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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).

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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'.