So Neo, did you know that Atheism is a religion?

[Seth]

Richard Dawkins is an anti-theist, also an atheist.

And he's a religious zealot...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

[Seth]

Don't demean yourself that way Gawzilla, we still like you even though you are a

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Don't demean yourself that way Gawzilla, we still like you even though you are a

Lame Seth is lame. Why do you bother? You talk all day long and say nothing, and then applaud yourself, thinking you're a wit. You're half right.

[Seth]

Don't demean yourself that way Gawzilla, we still like you even though you are a

Lame Seth is lame. Why do you bother? You talk all day long and say nothing, and then applaud yourself, thinking you're a wit. You're half right.

Perhaps, but that's still 100 percent more wit than you demonstrate.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Ah, the Peewee Herman defense. "I know you are, but what am I?" Perfect Seth.

[Robert_S]

No it's not even a philosophy. Atheist can be an adjective describing a philosophy, or anything else, that lacks theism.

Nope. Nothing in the various definitions of religion require theistic beliefs. Buddhism and Secular Humanism, and even Scientology for example are all non-theistic religions.

Right, so there are a few different religions that an atheist can have. Methinks this big "A" atheism of which you write (do you mean gnu-athism?) would be more of a social cause and/or political position.

[Neoatheist]

Jesus fucking Christ! How the hell did I miss this little gem? Atheism is a religion? No, in order for atheism to be a religion, it would at the very least need to be a philosophy. Simply lacking belief in a god is not a system of belief. It is a lack of belief (specifically in a god). One might argue that secular humanism is a religion because it is a philosophy or belief system. To argue that atheism is a religion is to misunderstand the definition of the word atheism. There are different dictionary definitions of the word atheism, but the consensus among ALL of them is that it is "lack of belief in deities".

[Robert_S]

Jesus fucking Christ! How the hell did I miss this little gem? Atheism is a religion? No, in order for atheism to be a religion, it would at the very least need to be a philosophy. Simply lacking belief in a god is not a system of belief. It is a lack of belief (specifically in a god). One might argue that secular humanism is a religion because it is a philosophy or belief system. To argue that atheism is a religion is to misunderstand the definition of the word atheism. There are different dictionary definitions of the word atheism, but the consensus among ALL of them is that it is "lack of belief in deities".

I think Seth is trying to coin a word by introducing the capital "A" into the word "atheism".

[hiyymer]

Atheism and rationalism are not necessarily interconnected. Implict atheists do not have to be rationalists, do they?

No, but they often are. Let me put it this way. I am technically an atheist. I think I understand what gods are and what function they serve in our experience. It is my opinion that life as we live it is irrational. We don't get to choose our motivations. So God told me to do it is a perfectly fine model of the life intention that compels us. It's just that a god is not something that is transparently real to me; no emotional connection. I actually have no desire to make the world a better place, so I am not sure if I have a religion at all. Rationalists generally believe that having good reasons and spurning "superstition" are shoulds. I have no such delusions. Rationality is simply a tool to make nuclear reactors or nuclear bombs or whatever moves you. So do I have a religion? I'd be interested in your opinion.

[Neoatheist]

Jesus fucking Christ! How the hell did I miss this little gem? Atheism is a religion? No, in order for atheism to be a religion, it would at the very least need to be a philosophy. Simply lacking belief in a god is not a system of belief. It is a lack of belief (specifically in a god). One might argue that secular humanism is a religion because it is a philosophy or belief system. To argue that atheism is a religion is to misunderstand the definition of the word atheism. There are different dictionary definitions of the word atheism, but the consensus among ALL of them is that it is "lack of belief in deities".

I think Seth is trying to coin a word by introducing the capital "A" into the word "atheism".

Unfortunately for Seth, until theist is a proper noun and deserves a capital "T", the "a" in atheist will humbly stay lowercase.

[Gallstones]

RE: Gawdzilla v Seth

[Hermit]

An explicit atheist forms a belief about gods.

Correction: Theism conceives of god as personal, present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe. The vast majority of atheists do not positively claim to know that there are no such gods. They just lack a belief in the existence of any, pending evidence to the contrary in the same way that most people lacked a belief in the existence of black swans until they were discovered to exist. There is nothing religious about lacking a belief in the existence of something due to the lack of evidence in such an entity's existence.

[Hermit]

I would want to be a cardinal sin.

Like this one?

[Gallstones]

No, it's not. It's a philosophy. Religions have rituals, dieties, leading figures, holy books, faith-based beliefs, and passage rights.

It's neither a religion, nor a philosophy.

Atheism is the belief that there are not gods, or the lack of any belief in any gods, or at least the position that there is insufficient evidence from which to conclude that any gods exist. No philosophical position is necessitated by atheism - one may be a nihilist, objectivist, existentialist, Epicurean, or whatever, and still be an atheist.

There is no philosophy of atheism.

But atheism may be practiced as a religion, and often is.

How please? List some of these practices, that if witnessed, would lead the reasonable person to conclude that the practices are religious and that the religion being practiced is a/Atheism.