How can atheism be considered a cult?
Atheists are not a religious movement, but a personal decision to reject all ideas of god and divine scripture. We have no "charismatic leader" who claims to be god, not only because we do not believe in god, but because we are not an organized group.
Nicole sweety, this question's for you. :)
2007-02-25 14:47:03 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
All you have proven, Nicole, is that you are utterly incapable of understanding words, definitions, and the english language in general.
2007-02-25 14:52:11 · update #1
Atheism is a lack of belief in the existence of gods. There is no "enlightened, charismatic leader", there are no brainwashing tricks, there is no exclusionary "the rest of them are doomed and we are the saved" mentality...
So atheism can't be considered a cult.
doctrine: a body or system of teachings relating to a particular subject
Nicole... how does atheism qualify as such? No, honestly, I'd like to know. Care to explain?
No, Nicole... all you said is "I think it's a doctrine". You didn't EXPLAIN how atheism actually qualifies. What is the body or system of teachings unique and inherent to "atheism"? Can you tell me that? Or are you just going to once again insist that it's a doctrine and not bother backing up your assertion?
2007-02-25 14:52:42 · answer #1 · answered by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Cult has many definitions. And if you look down the list far enough you'll find it can apply to atheism. If you're trying to say Christianity is a cult, that's just as much a stretch as saying atheism is a cult. Can't have it both ways. This isn't a Jim Jones thing. Billions of people have believed in God for millenniums now. Whereas atheism is a relatively new philosophy. Many people believed in some form of gods long before men decided there was no God at all, mostly coming in recent times. I would bet Darwin is a hero too many modern day atheists. They dogmatically follow his teachings. We all have influence in our lives that shape our beliefs. Teachers, preachers, parents or friends, all have had input into how we formed our beliefs. Contrary to their beliefs, Atheists are far from all knowing.
2007-02-25 23:46:49 · answer #2 · answered by JohnFromNC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheism is not a cult. ( I am a Christian saying this)
A cult is any "religeous" group which differs significantly in some one or more respects as to belief or practice,from those religious groups which are regarded as the normative expressions of religion in our total culture.
Further and possibly at the risk of getting off track. A non-Christian cult could be defined as a group of people gathered about a specific person or person's interpretation of the Bible...David Koresh..Jim Jones...etc.
2007-02-25 22:58:19 · answer #3 · answered by bonsai bobby 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not Nicole but your question was interesting.
Atheist, cult, religion etc are man created words. Don't worry yourself with these words. You are a person just like anyone else and you have your own belief just like anyone else. Your belief is that there is no special God or Prophet. You live life as it is.
Continue doing that.
2007-02-25 22:54:04 · answer #4 · answered by Rakesh 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not a cult; you know it isn't, so why worry about what those who can't bother to educate themselves on the actual definitions of things think? They're on the fringe of society anyway, at least intellectually speaking. Just live your life and share your knowledge and be happy to have found your own path :)
2007-02-25 23:04:55 · answer #5 · answered by somebody 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Eh, normally Atheism isn't a cult. However, I have seen some people try to turn it into one, but the same can be said of anything.
2007-02-25 22:59:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
although I don't want to offend you in any way, I'd consider atheists not so much as a cult, but a gigantic click. It's like with sports. Everyone has their own sports team, but they at least have a team, so I'm walking around completely clueless as to what is going on. Which is funny because religionists have a team, but atheists have themselves, but what I'm trying to get at is, atheism is a type of group mentality, just like religious people, although it's more like, I don't know, sorrowful I guess. I don't really know what I'm talking about, just trying to express myself.
I guess it all depends on what team you're backing. Either way, nobody is completely alone. It's impossible to reject every idea about God, because believing that life exists without God is an idea in itself.
I don't mean every atheist is pessimistic, it just seems like they stick to the facts so much that they aren't even willing to imagine a true happiness.
2007-02-25 22:54:25 · answer #7 · answered by Julian 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Atheism requires a lot of faith though. Who cares what people say about it, it does not make it true. You have the free will. God will accept your choice.
2007-02-25 22:55:57 · answer #8 · answered by SeeTheLight 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know that Atheism is a cult, they simply lack any belief.
2007-02-25 22:50:00 · answer #9 · answered by Gardener for God(dmd) 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It seems Nicole and the dictionary aren't on speaking terms.
2007-02-25 22:52:28 · answer #10 · answered by eldad9 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋