Atheism is a religion?

[cleanhippie]

[CrispyQ]

1. Outstanding!

[mr blur]

2. Excellent!

[obxhead]

3. That's great.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Stop with the logic already!

It has no place within the framework of a faith-based belief system!

[Ezlivin]

5. It's a religion like...

Not watching football is a sport.

[Festivito]

11. Not watching football at a family gathering is indeed a sport...

..running from room to room.

[starroute]

6. For some people, it's certainly a hobby

As a hobby, atheism strikes me as somewhere up there with promoting Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. It gives people something to do, helps them make new friends, and keeps them off the streets. But not much else.

Which, come to think of it, is much the same as what you might say about 99% of religion.

[ZombieHorde]

20. Debate can be a hobby, billboard creation can be a hobby, creating cartoons can be a hobby,

but atheism cannot be a hobby.

[pokerfan]

7. Like not collecting stamps is a hobby (nt)

[Festivito]

10. Actively avoiding the philatelic could be a hobby.

A strange hobby, but a hobby.

[pokerfan]

14. If the shrieking Xtians would quit trying to contaminate politics

then it really wouldn't be an issue.

[Festivito]

15. If shrieking money in politics would stop contaminating religions, we'd not have these issues.

We need campaign finance reform. We need media reform. Then, the religions would not bother politics and politics would not bother religions. IOW it would build a wall of separation between church and state.

[Festivito]

8. Cute. But, misstating -- as usual.

Having a religion that denies another religious figure is still part of the same religion. But, if you insist on the separation of the two beliefs, then it is two religions and atheism is a religion as well.

I still hold that Atheism is a rightfully organizable religion of those who believe that other religion's gods do not exist. And, Atheists would deserve the rights and responsibilities as given in Amendment one.

Believing in a lack of a God is the connecting ligature between Atheists, ligature from where the word religion arises.

Cuteness is fun, but it is just cuteness.

[msongs]

13. false logic on a saturday morning. nt

[Festivito]

16. I think the OP and cartoonist meant well, but, I agree. /nt

[cleanhippie]

18. If it helps you to feel better about yourself by saying that...

Fine by me, but that doesn't make it any truer.

[Festivito]

21. Which part? Or, are you trying to make yourself feel BETTER.

I'm a great fan of feelings. I feel good when I construct something using feelings. If there is a problem with my construction, please, address the construction problem. If you have a problem with my feeling on something, fine, but do be more explicit on which feeling or whatever feeling you perceive.

Just wanting to feel better does not make your statement any truer, or true at all.

[mr blur]

29. Nonsense! (nt)

[Festivito]

33. Oh, I think the cartoon had a little sense, not enough. But, okay.

Not very descriptive of where you and it went awry.

[deacon_sephiroth]

48. my face and my palm hurt now, thanks. n/t

[Speck Tater]

9. I atheism is a religion

because it lacks a belief in god, then a desert is an ocean because it lacks water.

Nope. That doesn't make any sense.

That is not to say that there can't be dogmatic atheists, however.

[Festivito]

12. There are areas of ocean that are deserts,

that is they have little to no waterfall.

So, I'd have to call false analogy on the cute part of your statement.

Noting that I'm sure you intended to start with If not I.

[saras]

17. Atheists can be defined as those who believe "religion equals belief in a single god"

...or they can be defined any number of ways, as can "religion", some better than others.

If you define religion as an organized group, with churches, teachings, publications, educational efforts, social events for their members - then SOME atheists are "religious", organizing themselves in basically the same way to push a different set of fundamental propositions about how to know the world. But many, maybe most, aren't - they just don't share the worldview attributed to the religious. But most important, you situate the question in an arena where statistics and social science methodology will decide. One approach is the academic discipline of liberal studies - what approach is appropriate if you have to successfully work with people holding a wide variety of beliefs?

Another approach is to define it by mental activity i.e. try to define what "belief" means on an individual level. But this separates believers from the religious, and opens a whole new institutional-sized can of worms.

I would suggest that, in general, the interpretive framework in which there is a single unchangeable physical universe, a single correct description of it approached by science, and a set of inferior alternative explanations involving something called "belief" is explicitly what is rejected by the religious, even those that don't believe in a god of any sort. From the perspective of religion, all of them offer interpretive frameworks, most suggesting the physical world exists but is insufficient for humanity, and materialist science appears to be a latecomer whose god is variously described as money, profit, efficiency, productivity, and by various other attributes, but is equally transcendent, omnipotent, and prone to human sacrifice.

[Festivito]

23. I hate to just dismiss your whole essay, but,

1st. You start with: "religion equals belief in a single god" which denies pantheism and even trinitarians by some people's review (although, the usual there would be only people outside of the religion they would describe).

If you were to answer my OP level response instead of popping into the middle of someone else's response, some of what you are addressing would already be handled.

[cleanhippie]

19. More mental gymnastics of self-delusion.

[Festivito]

22. Funny how your post could be directed at yourself, or at me.

Any of that psychological projection going on here?

[cleanhippie]

24. Only on your part.

Good luck with that.

[Festivito]

25. So, your psychological projection only happens when responding to me?

Then good luck with that to you as well.

[cleanhippie]

26. No, your psychological projection only happens when responding to me.

You are projecting that I am projecting that you are projecting when you are projecting, especially about projecting.

[Festivito]

27. Do you always sidestep discussions here on DU?

You never seem to go after the substance of a post and either go for some generalization or go after the poster personally. What are you trying to accomplish? Wasting DUers' time? Keep us from reading the real news around here?

[cleanhippie]

28. Do you?

Just more projection on your part.

Good luck with that.

[Festivito]

30. Again, just to the personal, another ad hominem attack.

Such curt responses.

[cleanhippie]

32. Are you able to respond with more than just "I know you are, but what am I?"

And you seem to bristle when this tactic is used in return. Funny thing, that. Oh, yeah, its projection.

[Festivito]

34. Interesting editing of prior post and even history of these posts.

I don't recall feeling bristly.

[mr blur]

31. There *is* no real news around here.

Not in the Religion group, anyway.

[Festivito]

35. That doesn't follow with your sig line.

"I don't think it's worth getting into the bullshit just to find out what the bull ate." - Don Van Vliet

[Speck Tater]

36. I know I've said this before, and there always seem to be those that disagree, but...

There is:

1. a lack of belief in god or gods, and
2. a belief that no god or gods exist.

The two are subtly different, yet both are considered atheists. I am an atheist who lacks a belief in god or gods. My lack of belief is NOT a belief system. But some go one step further and claim there is no god or gods. That is a more radical statement which, since it cannot be proven, is a belief.

[cbayer]

37. Well said. There is a distinct differene which Ihad not seen so clearly

articulated before.

Clarifying. Thanks.

[GeorgeGist]

38. who gives a rat's ass ...

god?

[DonCoquixote]

39. I think it may help

To define atheism and separate from faiths that claim to be athiesm, but have a relgious belief..

Plain example: Ayn Rand was an Atheist, but would anyone debate objectivism is a religion?

For that matter, Marx was Athiest, but much in Marxism has tons of relgious overtones, right down to the iconography that it has used.

[eridani]

40. Sure, but only if baldness is a hair style n/t

[Festivito]

42. Many men shave their heads bald as a style.

It's what they tell their hair stylist to do.

[eridani]

43. You mean you can have a hairstyle without HAIR? n/t

[Festivito]

44. Being without hair is the style.

Of course for shavers the style is short stubble, for the bald it can be a choice of not getting plugs or transplants or using Rogaine. It depends on ones style.

Let me put it this way:
If you go to a hair stylist and ask what style of hair would look best on me, and they respond that they think you should go completely bald, would that hair stylist no longer be a hair stylist?

[eridani]

45. It pretty much requires hair. n/t

[Festivito]

46. And a hair stylist. /nt

[humblebum]

41. Atheists don't believe in Allah either, so

I guess they, too, have two religions.

[deacon_sephiroth]

47. I can't tell if you missed the point or if you're making it... n/t

[Joseph8th]

49. So believing in no religion...

... is the same as believing in all religions, simultaneously!

Awesome. As an atheist, does that mean I can use every "Holy Day" and "Holiday" to get out of work? By my calculations (not really) that means I will only have to work on Wednesdays and the last day of every 4th February.