Atheism is NOOOOOOOT a religion!!

[FF Turk_Panto]

azrael the reaper

Pantomime13

Calypsophia

Pantomime13

Dolix Pullo

A religion is an organised form of worship. Atheism is unorganised, and worships nothing. i stick my toungue out at you. Bleah. (no offense, i have a friend who's athiest.)

Also, I would like to point out that how can Philip Paulman want to kill God, if he doesn't believe in God. And, if God exists(He does!!), how can you kill a god?
kitty! >^.^<

You are right how Atheism is not a religion, but it is a belief. One can stand firm and say "I don't think there is a God", but yet have the concept of an afterlife in mind. I too have many friends who are atheists.

The whole concept of Philip Paulman wanting to kill God is truly an idiotic move on his part. Tis stupid for that man to say that.

On a further note for me God is a bit of a question mark. I think possibly a higher existence is in this world but at a standpoint i do think God is sometimes hard to believe (however i do respect others beliefs greatly). I think there is a heaven and a hell, but a limbo as well on top of that my beliefs are more philosophical.

with the exception of buddhists (and even some of them!), all of the atheists I've known (which is extensive) believe the only thing that happens to us after we die is we become worm food.

haha the funny thing is I'm part Buddhist lol

??? part buddhist ???

apologies lol, im half buddhist due to my father's belief in it, but part protestant due to my mother's belief (however she really isn't all that serious in religion which is why I am more philisohpical in views and tend to look to buddhis,m for guidance in life).  

[Calypsophia]

I dont really view buddhism as a 'religion' per say really, but more of a living philosophy. I mean, it *can* be a religion, depending on the culture it's practiced in, but for the most part here in the USA it's really more of a philosophical practice, particularly in regards to zen buddhism. at least, that's how I understand and have come to view it.  

[Arenlor]

Sorry, atheism is a religion. In America the definition of organized worship in order to be a religion is covered by:
1. Having 2000 or more members, check
2. Having a distinct set of doctrine that differs from other religions, check (the doctrine that there is no deity)
3. Having a set place of gatherings, check (I can't remember where it meets but there is a huge gathering yearly, that counts)

So having met all three requirements they are recognized as a religion in the United States of America, therefore they cannot claim to be against all religions without declaring a holy war against America itself. America has the Trinity Act, which declared America to be a Christian nation. Hence anyone, such as Islamic extremists, or atheists, who claims to want to destroy Christianity through violence is declaring war on this sovereign nation.  

[azrael the reaper_95210]

Arenlor

Sorry, atheism is a religion. In America the definition of organized worship in order to be a religion is covered by:
1. Having 2000 or more members, check
2. Having a distinct set of doctrine that differs from other religions, check (the doctrine that there is no deity)
3. Having a set place of gatherings, check (I can't remember where it meets but there is a huge gathering yearly, that counts)

So having met all three requirements they are recognized as a religion in the United States of America, therefore they cannot claim to be against all religions without declaring a holy war against America itself. America has the Trinity Act, which declared America to be a Christian nation. Hence anyone, such as Islamic extremists, or atheists, who claims to want to destroy Christianity through violence is declaring war on this sovereign nation.

while I generally agree with this, I still must ask: Where do you get this checklist? You make it up or is there some sort of "official" qualifications somewhere?  

[Master Strategist Kess]

Religion

Atheist

It depends how you look at it. Religion is a belief towards a higher order, while atheism is the denial of said higher order. If you believe that denial of a belief is a belief, then yes, it is a religion. If you don't, then it's not. Truly, though, in the end does it matter? If so, why does it matter whether or not atheism is a religion?

Also, science does take faith. I'm not intrinsically connecting science to atheists--there are plenty of Christians, Buddhists, and agnostics who believe science is right too *gasp* I trust in internal combustion, pasteurization, sanitation, and even indoor plumbing, on a regular basis. Alas, these were all brought to us through science.

As far as faith in science: we believe gravity works, but really we don't have proof as to how it works. Maybe there's something in the center of all planets that has a set duration and eventually burns out? We have seen that size matters as far as gravitational pull, but this could just mean a larger machine. We have no true proof for how gravity works except for some experiments. And to really blow your mind, what if I tell you I've seen a pencil fall up? You could call me a liar, and be done with it, or you can think of all those little anomalies you've witnessed, which just don't add up.

This is in contrast to the fact that if you drown, we know exactly why you drown. Your lungs fill with water, deprived of oxygen because humans can't rip the oxygen from the hydrogen in water, and you die due to a lack of good ol' O2 in your blood cells. Gravity simply means big things pull on smaller things for some reason.

Also, we have faith every single day, whether religious or not. We have faith that we won't die when we get on an airplane. We have faith we won't get crushed while driving. We have faith when we walk across the road that some guy isn't going to run us over. That or we're suicidal. In short, you have a little bit of faith at varying degrees in just about any action you take. Scientists have faith that a science experiment will produce new and exciting results. Otherwise they wouldn't do the experiment.

PS: As to it being a religion according to America: what if the reader isn't American and their country does not define atheism as a religion? The definition of one country (as much as I enjoy being an American) is not the definition for the world. A dictionary, though still flawed in many ways, is a far better source, and really from what I could find of that, it's still quite a bit of interpretation and personal opinion. As far as I'm concerned, why does it matter?  

[Arenlor]

azrael the reaper

Arenlor

Sorry, atheism is a religion. In America the definition of organized worship in order to be a religion is covered by:
1. Having 2000 or more members, check
2. Having a distinct set of doctrine that differs from other religions, check (the doctrine that there is no deity)
3. Having a set place of gatherings, check (I can't remember where it meets but there is a huge gathering yearly, that counts)

So having met all three requirements they are recognized as a religion in the United States of America, therefore they cannot claim to be against all religions without declaring a holy war against America itself. America has the Trinity Act, which declared America to be a Christian nation. Hence anyone, such as Islamic extremists, or atheists, who claims to want to destroy Christianity through violence is declaring war on this sovereign nation.

while I generally agree with this, I still must ask: Where do you get this checklist? You make it up or is there some sort of "official" qualifications somewhere?

It's the official stuff, I watch a lot of Christian propaganda and find out cool things like that. Yeah even I think most of what they say on those shows is BS and I'm in training to be a pastor lol, so everyone do watch out for what people say.  

[Master Strategist Kess]

Arenlor, what does that mean? Did you put up the stats on why it's a religion as satire and we missed the punchline?  

[Decrepit Bunny Rabbit]

well i have to agree that atheism is not a religion, that is simply put the reason people usually become atheist... the freedom of no religion  

[Naitomosu]

kyoshiro2

Your very single minded aren't you...
And there is no proof 'God' exists... And 'God' is more a belief than a religion in my opinion...

How can you say that with all the beautiful, natural things that are still in this world?  

[ArcadiaB]

Good question. How can you kill god (even though I'm not sure I believe in him myself)? Oh well, athiesim my not be a religion, but I don't think it 's a bad thing. People can be whoever they want and if they want to say that athiesim is their religion than so be it.  

[Calypsophia]

Arenlor

Sorry, atheism is a religion. In America the definition of organized worship in order to be a religion is covered by:
1. Having 2000 or more members, check
2. Having a distinct set of doctrine that differs from other religions, check (the doctrine that there is no deity)
3. Having a set place of gatherings, check (I can't remember where it meets but there is a huge gathering yearly, that counts)

So having met all three requirements they are recognized as a religion in the United States of America, therefore they cannot claim to be against all religions without declaring a holy war against America itself. America has the Trinity Act, which declared America to be a Christian nation. Hence anyone, such as Islamic extremists, or atheists, who claims to want to destroy Christianity through violence is declaring war on this sovereign nation.

heh, no it's not. there are no "members" of atheism. you dont take an oath or become baptized to become an atheist. and there is no "doctrine" per say. the only thing that makes one atheist similar to another is the lack of belief in deity. that's it.

there are groups and clubs for members of Mensa, in which you have to have a certain IQ or higher in order to be part of, but that doesnt make Mensa a 'religion'. or are you saying all groups with meetings and clubs are religious in nature or are religions in themselves?

religion requires congregation, worship, and spiritual belief. religion centers around faith in and acknowledgement of a higher power of some kind. the only exception to THAT that I have ever encountered is perhaps Buddhism, as I've stated before. but not all atheists are buddhists. on the whole, atheists lack all of the above.

definition of religion:

# noun: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
# noun: institution to express belief in a divine power

in this context, "science" does not apply.  

[Calypsophia]

Ebony-TY

kyoshiro2

Your very single minded aren't you...
And there is no proof 'God' exists... And 'God' is more a belief than a religion in my opinion...

How can you say that with all the beautiful, natural things that are still in this world?

the world being beautiful is not proof of a god. for some, nature itself IS god, and not necessarily conscious.  

[Strippi]

Dolix Pullo

Also, I would like to point out that how can Philip Paulman want to kill God, if he doesn't believe in God. And, if God exists(He does!!), how can you kill a god?
kitty! >^.^<

well you can't kill something that never had been there...
I'm also the opinion that god is just something to belief in.
but ouh well this isn't some 'does god exist'-topic sweatdrop

Agree with djvino.
Atheismn is no religion, there is no believe in something like god.
and i prefer not beeing religious 3nodding
who cares if its a religion or not anyway?
it exists and thats it.  

[Dolix Pullo]

er i was just pointing out that atheism isn't a religion. i'm OCD. and im also a stickler. i just didnt want people (non-atheists) to sa it's a religion. 'cos it bugs me. and i have tourrette's syndrome and i would send a bunch of hate mail. and then i would get eported and i would be sad.



an has anyone noticed i've onl posted 2ce on this topic even tho i wrote it? it seems i've created quite a discussion wihout my sensless ranting.  

[-Less than Graceful-]

No it is not it's a philosophy. You seem very one-track minded, we cannot prove that God exist so you shouldn't state he does like it's a fact you should say 'I believe he does'.