. a set of guidelines and many other quality's
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chappill
post May 14 2008, 05:19 PM
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If you were falling 4 miles through the air with no parachute would you say oh god help?
If you were climbing and you slipped and you were attached to a rope 30000 feet up a mountain with no-one else with you would you say oh god help?

If you answered any of those 2 questions with a yes you're not atheist...No matter how much you think you are.

I myself am about 95% atheist only calling on god for help in the most urgent of matters I.E getting hit by a car whilst remaining conscious.
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rayzoredge
post May 14 2008, 06:54 PM
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QUOTE(chappill @ May 14 2008, 01:19 PM) *
If you were falling 4 miles through the air with no parachute would you say oh god help?
If you were climbing and you slipped and you were attached to a rope 30000 feet up a mountain with no-one else with you would you say oh god help?

If you answered any of those 2 questions with a yes you're not atheist...No matter how much you think you are.

I myself am about 95% atheist only calling on god for help in the most urgent of matters I.E getting hit by a car whilst remaining conscious.


Uh... no. I'm in a matter of disagreement. tongue.gif

You can't judge how much you believe in something by percentage... it doesn't make sense. You either believe in a deity or don't. God's not going to save your falling butt from dropping out of a plane with no parachute whether you you believe him 95% or 25%. You either have faith in the fact that God is there for you or not.

Atheism is a set of beliefs, primarily that of the non-existence of a God. In a way, science and atheism tie together because science provides the answers to the unexplainable, much as God's miracles explain how and why things are the way they are.

Also, there is the existence of mannerisms. I say "godd*mnit" a lot... but that doesn't mean that I believe in God. People say "Oh Lord," but that doesn't mean that they believe in the Lord Almighty. We pick up these mannerisms (in this case, cussing and exclamation) from various sources, whether it be reading it from a book, hearing it said on the tele or radio, from our friends and family, and whatnot. It doesn't necessarily proclaim a belief in something.

It's kind of hard to keep yourself away from the idea of God since it's so present almost everywhere with different religions and their impacts on society. The U.S. announces freedom of religion (to include atheism), yet we print "In God We Trust" on our currency and integrate bouts of Christianity in our culture, so it wouldn't be a surprise that God plays some sort of cultural existence i