How come some religious people say Atheism is a religion? Do they use different dictionaries?
2007-01-21 23:54:50 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Nope. It is the lack of religion.
2007-01-22 00:04:33 · answer #1 · answered by Alex 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, it's not a religion. At best, it is a religious sector. If you were to divide the country into the various religious superstitions they follow, atheism will be the sector that is "None of the above".
Religion is a set of beliefs in the existence of one or more gods, with all the rites and rituals that go with that.
Atheism is the lack of belief in any gods.
To call atheism a religion would be like calling "bald" a hair color.
2007-01-22 07:58:09 · answer #2 · answered by nondescript 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Religious people say evolution is a religion because they think people have taken a giant leap of faith to believe in it, rather than having it scientifically examined and determined as the most likely cause of life.
Religion:
* a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
* an institution to express belief in a divine power
* a set of beliefs, values, and practices based on teachings of a leader; a belief in God
* Supernatural beliefs involved in worship.
Note the use of god, supernatural etc. Atheists DO NOT believe in a god (this isn't quite the same as rejecting god). Hence, by definition, it is not a religion.
2007-01-22 08:01:59 · answer #3 · answered by Tom :: Athier than Thou 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Well Atheism is a set of beliefs concerning the nature and cause of the universe (even if that belief is against the existence of a god). And those beliefs do CONSIDER a superhuman being even if that leads to ultimate rejection of the hypothesis. The devotional and ritual observances are missing, but the dictionary definition above only requires these to be 'usually' observed in a religion. And I'd certainly say that Atheism contains a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs (i.e. they are likely to be opposed to warfare fought with faith as a reason).
So yes, if you accept this particular dictionary's definition, Atheism (and the faith that it requires to hold the belief in tact) is a religion.
P.S. I got the definition from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion
2007-01-22 08:05:02 · answer #4 · answered by future_man_uk 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
If you look at the definition of religion you are making a stretch to call atheism a religion.
2007-01-22 08:00:00 · answer #5 · answered by 818er 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no, atheism is the absence of religion, religion is defined by supernatural occurences, and atheism denies the existence of magic in any form, therefore atheism is a truth or to some, a "belief", but not a religion
2007-01-22 07:59:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Atheism : religion :: not collecting stamps : hobby
If atheism is a religion, then theism is a religion too.
2007-01-22 08:04:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Atheism is a belief, but it isn't a practiced religion.
2007-01-22 07:59:38 · answer #8 · answered by RB 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think they must use another dictionary. They also don't seem to understand what a Scientific Theory is, purposefully misunderstand the concept of Evolution, and have a completely different concept of what "persecution" is.
2007-01-22 07:58:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
a religion presupposes a god or gods. therefore, atheism is not a religion.
atheism, from the greek αθεÏÏμÏÏ, is comprised of two words.
the privative "a-" which means "non-" or without and "-theism" from "theos" which means God.
therefore, the word itself is quite self-explanatory
2007-01-22 08:03:59 · answer #10 · answered by Chaoslord 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've never figured that out. It's like trying to say that for the guy who walks to work, walking is a car. It's not. It's the lack thereof.
2007-01-22 08:15:40 · answer #11 · answered by angk 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋