Is Atheism A Religion or A School of Thought?

Question

Does Atheism require doctrine, insight, belief, faith, or sacrifice?

Due to the response, I gather most here are Atheist.
My follow up question is, If Atheism is not a Religion, and has nothing to do with Sprituality; why do you continue to patronize this forum. Is there not another forum that could be obtain for that discussion of thought.

Maybe, there's not an atheist forum, because all the believer will join in and say things that hinder the open questions from receiving valuable answers.

Just a thought... Not From An Atheist, Not From A Believer. From an Out Here Thinker...

Answer 1

Atheism is the simple lack of belief in a deity. It has no doctrine, insight, etc.
We do not "patronize" this forum. For your information, there are hundreds of atheist R&S answerers, who know more about religion and spirituality than you will ever know in your lifetime. You'd rather exclude them from the forum simply because they do not believe in God? Tell me, do you have to have a pet to go the Pet Forum?
Basically, what you think, is that R&S should do away with atheists because they don't believe in God. Well, if you look at the name of the forum, it is called Religion and Spirituality.....and while many atheists aren't religious, many of them are spiritual. And almost all of them has had some experience with religion, and their input could be very valuable to someone else. But I take it you'd rather receive advice from someone your own religion. Perhaps you should protest to have a Christianity section erected, so that you don't have to complain anymore.

Answer 2

No, it is not a religion. Here is why...

Definitions of religion and religious according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

religion - 1 a: the state of a religious b (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

religious - 1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity
2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances
3 a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful b: fervent, zealous

In sum, religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices based on faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. Atheism is the doctrine that there is no deity - there is no faith and there are no practices; it simply is the lack of a belief in a deity.

To answer the second portion of your question, I feel that your question is biased and makes the false claim that all atheists patronize this forum. This forum is not for the sole use of any specific religion or group. This is a public forum, and the topic of religion and the ongoing argument of the existence of god, ultimate realities, and how it pertains to the real world is relevant to the topic of Religion and Spirituality. They have as much of a right to express their feelings and ask a question of valid intention on this forum as anyone else does.

Your accusation of the whole of the atheist group patronizing this forum is both false and disrespectful. Additionally, it ignores the many other groups who also are guilty of committing said patronizing. You sir must learn that the world is not limited to a single point of view.

Answer 3

Atheism is nothing.

In other words, it is simply the absence of belief in whatever can't be proven with the tools we currently have.

Atheists simply don't waste time or mental space on doctrine, insight, belief, faith, sacrifice or anything else, and don't want to be proselytized or presumed upon because of it.

That's where the similarity ends. There are no shared thoughts, dogma, canon, or value systems.

I'm more of an agnostic than an atheist, but I've given you the definition as far as i understand it.

Edit: To those who think atheism is a religion, where is the collection plate? Whois the organizational leader? What are the holidays?

Answer 4

Atheism is simply a lack of belief in god(s). Nothing more than that.

By your argument, the only people in the Physics section should be qualified Physicists and only Mathematicians should answer questions in the Maths section. This is an open forum. If some people's beliefs are so fragile that they cannot handle a bit of questioning, perhaps they should go to a website specific to their beliefs.

If atheists do not visit R&S, who will answer all the questions directed at atheists (there are plenty of them)?

Yahoo! directs any questions related to atheism to R&S. If anyone has a problem with that, they should raise it with Yahoo!. Atheists do NOT run Yahoo! answers.

Answer 5

I personally do think it requires insight (unlike religion), but it's not a religion - it's pretty much the opposite, being without any religion. i don't know if I would describe it as a school of thought either.... for me atheism just means I do not have a religion. So on forms where I have to give my religion I generally don't write, "atheist" I write "none". Other people call me an atheist. I hardly ever run around saying I'm an atheist, I dislike the term, to be honest.
It puts me in a group, with other "atheists" - I'm not unfriendly I just hate being lumped together in a group...

Answer 6

Atheism is not a religion or a faith. It does not require any sacrafice or rituals. Atheism is more a matter of skepticism, that is, using Doubt to understand the world and ourselves. Some people call that approach Critical Reasoning, and that's reasonably accurate. At least that's what atheism is for me. I don't really try to persuade anyone about it.

Answer 7

Atheism is just lack of belief in god.

There's no belief or faith or faith involved in it (do you really have faith that I won't send you a million dollars).

When one looks into it atheism is just a result, like aunicornism (disbelief in the existence of the invisible pink unicorn).

Sacrifice might be required if one lives in an overly religious country that puts atheists to death. Such countries need to get new governments.

Answer 8

Wikipedia's definition of religion:

Religion: is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.

According to this, Atheism is a relgion, just the same as any other religion. Atheists have a set of beliefs and what they feel is real and not real.

Just because it isn't everyones belief doesn't make it less of a 'religion'..

Answer 9

Neither. Atheism does not require doctrine, insight, belief, faith or sacrifice.

All atheism requires is no beliefs in gods.

Follow-up response:
Does one have to believe in a god to participate in Yahoo! Answers Religion and Spirituality? Or does one merely have to have questions and/or answers in the category to participate?

Does one have to be a cat to participate in the Cats section?
Does one have to be an alcoholic to participate in a theoretical alcoholics section?

Answer 10

4 out of 5