Atheism can not be counted as a religion for the same reason that confucism can not be counted as a religion. Neither attempts to provide an answer to the question of what comes after death. Thats it. Thats what defines a religion. Atheism is not a religion. End of story.

And to anyone who tries to bullshit the arguement that atheism claims that there is nothing after death, or really anything, no. No. Some people who are atheists might believe such a thing, but to be an atheist, all one has to do is not believe in god. Simple definitions.

Blah blah, all been said before.

quote:

Dictionary.com said:

re·li·gion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-ljn)

n.

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.

A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

The life or condition of a person in a religious order.

A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.

A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.



Don't see anything about requiring to provide an explanation of what happens after death in there.

Athiests dont just not believe in GOD..they dont believe in a higher being or form. Not just the set christian or catholic God, just thought id clarify that because ive seen alot of people refer to athiesm as not believing in God or having a religion. Not every religion sees their higher being as the infamous "God". And also, if im not mistaken, most athiests dont believe in organized religions? So its not only a belief that there isnt a higher being (not just your so-called God) but a disagreement with organized religion, also known as being a puppet. Besides, if you believe in "god" then arent you supposed to accept everyone for who they are? So much for acceptance when all we get nowadays are discrimination and hate towards athiests, agnostics, humanists, people who carry religious beliefs other than yours, and homosexuals. And if this "God" is against fair rights for everyone and even he discriminates if you dont believe in him, then i dont want to be in a god damn religion where you go to hell unless you conform. Completely stupid.

Look at my post in Atheist/Believers. Atheism is a belief just like religions are a belief, you still haven't gathered all the facts, you have just come to a conclusion. Have an open mind. I don't believe in the so called 'god' of all these blatantly bullshit religions, but to deny the existance of any higher force is rather presumptuous. It could be anything... light, time etc. Just have an open mind.

Quoting good old Tool

"Beliefs allow a mind to stop functioning, a non-functioning mind is clinically dead... believe in nothing."

Confucism is a philosphy. As for atheism I suppose It could also be, but they all have a dfferent explantion for what atheism is so it's hard to say.

[This message has been edited by Lysergamideman (edited 01-30-2004).]

quote:Originally posted by Froonhed:

I don't believe in the so called 'god' of all these blatantly bullshit religions

Then you are an atheist.

a-theism: lack of theism

theism: belief in a god/gods

quote:but to deny the existance of any higher force is rather presumptuous. It could be anything... light, time etc.

Is it presumptuous to deny the existence of Santa Claus?

The evidence for religion (and Santa Claus) has been examined and found lacking.

The word "god" as generally used does not mean a "higher force" (a rather meaningless term). It means a supernatural entity. Saying that light or time could be a god is about as meaningful as saying that sound or distance could be a god.

quote:Originally posted by Lysergamideman:

[B]Confucism is a philosphy. As for atheism I suppose It could also be, but they all have a dfferent explantion for what atheism is so it's hard to say.B]

Thats exatly the point though. Confucism can't be counted as a religion, and has to be counted as a philosophy because it doesn't deal with the after life. Where in the terms and conditions of being an atheist does it explain what happens after we die? Therefore, atheism is at most a philosophy, and it disqualified from consideration as a religion.

Spykd- If you're going to try to be all "worldly", and imply that I am not, some actual knowledge would be useful. Most eastern religions have no heaven or hell, except i n heavily corrupted forms of the religion. And someone who doesn't know about the existance of God, but spurns organized religion is "agnostic". As far as accepting everyone if you believe in God, thats true in the case of Christians, but I don't think any religious people have responded to the post, so who are you yelling at?

Foon- Lets try this one more time. Atheism is a belief. Just that. Religion is a belief, but a special kind. Why? Because it attempts to answer the question of what comes after death. Atheism does not. Semantics, I know, but not difficult. Also, where the hell did you get the idea that I;m close-minded? I know two definitions and put two and two together. As for claiming that light or time might be a higher force... seriously. Read a fucking physics book. Time is a dimension, constrained within certain rules that govern our universe. Light is the particle/wave duality of photons. Or, technically any electromagnetic radiation. It's not a matter of being close-minded, it's a matter of not being an ignorant jackass.

quote:Thats exatly the point though. Confucism can't be counted as a religion, and has to be counted as a philosophy because it doesn't deal with the after life.

No, it can't be counted as a religion because it doesn't deal with a deity... actually, neither does Buddhism, so maybe it can be counted as a religion.

Haddock says it can be:

"A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. "

and I think this describes confucianism pretty well. I don't think of Atheism as a religion, or even agnosticism... organised religion implies groups of people gathered together to practice rituals, and this isn't really part of agnosticism or atheism, though I don't really know anything about confucianism so I'll shut up about that.

When historians try to identify whether or not a culture had a religion, they attempt to discern if the beliefs of that culture tried to address the question of what happens after death. The simple fact that your logic would make Buddhism not a religion proves that you have no idea what you're talking about. And I've been to dictionary.com. The excerpt from the Encyclopedia Brittanica backs me up. What Haddock posted is known as "biased".

everything is "biased." last i checked, none of us are capable of true objectivity.

one question: what difference does it make if atheism is a religion or not? that is, where are you going with this?

It was just a point of contention. I saw like 2-3 posts floating around with posts in them saying things like "atheism is right for the atheist. thats their religion. it's just like being jewish or christian lolol". I figured I'd make an independent post to respond to all of them at once. I don't really care. I'm an atheist, but I don't feel like insulted or anything. It's just a matter of semantics.

good ol' semantics.

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

Saying that light or time could be a god is about as meaningful as saying that sound or distance could be a god.

Wow, you said something pointful. Yes, both statements are as meaningful as each other, because we don't know the answer. When I first came to totse I thought you were one of the smart ones here, but you seem just as closed minded as these dumbass christians. I think I'm gonna take a break from this place, I'm just getting frustrated.

quote:Originally posted by Froonhed:

Wow, you said something pointful. Yes, both statements are as meaningful as each other, because we don't know the answer. When I first came to totse I thought you were one of the smart ones here, but you seem just as closed minded as these dumbass christians. I think I'm gonna take a break from this place, I'm just getting frustrated.

There's a difference between being openminded, and accepting that the Z-axis is sentient and answers your prayers.