I find that devout atheists can be just as one-sided and condescending as devout christians. What do you think?
2007-06-27 07:19:57 · 34 answers · asked by sue L 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes I agree with you!
2007-06-27 07:27:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, being one-sided and condescending has nothing to do with religion. Atheism is not a religion. It is simply the belief that there is no God or gods. Atheists can be one-sided and condescending, but that doesn't make their beliefs religious beliefs. After all, religious people are not necessarily one-sided and condescending either.
2007-06-27 07:24:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.
Atheism requires no faith, the basic building block of all religions.
Atheism has no dogma; while there are books on atheism and by atheists, none are treated as "sacred" or even particularly special.
Atheism has no preachers/leaders/popes or similar figureheads.
There is really no such thing as a "devout" atheist, as the closest thing atheists might be devoted to would be reason and logic.
2007-06-27 07:27:53 · answer #3 · answered by Brent Y 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I understand what you are trying to say, but condescention and one-sidedness do not make a religion.
Here's why Atheism is not a religion. Athiests don't organize weekly meetings to discuss their beleifs. They don't study from the same text. They don't operate by a certain set of rules. They don't vote as a group. They're just a group of people who happen to agree on one thing, that they don't believe that God exists. A group of us may believe that pb&j is the best sandwich, but there's no Smuckers-Skippy Cult that I'm aware of. Can Athiests seem devoted to their beleifs and try to recruit? Can they be condescending and one-sided? I have seen it, but I don't intend to generalize.
Agnosts believe in a higher power, but not in organized religion, and they should not be confused with Atheists. Agnosticism is not a religion either.
Bottom line: we should all keep our beleifs to ourselves unless someone asks us our opinion.
2007-06-27 07:30:51 · answer #4 · answered by backwardsinheels 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As an atheist, I agree that some atheist can be as you described, and particularly when we encounter out-and-out ignorance. But you ask, is atheism a 'religion'? The definition of atheism is simple: we do not believe any gods exist. The answer, then, is no, it is not a religion.
2007-06-27 07:28:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Devout Atheists? That's amusing.
We do not believe in religion or god. Apart from that we are all very different kinds of people. Different politics, and ideas on most things.
We are not a club, we have no rules to follow, or dress codes, or food restrictions.
We can work on whatever day we like, and best of all, we think life is really pretty damn good right now.
We have no desire or need to concern ourselves with death. It comes soon enough. To waste your life waiting for death because you think a harp and halo are waiting in some fantasy land for you, is tragically pathetic.
2007-06-27 07:34:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
atheism means a lack of belief in god. it is not a belief in the absence of gods. I hope this makes sense but it seems a something many find confusing.
Just as you do not have to actively believe there are no invisible pink unicorns sitting on your shoulder the atheist does not actively have to believe there is no god. The onus of proof is on the believer, not the non-believer.
I believe the reason atheists seem condescending is because we are dealing with a world gone mad from our point of view. How would you act if everyone you interacted prayed to the invisible unicorn and blamed the invisible unicorn for bad things and thanked it for good things? You would think they were nuts.
2007-06-27 07:26:34 · answer #7 · answered by manimal2878 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Atheism is neither a religion or a lack thereof.
Atheism, by definition, is a stance on the existence of God.
Ergo, one can be a religious individual (e.g. a Buddhist) without believing in God and therefore being an Atheist.
2007-06-27 07:32:08 · answer #8 · answered by Ryan M 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No. Atheism is not a religion; nor is being a Republican, Democrate, Libertarian, Green, or Natural Law. But, unlike the other groups I mention, Athiests are not associated with a group at all. They stand on their own.... like an "Independent". They do not speak with one voice. They tend to rely on science. But, they don't have to rely on science. It's not really even a choice to be athiest. It merely means that religions haven't sold them on this whole concept of faith and the bible, tora, or whatever being anything worthy of their belief.
2007-06-27 07:26:50 · answer #9 · answered by Zeltar 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Just because some atheists happen to be jerks doesn't mean that a lack of belief in the existence of gods is a religion.
2007-06-27 07:22:35 · answer #10 · answered by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I think that words mean things.
And that atheism, by DEFINITION, is the ABSENCE of religion.
And as far as being one-sided goes...why SHOULD we give imaginary friends and fairies dancing at the bottoms of gardens equal time with scientific fact? Where's the evidence? Where's the acknowledgement of imperfect knowledge and the margins for error that the scientific method freely admits to?
And as to being condescending? Sorry, but some ideas are just so ridiculous that scorn and derision are all they deserve....
2007-06-27 07:22:25 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋