Is Atheism a religion or a spiritual path. (FYI I don't believe in God(s))?

Question

I offer this question respectfully. I do not believe in Gods and therefore consider myself an Atheist. I do not see Atheism as a religion or a spiritual path.

I do believe there are lots and lots of "Spiritual Atheists" and I totally think this is awesome. I consider myself on a path of "Druid Spirituality".

So I suppose I offer this question up to those who are Atheists and ask what Spiritual Path are you on?

If you wish to answer that you believe Atheism itself is a spiritual path, I would respect that, but ask for a bit of explanation.

I do not mean this to be "Atheists why are you in this category", because I am an Atheist, and quite frankly, I'm the Mayor of this Category and will continue to ask and answer questions in this category for a long, long time to come.

Answer 1

~~~ Self Appointed Mayor of "Us" ,,,,and you don't even know the difference yourself? What kind of leader are you? Hopefully humble,,,~ Atheism is simply a Defining Term expressing the belief that a Supreme Being is not Creator of The Universe. That's it ! Now any philosophy which includes This Concept and has incorporated Rites and Ceremonies and Literature to Symbolize these various Concepts, has formed a Religion,,,, of the godless variety. As a metaphor, atheism is neither a "Spiritual Path" but rather The Ground(foundation) on which the Spiritual Path is formed,,,My personal path is that of living "The Golden Rule" while seeking Higher Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom,,,~ Namaste`

Answer 2

I'm agnostic. I think spirituality is something apart from the superstitions and supernatural beliefs of most religions. There is an element of wonder and truth at the core of most religions that is vital to human experience.

The problem comes when the message of religion gets mixed up with a lot of superstitious nonsense, such as angels, the concept of a personal god which is pretty much a magical daddy figure, praying to get what you want, people being resurrected or sucked up in to heaven, the afterlife, etc. These things were part of the worldview during the time when these religions were being founded, and they've stuck around far to long.

The social institutions of religions are worse than useless, they're malignant. The sacred texts are taken far too literally. Many religious people are hateful and vile. If you get beyond all that, you might see that religions are mostly a metaphor for something that can't be explained directly.

My spiritual path involves exploring the meaning behind the metaphor.

Answer 3

OK, even though I'm not an atheist, I'm going to answer.

Atheism is not a religion - it is the opposite of religion.

Atheists, as individuals, may have a spiritual path or not - this would vary from person to person, and I would venture that atheism itself is not a spiritual path.

BTW, my own suspicion is that those theists (OK, let's be clear - fundies) who maintain that atheism *is* a "religion" are doing so for nefarious reasons. IF atheism can be officially designated a religion, and within that designation it includes a "belief" in evolution, then the fundies could attempt to have evolution taken out of schools, under the (false) premise that it's teaching "religion".

Answer 4

I don't consider my atheism to be a spiritual path. I just happen not to believe in a personal 'god' in the way a Christian, Ásatrú or a Wiccan does. So I'm an a-theist.

I have followed the teachings of the Buddha, but like most Buddhists, I did not consider him to be anything more than a man. I now attempt to follow the Tao, which again, I do not think of as 'god'.

Taoism considers that fulfilment in life cannot be attained by forcing one's own destiny; instead, one must be receptive to the path laid for us by nature and circumstance, which will themselves provide what is necessary.

One could see this as 'following one's inner nature'. Some might see it as fatalism. And since it suggests an 'order' to the universe, some may see it as a religion. Though I don't. It's all a matter of semantics really.

And since the Tao Te Ching says "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name" most taoists don't worry too much about such things as definitions. It's what something tastes like that matters.

Thank you for asking.
.

Answer 5

Theism is a belief in gods or one god. Therefore, atheism is the lack of that belief. Sadly, it's that simple. I define myself as an atheist, but I don't consider that a spiritual path. Moreover, I feel it leaves me open to learn about numerous religions and spiritual paths.

What made me an atheist, first and foremost, is that, though I was brought up in a Christian home, there were things in the Bible I believed in (pertaining to how to treat people, i.e. 'do unto others as you would have done unto you'), and there were things I did not (most notably, the existence of a deity), and I can't abide the hipocrisy of people who would take what they will from the Bible, and not the rest, yet still call themselves Christian.

Whether or not you would define it as spiritual, I have my own set of beliefs on matters of the mind and heart, and I have a great thirst for knowledge regarding any teachings of this nature. Spiritually, I guess I lean toward Buddhist teachings. I must admit, though, I'm most curious about your path of 'Druid spirituality', especially given there are mostly very sketchy and in some cases gruesome tellings about the Druids, so far as I've seen. If you're willing to talk about it, I'm interested to listen.

Answer 6

I think that atheism is a spiritual path.
I think so because let's say some people have running as a hobby.Let's say you don't like to run, that wouldn't be considered a hobby.Not running is not a hobby, while running is a hobby.I think the same with atheists.Following God is a religion sort of, but not believing in him is not a religion.Plus, atheism is a term for people that don't believe/don't have any religion or beliefs.Therefore, it can't be a religion.I could be wrong though,but that's my two cents.

Answer 7

A "Spiritual Atheist" is kind of a contradiction. "Atheism" is a belief that there is no God or spritual beings. So for an Atheist to have a spiritual path is not in and of its meaning. Atheism is also not a Religion because they do not believe in the "spiritual."

Answer 8

I am an atheist, yet I feel atheism in itself has no spiritual practicality. Atheism is only the lack of a belief in god. However, an atheist can still be spiritual, as I feel I am. My spiritualism looks at myself and what I can do to improve myself and to better gain a full understanding of myself and of life in general. I have no belief in god or the supernatural, but only a belief in the capability's of humans, and especially the human brain. And, as a spiritual practice, I do meditate. When I meditate I have no notions of entering a "supernatural" or other plain, but only a relaxed state in which my mind is free to percieve my inner and outer reality. So yes, atheist can be spiritual, but atheism itself is not a spiritual path.

Answer 9

I am an atheist. I do not consider myself on any religious or spiritual path.

I prefer to label my path as an enlightened path. A path that puts the firm responsibility of my actions on me.

Some may call this indeed a spiritual path.

Answer 10

Atheism means you don't believe in god or gods.
This is the same as not believing in the tooth fairy.
Nothing religious or spiritual about it. You can be a spiritual atheist if you want, but atheism plays no role in that. You can be whatever else you want, and there are many types of atheists.

Atheism is a lack in a belief of gods. A religion is a belief system. A lack of a belief can not be classified as a belief system.