What are the concepts behind the belief sytem of Atheism?

Whenever Atheism is mentioned in just about any topic, someone (exclusively religious individuals) make the statement that Atheism is a religion, or some kind of Belief System. For that reason, I placed this topic here in the Religion, Faith, And Theology forum, as some members here feel that this is where Atheism belongs, and so I am curious as to what those members believe the Atheistic Belief System really believes in.

Dictionary.com defines "Belief System" as 'faith based on a series of beliefs but not formalized into a religion'

Where as Philosopher Jonathan Glover elaborates; A "belief system" is a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs of any such system can be classified as religious, philosophical, ideological, or a combination of these. Philosopher Jonathan Glover says that beliefs are always part of a belief system, and that tenanted belief systems are difficult for the tenants to completely revise or reject.

Let's get past a few hurdles before we begin. The English Language is one of the most complex languages out there. Many terms serve duel (or more) descriptions and meanings. Therefore a term used incorrectly may be misinterpreted or misused all together. So keep in mind that any belief, such as a belief that the earth moves around the sun, is part of a belief system, but does not necessarily constitute a religion-belief system.

So without further adieu, I would like to know why some of you feel Atheism is a Religion or a Religious-Belief System?

I believe atheism would be the rejection of other belief systems.

A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence

By this definition, Atheism could be identified as a religion. There are now Churches of Atheism too...

That doesn't mean that an Atheist is automatically religious just like someone that believe in Jesus isn't automatically a Christian.

To be 100% sure there isn't a god or gods is a matter of faith because there is no solid proof of either but the lack of proof isn't proof in itself. I'm agnostic myself so I'm open minded, I lack faith in higher powers but I have no proof that higher powers don't exist.

Most people are not actually atheist. Some have mixed words that most philosophers including atheist scholars reject like agnostic atheist etc. People can call themselves what ever they want but to me you can't just mix words and expect them to make sense philosophically.

Atheism is the belief god does not exist. There for it is a faith. There is no way to prove or disprove the existence of god. When people admit this they are agnostic. There will be some here to debate this but if you use logic and reason its hard to get around an atheist or a real and true atheist can not prove their belief which by definition is going on faith their belief is true.

Here is a simple tip ghost

Google

Why atheism is the new religion

Let that answer your query rather than playing games
Its all there on the net
Argue with the collective who disagree with you
Your unbelief is a belief in un

christians are scared of the dark, you are scared of the light

a reply to: Ghost147 Atheism is a belief system. I would think ideological belief system if another word is needed. I don't think it is a religion. It lacks the faith that is required to believe. There is no faith required to not believe. As a person who has faith, I can remember the very moment I found faith. It is absolutely indescribable, one moment I felt no spiritual presence with me and the next it was there, going against all logic.

Atheism would be the complete absence of religion.

(I have since found that it is not a belief system either)

originally posted by: Ghost147
Dictionary.com defines "Belief System" as 'faith based on a series of beliefs but not formalized into a religion'

There is no "faith" or "series of beliefs" in atheism. There is ONE belief. We have nothing else in common.

Of course, who would listen to the religious when it comes to explaining atheism? LOL!

So without further adieu, I would like to know why some of you feel Atheism is a Religion or a Religious-Belief System?

Who cares? No one can describe my belief better than me, least of all those who claim to know about it!

Pick whatever label you like for me, but I've seen nothing in my life to draw me towards believing in any gods so I do not.
On the other hand there is no way I can assert that there are no gods, so I do not.

I regard gods in the same bag of fairytales such as dragons, fairies, pixies, elves, ghosts and goblins.
There is no label describing my lack of belief in such things just I have seen no evidence of any of them so I don't believe, equally I cannot assert goblins do not exist as I would have no way of verifying that.

No belief system or faith about gods can be attached to my stance, but I know some religious nut types who would love to say I have 'faith' such as they do. It's silly, but amusing.

I don't call it faith, for myself anyway. I call it confidence in what seems to make the most sense to me.

I'm an Agnostic, because nobody can know anything for certain, there is no tangible proof, not to my knowledge anyway.

I for sure don't believe in any sort of God entity, but can I say with any certainty there is something more when we die, no, just like I can't say with any certainly there is nothing.

I've met many self proclaimed Atheists in my life and after talking to them for a few minutes it was easy to see they were really Agnostics.

A true Atheist has no doubts in their mind whatsoever and there are more than a few out there. No higher power, no after life..Nothingness!

But I believe, like myself, you can still be an Agnostic and not believe in God, because we still think there is perhaps something "spiritual" going on.

If it's a religion, then I belong to The Seven Day Agnostics, there are 2 of us in our church, it's at our house. Don't worry we won't be coming to your door trying to get you to join.

originally posted by: luthier
Some have mixed words that most philosophers including atheist scholars reject like agnostic atheist etc. their belief is true.

Agnostic Atheism has been around for over 100 years. Where do you find 'most philosophers' and 'atheist sholars' rejecting this term or particular theism?

Where do you find that most atheists are not atheists?source

7. Calling atheism a religion is like calling baldness a hair color. The “religion” of atheism and secular humanism is not taught in public schools, unless you think that conveying the best available scientific information is a religious act. If you wind up abandoning faith in supernatural things because of science, as many do, that is a collateral benefit to critical thinking.

originally posted by: reldra

originally posted by: luthier
Some have mixed words that most philosophers including atheist scholars reject like agnostic atheist etc. their belief is true.

Agnostic Atheism has been around for over 100 years. Where do you find 'most philosophers' and 'atheist sholars' rejecting this term or particular theism?

Where do you find that most atheists are not atheists?source

7. Calling atheism a religion is like calling baldness a hair color. The “religion” of atheism and secular humanism is not taught in public schools, unless you think that conveying the best available scientific information is a religious act. If you wind up abandoning faith in supernatural things because of science, as many do, that is a collateral benefit to critical thinking.

Because if you admit you can not prove there is a god you are agnostic.

My knowledge does not come from googling facts from unknown sources and saying they are true.

It comes from rational philosophical arguments on the subject in philosophy classes guided by professors who can easily point out fallacy.

You can not believe god does not exist and also admit you can't prove that without just being plain old agnostic.

Personally I waiver between agnostic, deist, spinosism but am not an agnostic deist pantheist. That is ridiculous.

Thank you that was my point exactly. Agnostics don't even need to believe in anything spiritual just that they admit they can't prove even if they don't believe. God also didn't need to be a man with a beard. It could be a concept more like pantheism, it could be a higher intelligence than created the building blocks and left etc.
People assume only magical unicorn gods are what people are talking about when they say a god could exist.

a reply to: Ghost147

There are a few types of Atheist. The "Evangelical Atheist" are the loud obnoxious ones that practice hard line intolerance (what they accuse religions of).

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Evangelical Atheist: An evangelical atheist is one who not only believes there is no god or other supreme being, but is obsessed with convincing everyone around them to become an atheist too, usually through hard-line intolerance (the kind they accuse other religions of).

When cornered they usually try to put down their opponent's religion and bash them for 'blind faith', not realizing that their belief that there is no god is no more or less valid or provable than the other guy's belief that there is one.

Not to be confused with normal atheists/agnostics, who for the most part just don't talk about religion and accept the beliefs of those around them as their prerogative. Evangelical atheists are particularly common on the Internet, as organized religion is generally accepted as part of 'the system' of global human society, and lately it's become cool on the Internet to hate 'the system'. Evangelical atheist usually seeks to "convert" borderline theists, often by engaging in debate with fundamentalists.


The New Atheists see religion as a disease to be exterminated. Their dream, in short, is not a government neutral to religion, but a government actively hostile to religion. The evangelical atheists assume that religion must inevitably breed mindless fanaticism. We see a determined attempt not just to keep organized religion out of government (which most religious Americans agree is a good idea), but to suppress religion completely.

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.

So i can reject the belief in mermaids, elves, santa, and the great pumpkin in the same manner, because there is simply no proof for such creatures. It is not a matter of faith so much as a lack of evidence – a preponderance of a lack of evidence – that leads me to the conclusion that I should reject the claims that our whole universe was and is under the control of deities.

This is not faith. It is a rational deduction.

Once when I lived in Pennsylvania my wife told me that a monkey was in our garbage cans. I initially rejected her claims, because I had never see evidence of monkeys living in the state (except in zoos), and had never seen one in the area either. Upon inspection I found a raccoon in the garbage. My initial deduction proved correct.

I suggest that the idea that atheism must be a religion or some sort of faith is an attempt to make the rejection of a god-based belief system in to a competing religion, in order to quell the cognitive dissonance created by the outright rejection of such systems.

Understandable, but really pretty juvenile. It is the old straw-man argument of calling science a religion.

a reply to: Ghost147

Atheism is usually defined incorrectly as a belief system. Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. Older dictionaries define atheism as "a belief that there is no God." Some dictionaries even go so far as to define Atheism as "wickedness," "sinfulness," and other derogatory adjectives. Clearly, theistic influence taints dictionaries. People cannot trust these dictionaries to define atheism. The fact that dictionaries define Atheism as "there is no God" betrays the (mono)theistic influence. Without the (mono)theistic influence, the definition would at least read "there are no gods."

Why should atheists allow theists to define who atheists are? Do other minorities allow the majority to define their character, views, and opinions? No, they do not. So why does everyone expect atheists to lie down and accept the definition placed upon them by the world’s theists? Atheists will define themselves.

The only common thread that ties all atheists together is a lack of belief in gods and supernatural beings. Some of the best debates we have ever had have been with fellow atheists. This is because atheists do not have a common belief system, sacred scripture or atheist Pope. This means atheists often disagree on many issues and ideas. Atheists come in a variety of shapes, colors, beliefs, convictions, and backgrounds. We are as unique as our fingerprints.

American Atheists

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: Ghost147

Atheism is usually defined incorrectly as a belief system. Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. Older dictionaries define atheism as "a belief that there is no God." Some dictionaries even go so far as to define Atheism as "wickedness," "sinfulness," and other derogatory adjectives. Clearly, theistic influence taints dictionaries. People cannot trust these dictionaries to define atheism. The fact that dictionaries define Atheism as "there is no God" betrays the (mono)theistic influence. Without the (mono)theistic influence, the definition would at least read "there are no gods."

Why should atheists allow theists to define who atheists are? Do other minorities allow the majority to define their character, views, and opinions? No, they do not. So why does everyone expect atheists to lie down and accept the definition placed upon them by the world’s theists? Atheists will define themselves.

The only common thread that ties all atheists together is a lack of belief in gods and supernatural beings. Some of the best debates we have ever had have been with fellow atheists. This is because atheists do not have a common belief system, sacred scripture or atheist Pope. This means atheists often disagree on many issues and ideas. Atheists come in a variety of shapes, colors, beliefs, convictions, and backgrounds. We are as unique as our fingerprints.

American Atheists[/quote

Atheism then doesn't really mean anything. Its just a word people use to describe hundreds of different things that are not related.

a reply to: Ghost147

I have found I am incorrect. It is not a belief system either. But, I was given 2 things to pick from.What is Atheism

a·the·ist
ˈāTHēəst/
noun
noun: atheist; plural noun: atheists
a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.
"he is a committed atheist" source


""OK, maybe it's not a religion in the strict sense of the word. But surely belief in atheism (or science) is still just an act of faith, like religion is?"

Firstly, it's not entirely clear that skeptical atheism is something one actually believes in.

Secondly, it is necessary to adopt a number of core beliefs or assumptions to make some sort of sense out of the sensory data we experience. Most atheists try to adopt as few core beliefs as possible; and even those are subject to questioning if experience throws them into doubt.

Science has a number of core assumptions. For example, it is generally assumed that the laws of physics are the same for all observers (or at least, all observers in inertial frames). These are the sort of core assumptions atheists make. If such basic ideas are called "acts of faith," then almost everything we know must be said to be based on acts of faith, and the term loses its meaning.

Faith is more often used to refer to complete, certain belief in something. According to such a definition, atheism and science are certainly not acts of faith. Of course, individual atheists or scientists can be as dogmatic as religious followers when claiming that something is "certain." This is not a general tendency, however; there are many atheists who would be reluctant to state with certainty that the universe exists.

Faith is also used to refer to belief without supporting evidence or proof. Skeptical atheism certainly doesn't fit that definition, as skeptical atheism has no beliefs. Strong atheism is closer, but still doesn't really match, as even the most dogmatic atheist will tend to refer to experimental data (or the lack of it) when asserting that God does not exist."

source

a reply to: luthier
You're close. It means one thing, and one thing only, which is bolded above. Other than that, atheists are as varied in their beliefs as the thousands of sects of Christianity are.

a reply to: reldra

a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.

Incorrect. See my post above from American Atheists.

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: luthier
You're close. It means one thing, and one thing only, which is bolded above. Other than that, atheists are as varied in their beliefs as the thousands of sects of Christianity are.

Not really though those are specific minor differences. If one atheist believes there is no god and another that they can't prove it those are extreme differences.