Do you consider atheism a religion? [Spirituality & Religion]
I was looking at this graph, and I was surprised to see atheism listed on the side. This graph represents the "educational attainment of U.S. religious groups." This post isn't about that specifically, although you're more than welcome to address it if you so wish. It is, however, an example of how atheism is often considered a religion. What are your thoughts?
Atheism is simply the disbelief or lack of belief in a god or gods. That's it. There is no system of worship or belief. You can be an atheist and reject science, you can be an atheist and think aliens seeded life on this planet.
The only thing that necessarily connects one atheist to another is that they do not hold a positive belief that at least one god exists.
@Emosaur The fact is you are a fact free individual. I have given you tons of sources. Go talk to practitioners of both faiths and get them to describe their God. Then get back to me. As it is you are just spouting ill informed secular talking points that have no factual basis behind them. Nice of you to show yourself uneducated again.
Speaking as an atheist, it is not a religion. Calling oneself an atheist only tells what a person does not believe in (the supernatural), not what they do believe in. It's like calling oneself a non-astrologer.
I am an Atheist. No way do I relate this as "My Religion" Atheists do not believe in Religion so no, it is not a Religious Order. Including it in the graph above was unnecessary in my opinion.
It covers religious beliefs, not religions; and appears to try to examine what if any effects there are on educational success, from religious beliefs.
Atheism and agnosticism are beliefs about religion but (obviously) not religions, by the usual definition that a religion is a belief in a supernatural deity.
They, and the abstainers listed as "nothing in particular" had to be included to make the survey socially as well as arithmetically fair.
However if we judge the survey purely by that graph, if that is all its asks, it seems based on a serious flaw. It appears to link educational success only to religious belief; whereas of course it is also linked to social attitudes, possibly more so; and of course and most importantly also to individual ability, outlook and ambitions.
It also cannot consider those who might state a religious belief but be anything from raving fundamentalist proselytiser, to merely nominal "~ist" attending only weddings and funerals; or those who convert to, change or abandon their beliefs.
It would be interesting to know what that survey set out to do, if it was anything more than a purely academic estimation that risks muddling correlation with cause.
Personally, I don't believe that Buddhism is a religion, but it is now considered to be a "non-theist religion." Atheism, by definition, is not a religion but simply a lack of belief in God or Gods.
Interesting data in that graph, though. Would be interesting to see if the data is the same now.
Go Hiduism! lol But they have to represent the non affiliated people too. It's not a religion but still needs to be on survey so as not to bias the results by excluding a particular group.
@wildbill83 The forming of 'neat little spheres' is the accretion of matter which is a result of gravity acting upon matter ejected from stars, and planets are actually oblate spheroids rather than neat little spheres, they bulge around the equator, precisely because of the gravitation that formed them.
As for the big bang, we can still see the echo of it in background radiation.
Regarding what triggered the big bang, well, we don't know, nor do scientists claim to know, but of all the reasons for it probably the LEAST likely is a magical invisible man living in the sky...
@wildbill83 Because you're unfamiliar with the facts doesn't mean they don't exist. Also, and this is just my opinion, believing by faith alone is an admission that there are no facts, and it's completely irrational.
Yes but believers don’t believe by faith alone. You are falling into the Richard Dawkins total error that faith is uninformed faith. Many atheists fall into that dumb way of thinking@ThumbsUp
as to 1: atheists are convinced there is no God, but they cant prove it therfore its a belief
as 2: I have no opinion whether there is a god or deity or ten deities or numerous .. therefore I'm impartial to the topic and I'm happy to leave everyone to believe what they feel most comfortable with... my position is that God or any god (male, female or otherwise) for that matter exists for those who believe in them... thus a secular agnostic
@Tracos The burden of proof isn't on the person who doesn't believe. Why the hell would it be? Not believing in something is not a belief. How hard can this possibly be?
@ThumbsUp I dont agree... in a scientific approach you need to prove any statement. I reckon the same applies in a philosophical debate. if something has not been proven is a theory or a theorem. valid for practical purposes, but nevertheless based on the faith that the statement holds true.
@Pikachu has already said it atheists are only linked by the fact they don't believe their is a God or Gods or any conscious controlling power of the universe. They have no system of worship or any doctrine that is shared.
no, it is not logical to consider atheism a religion, an organised system of beliefs based on the existence of a higher power outside human existence and essentially unknowable.
like religious belief, atheism comes in many forms.
It's not a religion more or less by definition. But people like to stretch the meanings of "religion" and "atheism", so I guess it depends on who you ask.
