Religon: Be. Leave.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Except that Atheism is considered a religion...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

It may be considered so by ignorant douchebags but it is not.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Uhm no, it is considered as a religion by people all over the world. Including the religion department at most (if not all) universities.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

That's friggin' hilarious. Gee I must've been living under a rock. Atheism is a religion in exactly the same way that not riding horses is a hobby. I'd just like to ask a simple question to those who consider it a religion - if atheism is a religion, then just what isn't a religion?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Atheism is the belief that there is no god. That is a religion. No religion is simply having no belief. Agnosticism is not a religion because you just don't really believe anything, you don't know. Atheism is a religion based on a set of beliefs, the same as any religion. Just because this religion revolves around the belief that there is no god, does not mean that it is not a religion. Hinduism doesn't believe in a soul, but it's still a religion. You need to learn just what makes a religion before deciding that something isn't one.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I was born in a Hindu family. According to Hinduism, soul is the essence of all things. It is eternal. In a nutshell, it is the most important entity. You probably meant Buddhism. Check your facts. Atheism is NOT a belief, but the lack of it. By definition it is the "lack of belief in the existence of any gods" or simply "disbelief in gods". You certainly can twist it to state that atheists believe that there is no god, but believing in nothing is technically a default position not attributed to belief. "No belief" is a shorted version of "No belief in an omnipotent omniscient supernatural entity". Therefore your assumption is incorrect and your argument unsupportable by logical reasoning. If I told someone that lacking hair is still having hair, or lacking a hobby is itself a hobby, they'd probably ask whether I'm all right. By definition, something absent is not present — and that counts as much for beliefs as it does for hair & hobbies. It's really n...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Atman = Brahman, that's Hindu last time I checked. You live your life to exit Samsara and enter Nirvana and become part of Brahman, but technically have no soul as your little bit of Brahman inside you is just that, a piece of something else. Buddhism is similar. It is not lacking belief. It is the belief that god does not exist. There is a difference. Atheism has a system of beliefs about what happens when you die. Just because it does not go by what "normal" religions believe, does not mean it is not a religion. Your examples are ridiculous because they are simply not the same thing as what I'm talking about.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm sorry but your knowledge of Hinduism is laughable to say the least. Atheism is the lack of belief in gods. All that means is gods don't feature among the things I believe exist. When you insist that it should instead be defined as the belief that no gods exist, you're deliberately trying to make atheism seem like a position of faith. Pretending that those who lack your belief also have a faith-based position demands much less intellectual discipline than facing up to the burden of proof YOU give yourself when you insist others believe as you do. For some strange reason this idea that "a lack of X is still an X" only applies to atheism and belief in gods. You can't believe in atheism because you LACK belief. You're playing with words that you don't understand. There is no system of beliefs because there is no belief regarding it. Basically you're saying lack of belief = belief. Which is like saying a negative is equal to a positive. I rest my case.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Actually, Atheists have a large system of belief regarding life and death. Just because they don't believe in a god does not mean that there are no beliefs. I'm not "playing with words I don't understand," I'm referencing the things I've learned from studying. Religion is a system of beliefs regarding life and death, OFTEN (but not always) revolving around a supreme deity or deities. Atheism is a religion in this sense. It is also largely accepted as a religion in the academic world. Just because someone's beliefs don't support yours, doesn't make it less of a belief. I never said that lack of x = x. God is not synonymous with religion. I'm going to believe my research, professor, and the Hindu priest I spoke to when I went to Temple above you.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

"Religion: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny." Maybe we're using different dictionaries. I''d also advice you to look up the definition of the word "lack". It'd really help you understand the point I'm trying to make. Atheism is solely based upon its definition: "lack of belief in the existence of a god or gods". One does not a system make. One position in common does not constitute a belief system. A collection of beliefs (not people) constitutes a belief system. I'd really like to hear about this system of beliefs atheists have that you keep on mentioning. Religions have shared beliefs, dogmas & tenants. Name one tenant of atheism outside of the the lack of belief in a god or gods. Also do point me to some sources that prove the fact that atheism is accepted as a religion. So far I haven't found anything on Google that supports your claim.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't really know what Atheists believe as I'm not one, but my understanding is that they have a belief system about life and death. The idea is to live as best as you can because this life is all we have. It would appear that yes, we are using different definitions. I'm simply going on what I've read in my text and learned in class, though we spent little time on Atheism. Anyway, this argument is pretty useless since neither of us appears to be swayed by the other. Agree to disagree?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You're supposed to cherish life either way. When you die, your heart ceases to beat, your brain stops functioning, and eventually your body will decay. This happens to all people, regardless of belief. Sorry if I offended you in anyway. Peace out.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Haha I'm not offended, it's cool. But yeah, not everyone does believe in cherishing life (but I guess those people don't have religion?). Anyway, nice uh, debating with you :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Sorry to be blunt, but you're wrong. Atheism is not a religion. Theism isn't a religion either. The words atheism/theism just refer to your belief in a deity, which in themselves don't say anything about your religious beliefs.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

As an Atheist, I can say, it's not a religion. We don't have a set of beliefs regarding the afterlife. Atheist only means that someone does not believe in a god or gods. The exact details are different for everyone.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

That's kind of my point though. Not every Atheist is the same. Some are devoted to their system of beliefs religiously and therefore to me, it is a religion. When you're setting your life and morals around your beliefs of life and death, that to me makes a religion. Some Atheists just live and don't really think about it at all beyond saying, "Oh, I don't believe in god or any supreme diety" when someone asks. Others live thinking about it daily and living their life around their beliefs.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

A religion is a set of beliefs about a god or higher being. Atheism does not follow that. And before you say "atheism is a set of beliefs so therfor it's a religion", I ask; does that make a childs belief in Santa Claus and who is, a religion?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I guess it would depend. I have a pretty loose definition of what a religion is. Believing in Santa Calus isn't a daily way to live, but if you lived every day because of your belief in Santa and set your morals and whatnot around it, then perhaps it could be a religion. I think religion or maybe just faith is involved in your whole life. Atheism is this (for some).

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Again, as an Atheist, I have to disagree. How a person chooses to live their life I would probably call a philosophy. And Atheism is too vague to be religion anyway. The only qualifier is no belief in a god.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I guess it depends. Like I said before, I'm going off not just myself but other people who are atheist. I think the difference between atheism in a religious sense vs atheism in the most simple form is how one lives their life. Some atheists implore rules and live their lives according to some specific rules. Others do not.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Also there are many vague religions and spiritualities. Vagueness doesn't make something not a religion.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Atheism isn't a religion simply because there is no common set of beliefs that groups Atheists together. Religion has nothing to do with the belief (or lack thereof) of a deity, but the life rules and traditions a group of people follow centered around a possible god.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Not another one of these posts...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Existentialism: Be. Then don't.

by Anonymous 12 years ago