If atheism is not a religion...

[sith123]

Why does it get involved in religious threads? i was prompted to ask this by something naomi said. If anyone wants the link i can give it.

[jomifl]

Beso, Exactly, the biggest oppressor of muslims is their religion,they have been brainwashed all their lives and can't see it.

[sith123]

i am from the west. I was born in Britain.

[sith123]

and i converted to islam. so i know about western society.

[doctordb]

That's why I called you a western Muslim with.

[doctordb]

Apologies, Sith not with.

[ll_billym]

For the same reason that non-racists get involved in racist threads. Trying to make the voice of reason heard I guess.

[sith123]

//Voice of reason//

so everything they say is reasonable?

[jomifl]

Sith, there is a difference in meaning between 'reasonableness' and 'reason', look it up.

[sith123]

i see. well i have got the answers i have wanted from this thread. Thank you to all who contributed.

[Uzyrmnd]

The definiton of religion is - the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices. So technically according to the meaning of the word then Athiesm is a religion because it is a set of beliefs. Their belief system is based in belief that there is not God.

It's so funny how people often have trouble thinking outside of the box that they set themselves in... so that they forget that the box is actually in a room. Traditional religion is looked at only in the sense of a higher power but the bigger box is that religion is all about belief systems. It is a religion (belief system) but not according to what they understand religion to be.

[jomifl]

Uz, wrong. You can choose not to believe in god or you can not have a belief in god, either way it ain't a religion. Religion is belief in a god. If there is no god it isn't religion, it might be a belief system but that is all. From my viewpoint (outside the room) you are playing with semantics, the word 'belief' has several meanings, only one of which has to do with religion. Religion has hijacked the word 'belief' in order to confuse and subjugate people.'Belief' in god is now it's default meaning, but only if we let it be. Atheism is not a belief in a lack of god, it is a lack of belief in god and lack of belief is not a religion...

[RATTER15]

>>>The definiton of religion is - the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices. So technically according to the meaning of the word then Athiesm is a religion because it is a set of beliefs. Their belief system is based in belief that there is not God.<<<

I have no belief in any God >>NO BELIEF<<

>>Calling Atheism a Religion Is Like Calling Bald a Haircolour<<

[RATTER15]

>>Calling Atheism a Religion Is Like saying darkness is a colour but is devoid of light<<

[jomifl]

Excellent Ratter..concise and to the point :-)

[jake-the-peg]

//The definiton of religion is - the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices.//

That's a pretty lousy definition

On that basis the Tory Party is a religion because they have a set of common beliefs and practices

I think you need the word supernatural in there

[jomifl]

Uzyrmnd, perhaps in your defence of your statement you would care explain to atheists what it is they believe in. Inside or outside the box or the room it doesn't matter.

[chakka35]

Uz, I answered your absurd point about atheism being a religion on this thread a few pages ago.

To repeat: atheism is not a belief but a refusal to believe in irrational claims. I also don't believe in tarot cards, magic crystals, acupuncture, bleeding statues and fairies, at the bottom of my garden or elsewhere.

Are these all religions of mine?

(Incidentally, I don't believe in any of the 2500 deities listed in the Encyclopedia of Gods on my shelf here. You, presumably, believe in one and dismiss the rest. According to your 'reasoning' that makes you twice religious: once for believing in your god and again for not believing in the others!)

What daft avenues religion leads us into...

[naomi24]

Uzyrmnd, //Athiesm [sic] is a religion because it is a set of beliefs. Their belief system is based in belief that there is not God.//

That’s news to me. As far as I’m aware atheism equates to an absence of belief in supernatural gods – nothing more. Do tell me more about this set of beliefs you’re talking about – and whilst you’re at it, please tell me what ‘body of persons’ atheists belong to.

It seems to me that people of religion have a penchant for endowing others with their own mentality. They appear to find it impossible to contemplate that anyone can have a perfectly happy and fulfilled life without the safety of the herd around them and without other men telling them how to live.

[mike11111]

The word 'religion' comes from the Latin 'religio', meaning to bind, implying that religious people are bound by their beliefs. As atheists are not so 'bound', they cannot be described as religious so atheism is not by definition a religion.