Atheism is now a religion?

[regnauld]

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kindly elaborate.

It is just like this when birds do soar in the sky, they don't even know they are in the highest of heaven lest they fall and laugh! The good this is that the birds don't really die!

[chad_tukes]

It is just like this when birds do soar in the sky, they don't even know they are in the highest of heaven lest they fall and laugh! The good this is that the birds don't really die!

got it. it's good to know that nothing restrict you from doing what you're doing. no preachers nor sermons.

[regnauld]

got it. it's good to know that nothing restrict you from doing what you're doing. no preachers nor sermons.

You got it right my friend! You are brilliant indeed. You are one of those birds! Now keep on flying and laughing!

[handsoff241]

I saw.. a bit a head of this page, couple of guys patting each others back. Sweet friends.

[Lovely Charm]

The religion of Atheism is just a form of entertainment for the atheists!

w/c applies to the other camp as well,

The religion of Theism is just a form of entertainment for the Theist!

[tripwire]

w/c applies to the other camp as well,

The religion of Theism is just a form of entertainment for the Theist!

But I think it's one sided kind of entertainment.

[chad_tukes]

You got it right my friend! You are brilliant indeed. You are one of those birds! Now keep on flying and laughing!

i only fly when i smoke. lol jk.

[frozenxhunter]

Atheism is disbelief in God. Unya na religion na hinoon? Naunsa. . .

religion gihapon na bai... ni believe gud ka nga wala'y God.

and... atheism is an improper science

in short pinamay ramo.

mga great scientist like Einstein, Pascal, Galileo mo tuo man ganig ginoo

kamo pa kaha nga unsa ramo. mag samok2x pamo sa kalibutan wala man mo'y natabang

[Sinyalan]

religion gihapon na bai... ni believe gud ka nga wala'y God.

and... atheism is an improper science

in short pinamay ramo.

mga great scientist like Einstein, Pascal, Galileo mo tuo man ganig ginoo

kamo pa kaha nga unsa ramo. mag samok2x pamo sa kalibutan wala man mo'y natabang

It seems odd for a follower of a faith to try to attack atheism by saying it is also a faith. I think the reasoning is that if atheism is a faith or religion, then atheists have no cause to criticise other faiths or religions. One flaw of your argument is that if atheism were indeed a religion, then theists would have no reason to criticise atheism being taught in schools as part of religious education, or even the setting up of atheist-run schools alongside Baptist, Catholic and Muslim schools.

Atheism, by definition, is the absence of theism. If you cannot say "I believe in a deity/god/supreme being" then you are an atheist. If you are not a theist, then you are an atheist. there is a subtle but important difference between "believing there is no god", and "not believing there is a god". The first is a belief, the second is a lack of that belief. I don't know any atheists who "believe" god (take your pick, there are plenty) does not exist. All the atheists I know simply do not believe god does exist.

There is a big difference between positively believing that a thing does not exist, and simply lacking belief in it's existence. In many cases, atheists will say "That god does not exist", not because we choose to do so, but because, from the description of the god, it cannot exist due to contradictory attributes. In the same way that a square circle cannot (and therefore does not) exist, a god defined as (for example) all-knowing, yet cannot see into the future, cannot and does not exist because the definition is self-contradictory. If you describe your god with self-contradicting attributes which make it logically impossible, then I may safely say that such a thing does not exist as described. This is not faith - this is reason.

If someone asked you about unicorns, would you say "I believe there are no unicorns", or would it be more honest to say "I do not believe in unicorns"? These are two different answers. Nobody disbelieves in unicorns purely as a matter of personal faith. Again, apply the same reasoning to the gods of other religions. Example, if you are a Christian, do you believe the Hindu God Ganesh does not exist? Or do you not believe in Ganesh?

If you believe that unicorns do not exist, then may I say that you a member of the "No unicorns" religion? Is it a matter of faith that unicorns do not exist? Can I come along to your non-unicorn church with you tomorrow? If you are a Christian, do you believe Ganesh does not exist? Why, then you must be a devout follower of the "No Ganesh" faith! Do you see where this is going? [ Sarcasm here ]

If me not believing in your god is a faith, then you not believing in other gods is an equal faith. How many Christians do you know who would say they do not believe in other gods as a matter of faith? If my atheism with respect to your deity is a religion, then your atheism with respect to other deities is also a religion.

[Fresno]

For some strange reason, many people keep getting the idea that atheism is itself some sort of religion. It's an assertion which I keep hearing in newsgroups, in private email, and in this site's chat room. Maybe it is because these people are so caught up in their own religious beliefs that they cannot imagine any person living without religion of some sort. Maybe it is due to some persistent misunderstanding of what atheism is. And maybe they just don't care that what they are saying really doesn't make any sense.