do you believe atheism to be a religion in itself?

Question

I just wanted to pick your brain with this one and see what out there.

Answer 1

No, it is a philoshiphy, the idea that there is no god, and that god doesn't exist.

Answer 2

I'd say no, religion is faith. I'd say atheism is the antithesis of faith. It's absence or rejection of faith entirely which would be the staple of religion. One doens't need faith, one need only ask the question and realize that there is no answer...just the search. But what the atheist rejects is the idea that, the unexplainED is supernatural. They believe that the unexplained is just a question that has YET to be answered. If we looked at hard questions, and through up our hands the way christians do, and said "you know this question is just to hard to answer, it must be god, so let's just give up" where would we be as a society? Have you flown on a plane before? There were those that believed only god could make you fly, only god could split the atom, only god could cure disease. We do these things easily because we, unlike the religious people that are so limited in scope of thought that they don't even attempt to ask WHY, WHY does this happen, and really search for an explanation other than magic. We refuse to accept that god is responsible.

Answer 3

I am an atheist, and no, it's not a religion. Atheism is nothing more than a lack of belief in any god. We have no other common denominator.

Atheists can believe in ghosts, an afterlife, fairies, and anything else other than a god. Most followers of Eastern religions (i.e. Taoism, Shinto, Buddhism, etc.) are atheists. Some atheists are skeptics, as I am. We vary greatly. We have no set of rules, beliefs, practices, doctrines, rituals, traditions, clergy, or texts.

Answer 4

No. Atheism is rejection of religion and all belief in the supernatural. Atheism does NOT offer any substitute faith at all.

Instead, atheism in the strictest sense is an approach to life based on appreciating that there is no reasonable reason to believe in anything supernatural, and of course, that includes god.

Atheism requires more courage and intellectual honesty than any belief-system.

Answer 5

It really depends on how you define religion. I look at religion as more than just belief in God. It's the traditions and doctrine associated with a particular group, be they Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. In that sense atheism is not a religion.

Answer 6

People who do not know what religion is might want to believe that everyone is like them, and so think that atheism is a religion. No one else would.

Answer 7

The day I see them have priests and holy books, I'll buy into that, but no. Atheists are a very diverse group of people. They tend to put more faith in science than most people, but the only requirement to be an atheist is not to believe in any sort of deity. Even some Buddhists can qualify as minimalist atheists.

Answer 8

Atheism is a religious belief, but not a religion in the strictest sense of the word.

Answer 9

Religion derived from Latin word meaning ( 'to join' ) - To join one-self with the Supreme/God.
An atheist does not believe in God / Supreme power, so can atheism be called a religion? Hope not.

Answer 10

Yes - It is the religion of the science of man. They put their faith in science (and even seem to worship mans knowledge), or in other words the knowledge of mankind. I call it faith because our science, while certainly advanced, does not have all of the answers, but the atheists still rely on its theories to solve the mysteries of the universe. They also attempt to draw soley upon the powers that mankind has discovered and developed, so in short, they may not have buildings and weekly services, but they are indeed a religion.

Answer 11

religion is the physical aspect of belief. atheism is not in itself a belief, but rather a lack of belief, therefore it is not a religion. some atheists, however, do accept the spiritual aspects of some religions that do not require belief in a literal god. those atheists are not practicing atheism, they are buddhists, taoists, nontheistic pagans, or any other number of beliefs that don't depend on the existence of a god.