Atheism is not a religion

[Donray]

A federal court in Canada has ruled that the self-titled "Church of Atheism" isn't a religion and can't be treated like one for tax purposes.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/canada-ch ... ble-status

So can all the Christians stop with atheism is a religion?????

[Divine Insight]

I agree that atheism is not a religion.

I disagree that religions should be given any special status or tax exemptions.

I agree that non-profit organizations, especially those designed for community service should qualify for tax exemptions. And so churches, as we all atheistic organizations that are non-profit and serve a community need should all qualify for tax exemption.

On a final note, I don't believe that evangelists who make megabucks while preaching religion should qualify for tax exemption. They are clearly making a huge profit with their mansions, boats and planes, etc. So they should be treated as "profit" organizations and taxed to the hilt. They should also be investigated for "Product Fraud" if they preach things that cannot be shown to have any more constructive value than snake oil.

If you sold bottles of water as "medicine" and claimed it would heal all manner of diseases, you'd probably be charged with fraud. Same should hold for religious claims that have no value beyond empty claims.

In short, many evangelists should be in jail on charges of fraud.

[Wootah]

[Replying to post 1 by Donray]

Actually you proved that the atheists think it should be a religion and a judge said it wasn't on taxation grounds.

[Divine Insight]

Actually you proved that the atheists think it should be a religion.

Actually not.

Atheists are simply people who don't see any reason to believe that any gods exist. They are as diverse individually as anyone else.

Therefore the group of people who wanted to start a "Church of Atheism" are just individuals. Not all atheists would agree with their way of thinking.

In fact I personally think the idea of a "Church of Atheism" is one of the stupidest ideas I ever hear of in my life.

This would be like starting a club named "Non-Stamp Collectors".

Would everyone who doesn't collect stamps want to join or support that club? And even support anything that club does or says?

I think not.

I can see the idea of forming atheistic organizations, especially in a world filled with religious organizations. But why call them churches or imply that they are religious in any way?

So no, this doesn't prove that atheists think atheism should be a religion. It only proves that "some people" who are atheists aren't very bright.

I think it also demonstrates that tribal warfare between theists and non-theists has become a serious social issue.

I hold that the only reason a lot of atheists want to create social organizations to oppose religions is actually due to the fact that those religions spew hatred and denigration toward atheists.

Atheists most likely wouldn't be opposed to theists at all if theism wasn't such an arrogant and hateful phenomena in the first place.

It's the theists who are trying to dictate laws and force their superstitious beliefs onto the atheists. Not the other way around. So the atheists are basically playing defense in the tribal wars of theism versus atheism.

[Wootah]

[Replying to post 4 by Divine Insight]

Someone went to court for the church of atheism to get a tax exemption as a religion.

So they thought it was a religion. This isn't a hard one DI Just laugh and admit the OP proved the opposite of what they intended.

[Divine Insight]

[Replying to post 4 by Divine Insight]

Someone went to court for the church of atheism to get a tax exemption as a religion.

So they thought it was a religion. This isn't a hard one DI Just laugh and admit the OP proved the opposite of what they intended.

I don't see where the OP was intending to prove anything. All he asked as a debate question was:

So can all the Christians stop with atheism is a religion?????

So do you agree that atheism is NOT a religion?

I'll certainly agree that it's not a religion, and I'm guessing Donray will agree with this too.

As far as we're concerned, we agree with the court's decision.

And we probably both also agree that religions shouldn't get tax exemptions either.

[Tcg]

[Replying to post 1 by Donray]

Actually you proved that the atheists think it should be a religion and a judge said it wasn't on taxation grounds.

Not even close. The ruling was that "The Church of Atheism of Central Canada" did not qualify as a religion. This organization was represented by one man, Christopher Bernier, and it appears that he may be the only individual involved.

ref. https://nationalpost.com/news/church-of ... rt-decides

What we have is one man trying to get tax exempt status for one organization. This is a far cry from your claim "that the atheists think it should be a religion".

Based on your reply, however, I doubt Christians well stop calling atheism a religion. There is of course no basis for it, but some think it proves something. I'm not sure what that is, but it seems to be very important to them.


Tcg

[Divine Insight]

Based on your reply, however, I doubt Christians well stop calling atheism a religion. There is of course no basis for it, but some think it proves something. I'm not sure what that is, but it seems to be very important to them.

The idea behind claiming that atheism is a religion is so that theists can level the playing field by proclaiming that atheism is a "faith-based belief", just like their theological beliefs.

This is quite misguided by the theists. Although in their defense many of them have been taught to view atheism as a "belief that no gods exist". Even though this is actually incorrect. All that is required to be an atheist is to simply see no evidence for the gods that are claimed to exist.

In other words, an atheist doesn't need to claim that there is no god. All they need to say is that they see no evidence to suggest that there are any gods.

But it's important to theists to twist this into a "belief that there are no gods" just so they can claim that atheism is a "faith-based belief" just like there theological beliefs.

Ironically, if the man who wanted to open a church had called it the "Church of Anti-theism" then courts would need to grant him is "faith-based religion". Because to believe on pure faith that there are no gods would qualify as a faith-based religion.

Believing there are no gods, versus seeing no credible evidence that any gods exist, are two entirely different propositions in terms of formal logic and reasoning. But most people aren't educated enough in logic and reasoning to understand why this is necessarily the case.

[Donray]

Why should churches get a tax exemptions? They should prove that at least 50% of the money colletid goes to chartable people or organizations. They should have an accurate accounting of money received and money spent.

All this guy was doing is what a lot of these religious do. Try to get out of paying taxes.

[Tcg]

But it's important to theists to twist this into a "belief that there are no gods" just so they can claim that atheism is a "faith-based belief" just like there theological beliefs.

Indeed. This also explains why many theists refuse to accept the definition atheists use. If they did so, they'd have to admit their argument fails.

Ironically, if the man who wanted to open a church had called it the "Church of Anti-theism" then courts would need to grant him is "faith-based religion". Because to believe on pure faith that there are no gods would qualify as a faith-based religion.

Legally, there is a bit more involved:

• "A review of the jurisprudence shows that fundamental characteristics of religion include that the followers have a faith in a higher power such as God, entity, or Supreme Being; that followers worship this higher power; and that the religion consists of a particular and comprehensive system of faith and worship.â€�
  
  https://nationalpost.com/news/church-of ... rt-decides

Atheists clearly don't have faith in a higher power such as God, they don't worship God, and don't have a comprehensive system of faith and worship.

I suspect that many theists will reject this definition, just as they reject a straightforward definition of atheism, not because it is invalid, but because it disallows them to claim atheism qualifies as a religion.


Tcg