Athiesm is a religion is it not? Athiests have to believe and have faith that there is no God just the same as Christians have to have faith and believe that there is a God. Or am I missing something?
2006-07-14 18:51:21 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
In response to Ambasador and AJ:
A little clarification of logic... you either believe that God exists or you believe that God doesn't exist. Both are "Beliefs"... One can not NOT believe.
If you don't believe God exists then you are believing that God doesn't exist... To NOT believe something is to believe the opposite of what others believe... make sense?
2006-07-14 19:06:04 · update #1
Some people keep saying that they simply don't believe...
I don't know how else to say this... it's simple logic... if you don't believe in something you are in fact believing the opposite. For example... Saying I don't believe God exists means that I DO believe God doesn't exist. You are then believing somthing...
2006-07-15 10:56:47 · update #2
Religion: A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion
2006-07-16 04:52:09 · update #3
It takes a lot more faith to be a atheist then a christian so it is a religion. but of coarse they will never admit to it since they're doctrine says that they are against all religion.Kind of a oxymoronic religion if there ever was one.
2006-07-14 19:03:49 · answer #1 · answered by Mr Toooo Sexy 6 · 1⤊ 7⤋
I don't think that having a belief in a concept makes it a 'religion'. I also believe that I do breathe air..and that's not a religion. I believe that my car will more than likely start when I turn the key today..and that's not a religion.
I believe that the actual construct of a religion is a bit different then a shared belief. Those who believe in God are a bit more involved. They usually have set texts, set meeting times, universal concepts that are held as 'true', and rituals. Whereas someone who would call themself an atheist doesn't have a set text - perhaps just some opinion someone published or posted on the internet. There is no standard information outside of "ehh, I don't think there is a god". There are no meeting times for atheists to come and share their beliefs with other atheists. There aren't really any universal concepts of 'true' atheism. So, really, athism isn't a religion so much as it is a category that people are placed under...like 'lawyer' or 'diabetic'. It's no more then a belief that several people share, and like I've been trying to make a point of ---- a shared belief does not always mean religion.
2006-07-16 10:15:41 · answer #2 · answered by jupiterclash 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A good question because it matters then how one defines "religion".
The original Latin word "religio" is not about belief but about duty and connection. It's come to be used a lot differently in later times. The word "atheist" also used to mean something quite different in the original Greek, more like "one abandoned by the Gods".
I tend to feel that the core of religion is about how one treats other people... the famed "Golden Rule", however stated, being a beautiful and concise expression. Religion means many different things to different people, including belief in one God, or belief in many Gods, or belief in a certain way of living or quest for social justice.
Most atheists seem to reject the definitions people have attributed to God, and find no real evidence of a being matching this or that description. They will say that postulating a First Cause just merely explaining a mystery with and even more perplexing mystery. Absence of belief is not really a belief in Absence, if you see my point.
Indeed, there are some athiests who are rather dogmatic in vigorously asserting the non-existence of God or Gods, but it seems very problematic to advance even one step beyond stating that "it's not necessary to involve a God in explaining the world as we find it."
To be fair, the labels of "atheist" and "believer" conceal the reality that there are great differences between individuals in attitude and approach, just as there are innumerable different concepts of Divinity which people may embrace or reject. The assumption is made that people's definitions all match, but in fact they don't!
2006-07-15 02:21:54 · answer #3 · answered by Julia C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think it's more of a philosophy. The thing we atheist have in common is that we think God doesn't exist but we don't have a set of rules or beliefs that we follow. For example some atheist think there is no life out there while others think life exist besides here or that nothing happened before the big bang while others think that the universe always existed in some form or another, etc. And religion is the belief in a supernatural power and worship and have a set of beliefs, values and practices so on that note i would say No, Atheism is not a religion.
2006-07-15 02:04:37 · answer #4 · answered by Still Halloween 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okay, Miss Goddess (as your name means)
Atheism is not the opposite of Christianity, it is the opposite of any belief in gods or goddesses. All people are actually Atheist. A Christian believes in YHWH, but does not believe in Allah, or Zeus, or Lord Shiva. Same thing for the believers in those other gods. The only difference between you and a complete atheist, is that the complete atheist believes in one less god then you. When you explain why you are an atheist about those other gods and do not believe in them, then you will understand why the complete atheist and the believers in those other gods don't believe in yours
The reality is not all atheist are religious, but all religious are atheist. And we are all born complete atheist until we are programmed by society into believing some cultural myth.
If you don't believe that the god of the christianity is a real god, then what is the opposite of that? If you don't believe that the god of islam is a true god, then what is the opposite of that?
2006-07-16 13:22:57 · answer #5 · answered by 自由思想家 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheism isn't a religion. It's not even a belief, it's a disbelief.
Atheist: One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
"Athiests have to believe and have faith that there is no God just the same as Christians have to have faith and believe that there is a God."
No they don't. Do you believe that Peter Pan doesn't exist? Do you have faith that Peter Pan does exist? No, you know that Peter Pan doesn't exist. Do you have faith that the tooth fairy doesn't exist? No, you know that the tooth fairy doesn't exist. Do you have faith that purple unicorns that juggle chainsaws don't exist? No, you know that purple unicorns that juggle chainsaws don't exist. This is the same with atheists, atheists feel the same way about god as you do about unicorns and Santa Clause. You aren't religious about not believing in Peter Pan, just like atheists aren't religious about not believing in god.
"I'm wondering why Atheists think that they aren't religious?"
While there are some atheists that are religious and do have faith, it has nothing to do with their atheism.
I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just trying to answer your question.
2006-07-15 02:04:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheism is a lack of belief. So its not like we believe there is no god, we just don't believe in a god, if that makes sense.
Btw, somebody else mentioned the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Yeah that's just a mock at religion. Kinda like you can't prove there is or isn't a Flying Spaghetti Monster, which is kinda like God.
2006-07-15 02:05:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheist have a faith that there is no God. They have proclaimed that over and over again.
Agnostic's do not know and are more open minded about almost any faith.
Christians not only believe in God, but that the Messiah, or the son of God has already come to save the World and perished to satisfy the old testament prophecies.
2006-07-15 01:56:50 · answer #8 · answered by lancelot682005 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Despite what you may believe, it is indeed possible to simply not believe in something.
I don't believe in god. Why not? Because i see no reason to suppose that he exists. It's not a matter of faith - i'm not making any positive claim. I simply have no belief; it's a non-issue to me. I know it's hard for you to imagine, but it's true.
2006-07-15 17:47:03 · answer #9 · answered by extton 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you try to think to much, when you ask a person what there belief is and they don't belvie ti is simpilr to just say that, if you talk to them and they are not stupid, they will say that they don't belive, and so on and so forth, but it is not a belief in not beliving it is just a group of people; who do not believe in a god or gods, and that is just the umbrella term, which just means believe in no god. and most people try to pin the fact that they have no morals, well a lot of them seem to have more morals them some of these so called Christians, and Catholics.
2006-07-15 01:58:58 · answer #10 · answered by draconianworks 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are Atheists who believe strongly in what they believe in but may not be religious.
There are Christians who believe strongly in Jesus Christ but may not be religious.
So I know that answer your question. Religious are people who do certain things as dictated by religion without questioning or just follow blindly.
I am a Christian but I am not religious because Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God.
2006-07-15 02:56:35 · answer #11 · answered by Luke Lim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋