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Do you think Atheism is a religion or not? Explain.
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It depends
on how one defines religion. Atheism has a pretty solid meaning, the non-belief in deity or deities, though one may be more or less certain on this; but religion is an ambiguous word with many possible meanings and even more connotations. -
The word "Atheist"
derives from two Greek root words, etymologically speaking.
"A" which implies being without or lacking
and "theos" the root word for deity.
If religion is a belief system, then Atheism is indeed a religion. However, there is no cult figure so otherwise omnipresent in "religion", but rather a lack thereof. Atheism may be considered the antithesis of religion, because it is a lack of belief, rather than a belief in anything at all.
Atheism is to religion as hot is to cold or fire is to ice. Atheism is simply an antithesis of religion as we know it.
Course, that's just my two cents on the matter. I am certain we may wind round this convolution to no end should we so desire.
Al -
lmao lmao i don't mean to hate
but the man who doesn't believe in god is stupider than a autic child they kno who made them and all u gotta do is look around the world didn't get like this because of the big bang or such it was divinely made and if there is no god then watta bout the bible its tthe oldest book and jesus is still alive u see if there wasn't a god the why do people want to get rid of us christans look at history its full of the bibles prophecy don't be stupid folks o and my lord made heaven and hell so keep that in mind wen u disreguard the word God -
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Too bad people who believe in God are stupid b/c there is no heaven nor hell. Plus a guy in a place that doesn't exist?! Not to be mean that is.
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Hey, I am not stupid. I don't believe the whole heaven and hell thing either, and not all Christians do, but that does not mean we don't protect our immortal souls.
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Outlaw Philosopher(notice spelling): Way to go, chief...
I can't imagine anyone passing up your line of thought: "Believe or be stupid".
Somehow, you have quite succinctly betrayed your age with your response. One day you will learn that there exist many intellectual giants outside the bounds of religion. Then, if you are wise, you will realize what a truly stupid statement you have just made.
Self-determination is a beautiful thing. Sandbagging the unbelieving into a corner by impugning their intelligence I assure you is a rather insipid endeavor. Here, let me clarify: calling people stupid while all the while purporting to represent a benevolent God is stupid. There, a little more on your level.
Please try to enact a more diplomatic air in the future. I am sure it would be appreciated.
Al -
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Lol at first I thought you were saying that about my comment and I was all like, what?!?! I was just saying that to make fun of what he said only the other way around! Lol...nice.
Thanks too! XD
Ash
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Please,
let's not be too harsh. Just because someone does not believe what you obviously believe, does not make them more or less stupid. I do not believe in a God, or a heaven or hell. That is my belief, and it does not make me stupid. Everyone has their own belief, and I don't think this is a place to judge people by what they believe, it's simply a place to talk about what you and others believe. Also, if you don't like what someone believes, then their are nicer ways to say it. Atleast be a little mature. Sorry if I offended you.
-Raichel -
Speaking of autistic children...
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At least I can spell autistic. History is full of people killing each other over the bible too, buddy. Atheists don't have any justification for killing anyone, but it comes in the book of the 'law' multiple times, including as a punishment for lots of things, including being raped. It also says slavery is ok, and that people lived to be hundreds of years old.
The bible IS the oldest book around. It was around before people discovered a lot of true things. Don't ever use the bible as a defense of anything because it's blatantly wrong in many places. I'm not ignorant of the bible sir; you're ignorant of reality, and if you think the bible is a moral text obviously you don't understand either.
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Technically? No
A religion is not merely a belief system, it is a belief system coupled with an organised system of worship for a deity or deities. By definition, atheism, having no deity, cannot be a religion.
Of course, if we mean "religion" in a broader almost metaphorical sense, I might go so far as to say that "science" could be said to be a religion, building some great shrine to true knowledge. But atheism can't really be, because atheism is not a system of beliefs. Take, for example, morality. Christians, in general, have a set of morals prescribed to them by means of the specific interpretation of the bible that their particular sect holds. Members of that sect, in general, follow those teachings. There is no moral system whatsoever associated with atheism, no set of beliefs. It is one a single criteria that could be contained in any one of hundreds of sets of belief.
To turn the question on its head, is theism a religion? of course not. I can be a theist, but not religious. Tke, for example, people who believe that a deity set the world in motion and let it be, so they believe in a higher power, but do not worship, are they religious? Definitely not. but they *are* theistic, because they believe in a god.
Atheism is an absence of religious belief, whatever that person chooses to fill their life with might be a quasi religion (because large numbers of humans seem to feel a *need* for a spiritual aspect to their lives) or it may not, but atheism itself is not.
(And just to the above, I do love people who can't spell and call others stupid.) -
Atheism
Atheism is technically called a religion, though the group has no main god. They don't really believe in one, so to some people they aren't a religious group. -
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No.
Atheism is not a religion. Atheism is the absence of belief in gods. You can be Atheist and still religious (Buddhism, or LaVey Satanism for example) but Atheism in and of itself is not a religion. Never has been, never will be. It has no dogma, rules, regulations, or requirements. The only thing that holds true for all Atheists is their stance on deities. There are democrats, republicans, libertarians, and everything in between.
And we don't lack a "main god". We lack ANY god. Its not like we have auxiliary gods sitting around that we worship sometimes.
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Not a Religion, in my opinion
I can see both sides of this argument, but I think I lean more toward the 'not a religion' choice. When I think of religion, I vision worship, a god or gods, a set of...morals or guidelines, whether they be strict or scarce. Since Atheists show none of these, I can't see it being a religion. There's no faith nor practice. -
Unless YOU
are an Atheist, who gives a shit and why would it matter?? If you are an Atheist asking this question to other believers of a different CULT/RELIGION then it makes sense I guess, but you shouldn't care anyways if you are. There are two things that people should never discuss publicly and those are RELIGION and POLITICS. No matter how adult people think they are those conversations always end up with two or more people are arguing. Nobody is going to change anybody else's mind anyways, and why would you want to change somebody's beliefs. THAT IS ALL I WILL SAY B/C IF i WERE TO TALK FURTHER IT COULD ONLY POSSIBLY RUIN FRIENDSHIPS THAT I HAVE WORKED HARD BUILDING ON THIS SITE. I know your question doesnt ask personally about their own religion, but this is how it starts. LoL
TTYL
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Religious Atheists
The only way religion can be a religion in my book is if it is dogmatic-- if it fails to look at evidence to the contrary and fails to respect the intelligence of believers. -
Open & shut surely
Atheism has to be irreligious as am I and as others said the antithesis to religion. Ergo ... is all.
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skipeople
Jul 24 2:18 PM 2007
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