Atheists, do you attend funerals? Do you believe in marriage?

Question

Or are they just more dumb religious institutions?

Yes, but if we go by the logic of what traditions were there first, then you must realize that funerals and marriages were even greater superstitions than religion to you. So why do you accept some superstitious rituals and reject others?

To that last numbskull, funerals are, atheistically speaking, superstitions because they ceremonialize death. They are a symbolic way to say goodbye and lay the body to rest when the fact is, the dude is dead, and he ain't going nowhere. :-) Marriages are superstitious because surely in an animal society we do not settle on one mate our entire lives. It is in the benefit of the human races for the strongest people to mate and have children, not for strong people to spend their lives with weak people.

Answer 1

Of course I would attend funerals, not to give my self solace but the family of the person who's died.

And for marriage? We believe in it, we just don't include the religious part of it in our ceremonies.

Answer 2

Talk about false premises:

a) "Atheists, do you attend funerals? Do you believe in marriage or are they just more dumb religious institutions?"

Although in most respect it is entirely relative to the situation, for the most part both marriages and funerals are celebrations of life and people and, in the case of the latter, mourning of the loss of someone. Both of these may be dressed up in any religion's beliefs but when it comes down to it they have the same underlying non-religious similarities.


2) "So why do you accept some superstitious rituals and reject others?"

For the most part I do not believe the superstitions but I am unlikely to criticise unless they are excessively religiously based (such as the overuse of God in my mother's second wedding...).

3) "funerals are, atheistically speaking, superstitions because they ceremonialize death."

How is making a fuss over someone dieing superstitious? What you claimed is not true unless superstitious aspects are applied. Just because someone doesn't believe in an afterlife it doesn't mean they don't care that their friend has died. Jeez, some of your people are completely nuts.

4) "surely in an animal society we do not settle on one mate our entire lives. It is in the benefit of the human races for the strongest people to mate and have children, not for strong people to spend their lives with weak people."

It's pretty idiotic to suggest this. Considering the fact that the majority of people can't cope emotionally with sharing partners it's obvious that we're not cut out for it and it's more likely to incite war than improvement. On top of that we're not the only animal that have monogamous relationships. Also there's the fact that our dependance on technology puts us outside of natural selection which would take millions of years to incite progressive changes in the first place. Seriously, you obviously have no idea how idiotic your suggestion of the atheist mindset is.

All in all, if I was you I wouldn't bother speaking your mind again, you'll just embarrass yourself further. I'm sure many other people are face-palming as they read this...

Answer 3

Marriage and funerals are rituals that have existed longer than religion. I do not think that the idea of a funeral or a marriage as being a religious thing. Many animals mate for life, Love Birds are a prime example. While elephants have very long and detailed rituals as an old elephant moves off to die. They do not have a religion that I know of, but they might have a relgion, they do have funerals. To shorten the answer a little Atheists have funerals that are non-religious just as pagans like myself have pagan marriages and funerals. A marriage and a funeral are there to speak to the world not to a god or lack there of.

Answer 4

Did you have surgery to get this stupid? In what possible ways are weddings and funerals "superstitions"? Atheists have families like everyone else, people they love, people they want to make commitments to, people who die and have to be buried.

It is the arrogance of the theist to believe that the solitary fount of all emotion, compassion and morality stems from a belief in god, despite the long chain of historical evidence that proves the contrary. You use god as a way of rationalizing the things about being human that the rest of us are mature enough to accept as part of life. That means being born, reproducing, and dying.

=====

You need to check your dictionary for the definition of superstition. Ceremonies do not denote superstition. Are graduation ceremonies superstitious? Is the Oscars ceremony superstitious? THINK, for goodness sake.

You presumably believe that because the body is dead we'd just leave it lying around to attract rats and flies, or that there is something in an atheist that cannot feel love for another person or mourn the loss of a loved one. You probably already know that Christians have higher divorce rates than atheists in the USA. So much for religion.

Answer 5

Yes, I attend funerals. Marriage.. It doesn't exist! I SWEAR IT DOESN'T! /sarcasm off. But seriously, what are you an idiot? You called funerals and marriage superstitions? *Ahem*
Superstition - 1. An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.
2.
1. A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.
2. A fearful or abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality.
3. Idolatry.

That's not what marriage or funerals are. That's what some would consider religion. :)

P.S. - Marriage and funerals are *not* "dumb religious institutions". They are ceremonies. Marriage is a ceremony to signify the joining of two people who love each other. It's a legalization of love. Funerals are to remember the person and their acts in life.

Answer 6

Marriage is a civil ceremony. The religious part of a marriage is not required in order for a couple to be married - that's why marriages can be performed by civic officials and not in churches.

To be married the couple have to make a formal declaration that they are willing and eligible to marry and then sign The Register. None of that requires any religious ceremony. In other words you can have a marriage with out without the religious part but to be married it must have the civic part.

Many animal species pair-bond for life - you really should try to educate yourself before making sweeping and unsupportable pronouncements.

Funerals are also not necessarily religious and a simple burial or cremation requires no religious ceremony or presence of any religious figure.

The "dumb religious institutions" are the religious elements that some people include in a perfectly good civic, non-religious occasion.

Answer 7

Funerals to me are about reflecting on what the deceased person meant to you, honoring and celebrating the life they lead, and comforting and being comforted in the loss of that person. I realize others have a religious/supernatural component to their funeral observances but that part is not meaningful for me. I respect that it is for them and just partake of the part that is meaningful for me. So yes, I do attend funerals.

As for marriage, I am myself married. The institution of marriage stretches back before Christianity or any belief system we have in place today. In ancient societies it originated as more of a property transfer ritual. The woman was property of her father until marriage and the ritualistic aspect of it acted out the transfer of the woman to the husband. As a contract it included payment (money, property, livestock) and we still see that in some cultures to day. We also see these ancient roots in the father giving the bride away and the importance placed on virginity in the wearing of white. Even in Christianity when you read the OT marriage sounds more like a financial agreement than a love proposition. The husband could have the bride stoned to death if he found she wasn't a virgin and there are rules for how and when it is appropriate to sell your daughter. So taking those things into consideration I don't find traditional marriage or its trappings that romantic.

My husband and I decided to get married though. We just made a conscious choice to define our marriage as just a commitment we made to be there for each other for the rest of our lives in front of and with the support of close friends and family. It was a nontraditional, nonreligious ceremony that we created ourselves. I believe there is a civil component to marriage and a separate religious component. I think the two are often combined but don't necessarily have to be. Our marriage is recognized as legal by the government as it was conducted by a notary with the required paperwork. I think though that some religious people might not consider us married knowing there was no mention of God nor any religious component to the ceremony. We definetly didn't feel that we need a God to sanction us being a couple. We lived together happily for quite awhile before we married and just wanted to affirm the depth of our committment to each other.

Answer 8

Yes and yes.

I follow most social customs. Funerals are a great way to respect the dead and grieve. Marriage is a great way of staying together for the rest of your life, is that is what you want. But I won't change my name if I ever get married because I think my female name is part of my identity.

But I'm fine if people don't want to attend those things, too. Live and let live.

Answer 9

Yes - aside from the fact not all funerals are religious I'd want to pay my respects to someone who meant something to me.

I'm unconvinced about marriage - although it doesn't necessarily have to be a religious ceremony. If I were to get married it wouldn't be in a church.

the religious part of the ceremonies is dumb

I don't have to disagree with traditions (which I should point out existed before your religion did) to disagree with religion

Answer 10

I view funerals as a memorial to the person, not some religious gathering or ceremony.

Marriage is a way to legally attach two people, as is necessary for taxes and the like.

They're only dumb if they are religious institutions. Most of the one's that I attend are not religious at all.