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Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

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• Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

• Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  badlands > May 4th, 2017, 08:25 PM

  If so, why? I always thought it was a religion and not like Buddhism , which started as a philosophy instead of religion? Atheists have sects like religions such as The Brights, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and the Alastair's Satanic church. Atheists also have cults? Like communism, which force people to believe the way they do.

• Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  august > May 5th, 2017, 10:00 AM

  I think religion has to have some sort of divine figure at the center, and atheism by definition - and by etymology, since a + theos = "without god" - rejects that. Pretty sure atheists don't have any kind of weekly services either.

• Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  Michael > May 6th, 2017, 09:52 PM

  Atheism is a personal belief that there is no god or gods who made or govern or watch over the universe. It is the opposite of theism, which is all the different belief systems that assume there is a god or gods who created and watch over or govern the universe.
  
  Neither atheism nor theism is a philosophy or a religion. They are like Conservatism and Liberalism, broad concepts that encompass what we think of as opposing political agendas or points of view. You can have several different conservative political parties involved in government and several different liberal parties.
  
  Where the a/theism comparison diverges from political ideals is that you can have political moderates who blend ideas from both ends of the spectrum, but there is no common or middle ground between atheism and theism. Atheism could be described as anti-theism, not necessarily in the activist sense but only in the sense of rejecting the idea of a godly power in the universe.
  
  Put another way, atheists believe in a universe without gods and theists believe in a universe with god(s). Both groups believe in something.
  
  Many (not necessarily most) atheists object to the idea that they believe in something. I have found myself challenged by semantic arguments that insist "faith" can only be used of people who believe in a godly power, and yet that is definitely not how the word is used. Political leaders ask voters to put their faith in them, or their parties. People who prefer a democratic form of government put their faith in democracy.
  
  Faith is not specifically associated with a belief in godly power. It's just a word that describes a very rational action, and I am pretty sure that many non-human but intelligent animals put their faith in basic concepts that have nothing to do with godly powers, such as that there will be a morning after a night, food where they look for it, and other mundane things.
  
  So atheism is hard to define given that some atheists take offense at the idea that they are expressing a belief in anything, as they believe that "a-" means "non-belief" or "disbelief", which is not the way that prefix was supposed to work.
  
  The words "atheist", "atheism" are thus undergoing an evolution, although it remains to be seen if that will be a successful evolution. In my opinion the semantic arguments that are used to separate atheism from belief are illogical, irrational, and completely unnecessary.
  
  You either believe in a universe with godly power or you believe in a universe without godly power. There is nothing else to believe in, and everyone believes in something. But those beliefs are neither religions nor philosophies.

• RE: Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  Tberry1818 > February 17th, 2020, 01:05 PM

  Organized atheism frequently holds that there are materialist forces outside individuals that shape history. In the 20th century Communist and Marxists held that they were on the side of history,that capitalism was being swept away and, moreover, took steps to sweep capitalism away which resulted in hundreds of millions of deaths. Sweeping away religious beliefs has all to frequently not left free thinkers in the wake but has rather given rise to totalitarian movements that brought disasters of almost apocalyptic proportions. Organized atheistic movements can be as dangerous as religious fundamentalism.

• RE: Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  Alvin Eriol > February 17th, 2020, 06:47 PM

  I don't think you properly could call atheism a religion in the narrow sense because it amounts to the denial of the very basis of religion.
  
  Good point mentioning Buddhism, because at least the most fundamentalist forms of Buddhism, particularly the Theraveda school, which is considered to be close to what Siddhartha Gautama originally taught, deny the importance (though not the existence) of deities to our spiritual development and destiny, teach 'salvation' as an end to samsara, the cycle of rebirths, ending in annihilation of the self. Theraveda therefore arguably isn't a religion in the strictest narrowest sense in which gods or the God are the essential point and determine our spiritual destiny.
  
  Now, IMO if you define "religion" broadly as just some system of thought regarding our relationship to Deity or deities and what interactions we should have with them, I suppose in that sense atheism would qualify, as sort of the "null proposition", at least!

• RE: Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  Michael > February 18th, 2020, 01:49 AM

  I'm not ready to argue that atheism is some kind of religion. A religion, as I understand it, is an organized form of worship. It goes beyond mere belief or faith (although many people use these words interchangeably). You have a religion if you have prescribed practices or rituals, rituals, and symbology.
  
  Anyone can believe in a god. That makes them "people of faith" as some put it, but mere belief is not a religion. Hence, as I argued above that atheism is a belief, it's not a religion by virtue of being a belief system.
  
  You could, I suppose, create an atheist religion with worship of nothing, rituals and symbols that are dedicated to nothing, but it would be a gross mockery of religion in my opinion. I can't imagine why someone would want to practice such a religion.

• RE: Is Atheism a religion or philosophy?

  aaronbossig > June 9th, 2020, 11:26 AM

  I think it depends very much on the atheist. (Disclosure: I am not an atheist, but know enough of them that I feel I can talk fairly on the topic) Some do not hold any belief in a deity, and simply rely on other methods of thought to put their life in perspective. For them, I would not say atheism is a religion, it's simply a descriptor of their belief system, or lack thereof. Others seem to become heavily invested in "proving" that there is no deity or that theistic faiths are "wrong". At that point, they are championing atheism to the point where it does function as a religion for them. So yes, to them, it's fair to say atheism is their religion.
  
  Atheism comes in many shades, just like any other group of people.
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