Does Atheism require as much faith as Religion?

Question

The existence or nonexistence of a God still lacks any tangible evidence on either side. Both are as yet, unprovable. Does this make Agnosticism the only logical conclusion. Ignoring the harm (and/or good) that religion may bring about. This is a question solely about a Deity's existence rather than the idea of being areligious.

A lot of you seem to think that atheism can be defined as a lack of faith, when in actual fact the meaning is a lot more clear - A-theism = a=without theism-god. It is the doctrine (or belief!) that there is no god.

What I'm wondering is whether choosing not to believe is the same as choosing to believe when there is evidence for neither case. It is irrelevant to religion.

An interesting case would be the Catholic Churchs' decision NOT to do anything about the Nazi regime in Germany. Is this moralistic fence-sitting as bad as condoning the atrocities they were comitting? It is incidentally something they have apologised for.

Answer 1

"The existence or nonexistence of a God still lacks any tangible evidence on either side."
Which means that you have to assume that the atheists are right until you get evidence that the atheists are wrong.

"Does this make Agnosticism the only logical conclusion."
Every rational agnostic is an atheist because logic demands that if there is no evidence for something that one does not believe in it.

Are you going to suspend judgement on the existence of Santa Claus because he might be at the North Pole of Neptune?

Atheism is the default position if you have no faith or evidence in a god and so doesn't require any faith or evidence, merely a lack of both such things.

Answer 2

Atheism requires only that you don't believe that there is a higher power.

You're right, though, in saying that the existence/nonexistence of God lack tangible evidence, but that doesn't make Agnosticism the logical conclusion. It makes Atheism the logical conclusion because if there is no evidence for the positive (God existing), then it can not be taken for truth. The negative becomes the default explanation until evidence is provided.

Answer 3

It takes guts to be an atheist. They have many good points: they are not superstitious, they don't try to tell you what God wants you to do, and they don't cling in fear to a faith they don't really buy into just for the sake of anti-hell insurance.

This said, I think faith is easier for me. I see the universe in perfect order, and find it hard to believe it just got that way without a designer.

Just think if we were just a bit closer to the sun, or a bit farther from the moon, etc. And the planets? They shield the earth from numerous asteroid strikes that would have wiped out our planet years ago. If one really studies the universe, it could not have happened by accident. This said, there are also things I can't explain, like why did God allow evil to co-exist with good for any length of time whatsoever? I do not know, but I know there is a designer, and that he is good.

Answer 4

Speaking as an Atheist, I would have to say no. Religion requires faith because you have to answer to a higher power, one that you cannot directly communicate with. So you have to have faith in an existence you cannot prove exists. It took many years for me to reach this level of acceptance. I didn't come by it lightly, I performed a lot of research and mental exercise. Thus, I no longer need faith to accept that there is no god. When you live by religious guidelines, you need to continuously have faith because it is what you are programmed to do. Faith is the answer to those questions that have no other answer.

Answer 5

Atheism does not require any faith at all because the definition of Atheism is a lack of faith and or belief in the supernatural. Although many an Atheists may be heard to proclaim that they have faith in them selves or some other tangible ideal.

Answer 6

Faith is not for Christian only.All even God need faith but religion believer need more than atheism.Religion believer need more as they believe in thing that are lack of proof and beyond a normal person.Without faith in what we believe,you will not be able to success.Faith,Wish and Practice is the base of all true Religion believer must have.May God Bless all alike.

Answer 7

i do not trust so, for the reason that faith is in basic terms the self belief and idea in something or someone. actual it calls for a particular quantity of religion to trust in a faith or no faith in any respect, to settle for your beliefs as your own relies upon on the guy themselves. i do not imagine you may degree the the quantity of religion each and every human being has, i might want to trust in any faith or none in any respect, and that would want to be the start of my faith, yet even regardless of the reality that you'll degree the guy's faith in a particular section (as an instance: from a stand factor, in Christianity, someone who usually attends a christian church appears to be like a lot less non secular compared to a bishop) yet i trust you may't learn different beliefs and that you'll't degree the quantity of religion someone has. Bringing it decrease back to the celebration with Christianity, what might want to take position if the church member and the bishop had a similar quantity of expertise and may want to recite each and each and every web page of the bible, then ask someone, whom might want to respond to the church member, the bishop, or they could say they'd a similar quantity of religion, notwithstanding it extremely is in basic terms opinion and is brought about using outdoors factors. Sorry for the little off topic, yet to respond to your question is that, the quantity of religion can in difficulty-free words be measured on the very start up at the same time as someone begins to trust in reported faith or atheism, after that factor, it relies upon on hypothesis and opinion.

Answer 8

Nope, that's what makes it so desireable. You don't have to worry about consequences, short of how it will **** up your own life. It's the easy side to join for anyone who is a coward. I have science on my side, I won't be ridiculed, I can say I am smart for choosing to seek what society says is good qualities of life to look for, like drugs and sex for I have chosen to deny God. Whenever I talk to a religious person I can mock them for believing an old book, while I cling onto my new science text book. I don't have to do any real thinking for myself, there are plenty of scientists and pagans who do the work for me. I don't have to provide proof for evolution of the BB, I just have to say there is compelling evidence and list a few websites that interpret their findings in the biased that supports my Godless life. Even though I don't think there is an afterlife, meaning no Hell, I still don't even have enough faith in my own belief to prove that. I won't commit suicide to find out, I won't live life wrecklessly and treat it like the worthless, soulless existance I say it is. I just stay on the sidelines, waiting to see who the victor is so I can join them and cheer them on, saying that I knew it all along, but I was just uncertain. There can't be any flaws in my logic, even though I am a mortal being, and so are all of the scientists I worship. I am too evolved to ever make a mistake, even though several people have lied just to prove evolution. It doesn't matter, we have scientists who will discover a new finding that proves that the person who was making crap up was right all along. It's a big coincidence, but still compared to how the universe exploding from a dot smaller than a period, having galaxies and planets form, how a galaxy crashed into ours causing the tilt, which gave enough energy to make our planet produce exactly the right materials, including rain, which made primordial soup where bacteria swum, grouped together into more advanced single-celled organisms, which became more complex into us, the chances that a person who pulled lies out of his *** would be right is minimal. That's proof that anyone who supported evolution in the past with false info. was really right all along. It's kind of surprising that everyone in the past didn't figure that out, it's so obvious a high school dropout could understand it. Stupid God-fearing, moralistic Christians. You can go die and stop existing already, even though when all this is over none of it will matter so me wasting my precious time on you idiots who are obviously inferior to me is stupid, I should go get a life before it is too late. Do what feels good know before we stop feeling anything at all.

Answer 9

Belief requires faith because there is no empirical real-world evidence for supernatural beings and extra-natural worlds that justifies it. Disbelief in things that do not exist in the real world and, in any case, are unknowable and never can be understood is the absence of faith.

Answer 10

Believing in anything - is not easy.
Proof is obviously lacking for anything you wish to believe. Doubt will always be there....

One of the hardest thing is to have an open mind - such that you will investigate and check out, that which you find interesting to follow up on.
Proof will slowly become available and it will be as clear as day.... the evidence will be overwhelming.

I am not talking about religion, but actual evidence that such and such does exist...