Is Atheism a religion? Is it based on faith?

Answer 1

Atheism is the rejection of any and all things theistic. It means we don't believe in any divine, supernatual, or supreme force. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no creed, doctrine, or code.

Answer 2

Yes, it's based on faith because they believe there is no God even though there is no evidence to prove whether there is or there isn't a God. And belief without evidence is usually called "faith".

However, whether they are also a religion is doubtful since they have no meeting halls and no financial concerns.

I don't know of any religion that doesn't involve the transfer of money or goods, so I don't think Atheism qualifies as a religion.

Answer 3

No to both questions. Atheism is the lack of a faith, and it is not a religion. It's a belief about religions, or about the existence of a god, anyway. But it's not an organised religion, in that atheists are not required to do anything in order to be atheists. Besides, atheists cannot be expelled from atheism for not observing certain behaviour.

Answer 4

This has multiple answers: Under the dictionary definition of religion, it doesn't qualify as a religion:
1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

However, the US Supreme Court interpreted atheism as a religion in order to allow a prisoner the right to hold an atheist support group within the prison. They defined atheism as a religion in such a way because it was the only way to ensure that the constitution's establishment clause did not impinge on those who do not believe.

Sometimes there is more than one answer. Context can change everything. This is why religion in science class makes no sense, while religion in church or a bible class is perfectly welcome.

Answer 5

I think it was Bertrand Russell who said something like: you might just as well put your faith in a teapot circling some sun thousands of light years away as in God. I am an atheist if it means I don't have faith in unverifiable concepts.

The logical place to start any investigation is as close to the action as you can get. Get to know yourself and much more will be revealed, this is the nature of the spiritual quest that can be found practiced by a few true seekers in many traditions Eastern and Western. Sufism, Buddhism, 'contemplative' Christianity, Taoism, none of which began as 'isms' ofcourse.

They are about much more important questions about the nature of reality and how we should live our lives from moment to moment for the maximum benefit of ourselves and our fellow human beings. For peace and and tranquility of hearts and minds to come into our lives so that we can see more clearly the real miracle that is happening right now and stop arguing about the existence of the tea pot, sorry God! And Im sure a lot of atheists and a lot of theists would agree that that wouldn't be a bad thing?

Answer 6

- Religion: a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

Atheism could be considered a religion, in the sense that it has attitudes and beliefs regarding the (non)existence of God, but they don't seem to incorporate any practices to support their belief.

- Faith: a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

You could say atheism is based on the faith that there is no God. Theists can't prove God exists, and atheists can't prove that God does not exist.

Peace!

Answer 7

Yes, it's based on faith. A faith in the belief that there is no god. No, it's not a religion. It's missing several necessary factors to be considered a religion. To wit: central myths (such as the Enlightenment of Buddha, the Resurrection of Christ, Muhammed's escape from Mecca to Medina, the Hebrew Exodus, etc.); rituals, beliefs acted out in ceremonies; central ethics, or codified behaviors either written or understood; sacredness, or a distinction between the holy and the ordinary.

Answer 8

Atheism for me is based in faith in Scientific principles. I choose not to believe anything that has not been proven to me.

Now, since science is based on a set of a few unproven axioms, I am obviously placing my faith in something.

However I prefer to place my beliefs in the hands of scientists who attempt to prove by logical argument rather than attempting to disprove the opposition or using the "science doesn't explain everything, therefore there's a man in the sky" argument.

Not saying every religious person does this, but a fair few do.

Answer 9

That depends on how you define a religion. Some would say that to have a religion, you have to have a god or gods. Otherswould say that atheism is a religion because it is their faith that there is no God, just as a theist religion is formed on the faith of the existence of God.

Answer 10

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.
Those are the definitions of religions. I don't think atheism fits any of them.

Answer 11

It's not a religion. However, it can be fundamentalist when it approaches situations dogmatically and rigidly. To say it's a religion and based on faith is like saying those who don't believe that we have evidence for the tooth fairy are following the Non-Tooth-Fairy religion and have 'faith' in that; we'd have to define every demand for evidence as being indicative of some faith.