h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am open to both religous and non-religous views, but have come to the decision of my own through rational scientific thinking and an understanding of some of the more complex phenomenon in the universe that Religion is actually a blanket to explain away the unexplainable and give purpose and meaning to life.

I think you just very eloquently defined 'religion'.

Atheism is a religion, too.

And agnostics still religiously beleive that they don't know.

If Atheism is a religion what do you call the absolute lack of religion?
What about "Adeism" - the lack of belief in a deity..I think that's where I'd be at. Adeist humanist....yup sounds good.

You show me a guy who beleives in nothing, and I'll show you a guy who does nothing.

According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Atheist - one who denies the existance of God.
Atheism - a disbeleif in the existance of a deity.

The former sounds like one who has a relegion, and the latter sounds like a religion.

Religion - a cause, principle, or system of beleifs held to with ardor and faith.

'Adeism' is not in my dictionary.

Disprove that every mentally mature living person on this planet has a religion of some sort. (Unfortunatly, this excludes infants and the mentally disabled because I lack certain expertise in those areas.)

Atheism is NOT a religion. It is the absence of religion. Sort of like how darkness is simply the lack of light, or coldness is the lack of heat, with the exception that most atheists are rather warm and enlightened.

I realise this may not be a commonly held view but:
Religion is being judged by someone elses rules without question and seeking their forgiveness when these rules are transgressed.
Atheism is judging yourself by your own rules which you are free to question and develop, and on an ongoing balance basis.
Sort of like the difference between childhood and an adulthood?

If you want to go and use your own definitions, go ahead, but I'd rather you supplied sources for them if you are actually trying to form a counter-argument.

I agree that religion can and is defined many different ways, but Atheism is clearly the beleif that there is no deity in the universe which, according to the definition of religion I have supplied is clearly a religion.

I know of no definition of Atheism that sets it as a lack of religion.
Atheism is derived from the Greek word 'theos' which means god, and the prefix 'a-' which means without.

Go ask a theologist for sake.

In responce to a previouse point that I failed to touch upon in my initial post, I do not know of a word that means 'absence of religion', and in light of my argument, there is a very good reason for a lack therof if such a word doesn't exist in the English language.

OK - aetheism = without god :.
if any religion exists without at least one god you are correct.
So - what religion has no deity?

The meaning of a word is its usage.
The common usage of "atheist" is "I have no religion".
:. the meaning of atheist is no religion.

Actually the common usage I've always heard was 'doesn't beleive in (a) god'. I promptly corrected anyone who said anything otherwise.

Money.
Many people beleive that having more money will make them happy. They beleive this to such an extent that they will do anything to get more of it. I would call that faith and arder in a beleif.

daoism
[A] philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events ( www.dictionary.com )

Zen Buddhism
Buddhist sect of Japan and China, based on the practice of meditation rather than on adherence to a particular scriptural doctrine. ( www.encyclopedia.com )

Confucianism
[A] moral and religious system of China...Confucianism was a system of ethical precepts for the management of society, based on the practice of jen-sympathy or human-heartedness-as shown in one's relations with others and demonstrated through adherence to li, a combination of etiquette and ritual. ( www.encyclopedia.com )

Would you like me to keep going?

atheism doesn't have to be a religion without a god
and atheist could be a person of a religion who believes and follows the rules and moral codes of a religion but for reasons other then the fear of punishment from a god or the promise of a reward from the same god. that person doesn't believe that teh god exists. Ofcoourse i could be wrong in my understanding of the informations so far and therfor be wrong.

If your usage is so common, why isn't it showing up in dictionaries?

Dictionaries follow usage, they don't set it.

So - when a form has a question "Religion?" are you saying I should fill in atheist or leave the question blank?

Where no deity is involved, these are "philosophies".

And I don't think the love of money counts - perhaps "capitalism", but that's a philosophy too.

(P.S. Sorry about the short answers - my net connection is unstable today)

'Dictionaries follow usage, they don't set it.'

Like I said. If it's such common usage, why hasn't it shown up in the dictionaries yet?

'So - when a form has a question "Religion?" are you saying I should fill in atheist or leave the question blank?'

From your previous posts, 'Atheist' would be the correct answere to the question, but if you ardently and faithfully beleive that you have no religion, I beleive that a statement to that effect would quite accurately answer the hypothetical sentence fragment of a question you have posed.

As per my original argument, under no cirumstances could you honestly leave the question blank.

However, it might take some time to formulate what you ultimately beleive in, and a responce of that nature could serve in the interrim.

Religion:
R1) Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded
as creator and governor of the universe.
R2) A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
R3) The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
R4) A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
R5) A cause, a principle, or an activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion

Zeal:
Z1) Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, an ideal, or a goal and tireless diligence in
its furtherance.

God:
G1) A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator
and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.
G2) The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.
G3) A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people,
especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.
G4) An image of a supernatural being; an idol.
G5) One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed
G6) A very handsome man.
G7) A powerful ruler or despot.

Atheist:
A1) One that disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

Now, the only non-overlap between the definition of god and the definition of religion is R5. So - aetheism is a religion only if it is "enthusiatsic devotion to a cause or goal and tireless diligence in its persuance".
Given that I (and other people I know who describe themselves as atheist) do not believe in its furtherance, prefering that each come across his or her belief system without pressure or "zeal", then I see absolutely no way that you can say atheism is a religion. This doesn't mean the statement is wrong - just that I don't believe it.

(www.dictionary.com)

Atheism can, I suppose, be a religion, but most atheists that I know are infact atheists because (bluntly put) they don't give a toss. Religious they most certainly are not.

I, on the other hand, am an atheist because I don't believe in anything. That is, I don't have strong feelings about things which I do not have any experience with or proof about. I could probably be more accurately described as 'faithless'.

I do, in fact, find labelling atheism as a religion somewhat offensive. Compare it some of the nicer ones, sure - buddhism, perhaps, I don't know. But to call it a religion is to play down the *major* differences between atheism and religions such as Christianity... and they're *important* differences, as well. Atheism, to me, is having a realistic view of the universe. Religion isn't. It's as simple as that. Atheism doesn't assert that the universe is other than it is; religion does.

Another, equally valid, definition of religion is a set of teachings which include the instruction to impose themselves on others. That's why we *have* religions... because they spread like parasites, controlling their hosts for their own purposes (okay, I admit, they do benefit their hosts under some circumstances as well)... atheism, on the other hand, doesn't teach teachings at all, and certainly doesn't contain instructions to impose itself on everyone you meet.

There are also no cases of atheists killing other atheists because they disagree over which type of atheists they are.

26199

Erm... that last line would have made much more sense had it ended 'because they disagree over which type of atheists is the only true type of atheist.'

26199