Is Atheism a religion?

[OpiatefortheMasses]

Atheism a religion? It seems highly unlikely that the polar position to theism would be considered a religion but it seems the comparison is made quite a bit. When you look at what can be considered intrinsic properties of a religion it really doesn't stick to well. Unlike a religion, atheism has no systematic beliefs, rituals or doctrine so as to how it could be considered a religion in that rite is a mystery. If any of you honestly believe that atheism is a religion I would much appreciate it if you explained why you believe that and how you believe this is true.

[OpiatefortheMasses]

I think we should go ahead and get the common quote on this out of the way. "If atheism is a religion then bald is a hair color and not collecting stamps is a hobby." You can go further and say that if it were true, then Christians have two religions: a belief in God and a disbelief in all the other gods. So I think logically, atheism is not a religion.

However, sometimes people use religion to mean "perspective on the supernatural." In this case, a lack of belief in the supernatural is one perspective. I think this view/definition applies mostly in legal cases where "freedom of religion" may apply.

I usually go with "not collecting stamps" myself. Honestly, I'd say it's just a philosophy and not every philosophy is considered a religion. I just keep hearing atheism being called a religion quite a bit so I thought I'd see if I could shed some light on this subject in particular.

[OpiatefortheMasses]

Atheism is not a religion except by a great stretch of definition. But I have encountered some atheists for whom atheism might as well be a religion. For them, anything about religion (usually Christianity in particular) is inherently wrong and stupid and is to be put down in the most demeaning terms. And this attitude is independent of any evidence or argumentation presented to them. It is in effect an article of faith. Happily this is a lot more prevalent on some other sites than here. But it definitely exists.

It is that type of atheist that is often in mind when atheists are accused of practicing a religion.

I'd have to agree with you there. I have met atheists that could be described as radical or even fundamentalist. I'm sure there are some out there who just don't believe for the sake of not believing or just simply hate the very idea of religion. Like you said, it doesn't seem too prevalent on here so that's good.

[EduChris]

...It's not our burden to support a negative claim but rather the theist's to support their initial positive claim...

Here are two propositions:

1) Chance and necessity alone constitute the best available explanation for our universe and our selves.

2) It is doubtful that chance and necessity alone provide the best available explanation for our universe and our selves.

Which of these statements is positive, and which is negative?

...You don't need evidence to doubt a grandiose claim...

Which of the above options, #1 or #2, seems most grandiose to you? Why?

...logic and a reasonable doubt is more of a motivating factor rather than faith...

On the face of it, option #2, above, seems more motivated by doubt than option #1.

...Faith is simply strong belief even in the presence of contrary evidence...

That is not the view of the majority of educated theists.

...There's no need for faith when there is evidence...

What evidence do you have that our universe and our selves can be best explained by nothing more than chance and necessity?

[EduChris]

...Atheism, in its most basic sense, is simply the lack of belief in gods or theistic beings of any kind...

You are describing atheism as a psychological condition, or subjective state of mind, which is not based on any reason or argumentation. As such, this particular sort of atheism is irrelevant to this site, where reasoning and argumentation are required.

Actually, that's the definition of atheism just as the definition of theism is the polar opposite. You wouldn't describe theism as a "psychological condition" or a "subjective state of mind" otherwise your position would be irrelevant as well.

It is possible to hold either theism or atheism in an uncritical or non-critical or a-critical fashion. But on this forum, these psychological conditions, which fail to deal in reason or argument, are irrelevant. On this forum, one is expected to defend one's viewpoint by means of reason and argument.

[dianaiad]

Atheism is not a religion except by a great stretch of definition. But I have encountered some atheists for whom atheism might as well be a religion. For them, anything about religion (usually Christianity in particular) is inherently wrong and stupid and is to be put down in the most demeaning terms. And this attitude is independent of any evidence or argumentation presented to them. It is in effect an article of faith. Happily this is a lot more prevalent on some other sites than here. But it definitely exists.

It is that type of atheist that is often in mind when atheists are accused of practicing a religion.

I'd have to agree with you there. I have met atheists that could be described as radical or even fundamentalist. I'm sure there are some out there who just don't believe for the sake of not believing or just simply hate the very idea of religion. Like you said, it doesn't seem too prevalent on here so that's good.

Atheism is not a religion...but then, neither is theism. One can be a theist and not be religious*--and one can be an atheist and be as religious about his non-belief as the most rabid of fundamentalists. That Girl nailed that part.

Those who accuse atheists of having a religion are those who come up against the atheist who does everything theists do--only in support of his lack of belief. That may include, but is not limited to: proselyting, protesting, campaigning, having meetings, slogans, attitudes of "I'm better than you are because I'm smarter/more logical/whatever and you are just stupid"

I doubt that anybody has called atheism a 'religion' because of the good qualities religions have, like, oh...charitable works, love, tolerance and so forth.

In fact, I find it both annoying and unnerving--and atheists who are being called 'religious' should think about the irony here; those who accuse you of 'having a religion' only do so because they don't like you. They think that you have adopted all the things about religion that you most dislike.

Which, on one hand, should make you think "I WIN!" if it means that you are making your point about religions not being great things. If it is used as an insult, it means that the person offering it has no better opinion of those aspects of religion than you do.

On the other hand, they wouldn't be offering that particular insult if you weren't acting as if you deserved it. After all, a religious fundamentalist knows fundamentalism when he sees it.

* It's a great deal more difficult for a theist to not be religious than it is for an atheist NOT to be, but hey....

[pax]

Atheism is the unevidenced, faith-based assumption that the sum total of all reality can be fully explained by chance & necessity alone, apart from any volitional element.

That's not atheism. That's metaphysical naturalism.

Now of course metaphysical naturalism is atheistic, as it denies the existence of the supernatural; But not all atheists subscribe to metaphysical naturalism, even thought they may subscribe to scientific naturalism.

Nak -- I am at a loss to understand how an atheist can not be dogmatically a metaphysical naturalist. If you could shed some light on this for me I would be much obliged.

[moniasaurus]

Why is this even something that commonly gets debated?
An atheist is someone who does not believe in any higher power or any god.
This isn't a religion, as we don't have a belief in anything.
I personally only 'believe' something if it's been proven, therefore generally don't have 'faith' in anything that can't be proved.
Atheism is not a religion. We don't all worship science or anything like that, we generally don't worship anything.
So no, not a religion.

[pax]

Why is this even something that commonly gets debated?
An atheist is someone who does not believe in any higher power or any god.
This isn't a religion, as we don't have a belief in anything.
I personally only 'believe' something if it's been proven, therefore generally don't have 'faith' in anything that can't be proved.
Atheism is not a religion. We don't all worship science or anything like that, we generally don't worship anything.
So no, not a religion.

There is another aspect of religion to which the atheist is subject. Religion just doesn't stop at worship. It is also a way of life, a pardigm, a world-view, a discipline, a set of rules that one follows even when one does not fully understand why. And this aspect of religion the atheist wears like a glove.

[moniasaurus]

There is another aspect of religion to which the atheist is subject. Religion just doesn't stop at worship. It is also a way of life, a pardigm, a world-view, a discipline, a set of rules that one follows even when one does not fully understand why. And this aspect of religion the atheist wears like a glove.

I don't follow a 'set of rules'. That's part of the reason atheism is not a religion. Religious people follow the rules, or moral codes that their religion tells the to follow.
I'm always changing how I act and what I think based on what happens around me, ' I don't follow a specific set of rules.
It's also not really a way of life. Religion plays no role in my life whatsoever. If there was a different dominant religion, it still wouldn't. I don't live my life by any guidelines that all atheists follow, because we aren't a collective group of people. We don't all believe in the same things, so we don't all have a set way of life.
An absence in a belief is not a belief.

[d.song.149]

I certainly believe that atheism is a religious view, but not actually a religion.
I'm not sure if people actually use this, but from "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown, it says that the 3 factors of religion is ABC: Assurance, Belief, and Conversion.(I don't have the book with me, so I can't really quote this)

Atheism lacks Assurance of afterlife. Some atheists believe in afterlife, some don't. Atheism also lacks Belief(I think by belief, it meant belief in a higher being). Atheism does tend to convert people, if you would call that conversion. It checks for only 1 out of 3, so I wouldn't say that atheism is a religion.

This paragraph is just to help your understanding on the argument. I think this argument originated when some atheists said that all religions are evil. So they would argue back, "but atheism is a religion, so if I'm evil, you are evil too."