Doesn't calling atheism a "belief" degrade ACTUAL belief systems?
For those who insist atheism is a belief or a religion:
Given all the beauty and Truth you find in your particular belief system and/or religion, isn't calling atheism a belief or religion a degradation of belief and religions?
Comments
Atheism is most definitely not a religion. But I do think of it as a belief. Atheists believe in many things, including the idea (or fact) that there is no God. That belief is as valid as the idea that there is a God, and deserves to be held in the same regard, and treated with the same respect. I HATE being referred to as a "non-believer" when I believe in so much. I believe in humanity, in nature, in energy. Just MHO, but something to think about, maybe.
Blessings!
Well, a belief is anything someone believes, be it true or false. Believe it or not, there are people that believe that the earth is flat. (The Flat Earth Society) This is their "belief." Thus, anyone who does not believe in a god is an atheist and this IS one of their beliefs and a part of their belief system...end of story.
As for the "beauty and Truth" of your individual belief system, you are seriously misguided. I have heard that many people on acid experience an extremely beautiful displays of color and intense emotional experiences with profound results. Tat does not make what they are doing right nor is it something I have any interest in trying. It certainly doesn’t make their actions or their belief that their actions are ok...the truth. Your bible or the Quran or whatever holly book you subscribe too may bring you some form of comfort and you may find some beauty in it's pages, but that does NOT make it all peaches and it certainly does NOT make it true or the TRUTH. This absurd idea that everyone's beliefs should be accepted as truth is assigning. If you CHOOSE to belief a lie, that is your prerogative and I have no right to prevent you from believing what you want. But just as I scoff at the acidheads and pot heads and alcoholics for waiting their lives and the adults that can’t differentiate between science fiction and reality and spend countless hours a day playing video games for the same reason, so too do I feel about people that would put faith in such an antiquated and ridiculous notion as god.
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,Everybody has a free will, if Atheism has their own belief , nature, good living, that is okay, we shouldn't be bashing any type of Denominations, or Non - Denominations, Liturgical Churches, or a Non - Liturgical Churches. Christianity, Cults & The Occult...
Please Don't take it Personal, I was just reading some of the answers and they are right on the money.. there are some Christian that will try anything to convert people, but the Christian way is to comfort, and show the love we have for all.... It should not be a Religious system, it should be what you believe in your heart...
but just had to answer your Question.... They are two laws out in the World right now; We have the law of Man and The Law of God in Heaven.....
We are all Gods Childrens, whether we like it or not...
It sort of defeats the purpose to call it a religion, but I can understand someone calling it their belief. To atheists, it IS the truth, just as people perceive truth in other beliefs and religions.
Atheism is a belief system, one of not believing in intelligent design or the afterlife.
To call it degrading seems insulting to atheists.
There are many different beliefs and faiths in the world. Regardless of what you personally think is the truth, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
We are all free to believe anything - in our heads. However, we are NOT always free to express our beliefs through the spoken or written word, depending on the mores of the particular society we live in.
E.g.: As beautiful as a Christian may think the contents of his New Testament are, he/she is not free to discuss them in the Islamic theocracy that is Iran.
Any theist who calls atheism a "religious belief" is a dope.
Edit @ dewcoons: Religion - an institutionalized system of religious beliefs and worship, e.g. the Christian religion. What did I say about dopes who call atheism a religious belief? I rest my case.
P.S. Wrong, Gary B. - It's LACK OF PROOF, not lack of faith, that separates atheist from theist.
No, as you can have an atheistic religion or faith. For example, Animism and some forms of Buddhism. Atheism is just the belief that there are no gods. You can still have a faith or spiritual belief and be an atheist.
Calling atheism a belief system is not only logically incoherent, it's a disingenuous attempt to "put 'em at our level." Atheism describes the "lack" of belief. It is an unnecessary word denoting something that is not there. If religions need any more help degrading themselves, the last place they should look is the word symbolizing the shaking off of that dogma.
I think this is a good point!
For me, as an atheist, atheism is just a statement that I don't believe in gods - any of them.
There are no rules, no structues, no rituals, no symbols. Nothing to mark it out as an organisation or creedo of any kind.
Yet some people seem to think it IS a religion. Probably because the pastor told them.
But as a religion, it's nothing. And the fundies' abject fear of it as an "organisation" is amusing as it *does* show how shallow some religions must be.
All religions are beliefs. What religion can you state as a fact? I have full respect of your right to believe what you want but to come on here and call people out for having their own beliefs isn't going to warrant you much respect.
I wouldn't say that atheism is a belief, rather a lack of belief in God or a god. Absence of faith. This position is understandable to me, after all the definition of faith is "firm belief in something for which there is no proof ". There is no proof that any of the religions are correct.