Why do Christians try and make atheism out to be another religion?

Question

I really dont think they grasp the concept (not all).
Atheism means that you dont believe in a God theres no heaven theres no hell its not a cult its not a religion it is just being logical. It doesnt make you a bad person , infact somewhat the opposite. Most none belivers want to make people happy and be "good" because we want to, not because of the fear of gods wrath and being sent to hell. Most do not brainwah with radical ideas. We have logic and understanding of the world around us and yes we do demand proof .Im sure that when most non believers have kids if the child decides they want to believe (in what they choose for themselves) then as long as they are happy then they well be happy. This is contray to most christians and other religions. It should be up to the kids when they grow up indoctration is unfair and well cruel...well I have gone off on another tangent.. What do you think??

Answer 1

Actually, it isn't just Christians who've decided that atheism is a religion. An atheist went to court and had it proved to be a religion.

We're just saying what the inmate and the court agreed with.

Look at this excerpt from an article published at atheists.org:

"A federal court has ruled that prison officials in Wisconsin violated the rights of an inmate who sought to form an Atheist discussion group because they failed to treat Atheism as a religion."

Answer 2

I'm neither Christian nor Atheist. I hold the view that Atheism can be considered a religion because it depends on some assumed definition of deity.

For instance, suppose I were to respond to a claim that "there is no God" by noting that God might be the identity of my next door neighbour. If I am right in this then it is not the case that there is No God; if I am wrong then we have together established that the claim that God does not exist depends on a collective belief about the nature of what God is.

As a result, I feel that explicit Atheism must be a Religion since it is the result of cultural agreement on the nature of divinity.

'course, Agnostics don't have that problem. =)

Answer 3

I think somebody ought to tell you the meaning of the word 'religion' and I have elected myself.

It has nothing to do with God! A religion is 'a set of beliefs generally held by a community'.

You could have a religion called Greencheesism where all the 'members' of the religion steadfastly believe that the moon is made of green cheese.

If the community is the group called 'Atheists' then their set of beliefs, generally called 'Atheism' is a religion.

Answer 4

If there is no God and no consequences to your actions and beliefs, why not live a completely selfish life only doing things that you want to do and that make you happy? I mean, if you really believe that this life is all there is, I would be the biggest heathen of all time! Then again, maybe you are already like that! Anyway, maybe Christians try to make atheism out to be a religion because in order to be considered an Atheist, you have to have a core set of beliefs - like all religions.

Answer 5

It depends on what kind of atheist you are. If you are a weak atheist, you would take the passive stance that you don't believe in god. This is not a systematic belief, but a disbelief. Therefore, it is not a religion.

Now, if you are a strong atheist, things change. You are not defensive or passive in your stance. You would say that you believe no god exists. This is a systematic belief. You actively state that for each god ever made, you believe that god has never existed. When you have a system of beliefs that you hold on to ardently and with conviction, you are practicing a religion. Therefore, strong atheism is a religion in and of itself. Note that religion does not need a god or other higher force; it merely requires beliefs.

While I am sure many of my fellow strong atheists don't want to acknowledge this, they are no different than those unwilling to accept facts about other religions. A dictionary is unbiased. Sorry to crush your dreams.

Answer 6

I agree with you. I've never heard it put so well. I was raised an athiest. Through personal experience, I found Buddhism. I don't follow Buddhism strictly but i believe in its principles. I think athieism teaches you to think for yourself and to be independent, both necessary skills to be happy and sucessful.

The definition of an Athiest is someone who doesn't believe in a religion, so to call Athiesm a religion is a complete contradiction of terms. It is not a system of beliefs, it is A belief.

Answer 7

I think what christians mean is that is takes faith to believe what you believe, even if you believe nothing. So we are not different in that respect, it's just that christians have had the mystery of Jesus revealed to them and atheists have not. As for children, as a child of very worldly non-faith parents, I was surprised to find that they had taught me wrong and that Jesus really is alive (I met him, spiritually speaking), so I was able to 'break free' from the well-intentioned rubbish I was brought up with. My own children, having looked at my faith and been given a choice have both decided to follow Jesus, which isn't easy in today's society. If they change their minds later on, well that's up to them, I believe my god is powerful enough to bring them back to faith in his own good time.

Answer 8

Oh, I am a Christian and I absolutely KNOW atheism isn't a religion, God or gods are out of the picture... so if that's YOUR stance as an atheist.... why are YOU and countless other atheists in the religion and spirituality section, preaching your views, since your belief doesn't fall into this category?
Just curious... since you pointed this out..

Answer 9

I think the problem stems from the fact that many atheists, certainly on a forum like this, tend to behave as though it were a religion; evangelizing, trying to 'save' people from their 'wrong' beliefs, attacking the non-non- believers at every opportunity.
Sound familiar? Be honest.

Answer 10

Religion is a "belief". To be an atheist one has to believe that God does not exist. One can not "know it", but only "believes" it. That makes it a religion. Like it or not.
Whats even better-so is evolution a religion, and a false one at that. There is no actual evidence that even suggest evolution. At best, its just a made up story-nothing more. There is actually a lot of evidence to suggest that there might be a God.