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I think you might get that impression because we live in a country where the majority are of one belief.
I'm sure there are plenty of christians who don't assume a non-christian is an atheist. They might wonder if the person is jewish, or muslim, or wiccan or something else. (Do I really have to capitalize all those nouns? I don't feel like it!)
If we lived someplace where there were more diverse beliefs, atheism wouldn't be the only other choice.
I personally consider someone who believes in a supreme being to be religious.
Why do people always seem to think the not being christian/religious=Atheist??
I know lots of people who reject Christianity but still believe in some higher order or supreme being.
Indeed. I have learned a lot from being here and one thing is that atheists and those who would call themselves non - religious theists are very much on the same page. They both consider - indeed they 'know' that religions are just man - made.
On the other hand, the irreligious do believe that there is a god (though I suspect that few of them would see the need to discredit evolution as a cornerstone of this belief) and believe that they have a personal conscious experience of it, too. So it isn't just and academic god - concept, I have to accept.
We atheists know the feelings are real but we just don't believe that they represent a mental link with any conscious entity outside of humanity.
I would like this disagreement to be amicable and non aggressive as I don't think that those who talk about their inmost feelings as 'god' are interested in dragging that belief into law, politics, education, boy sprouts or sticking 'In the way I feel we trust' on the dollar bill.
It seems to be organized religion with its scriptures, strictures and politictures that atheists and the irreligious should be wary of.
I don't believe that an irreligious theist president would ever have said that atheists should not be regarded as citizens or patriots. I don't think that they feel that religious observance is a siamese twin to saluting the flag. They don't feel that showing that the Bible is bunk is an attack on the fabric of the nation, or that ID is not good science threatens to undermine every decent moral feeling. Nor that the removal of organized religion from pervading the body politic would (as I saw one catholic believer state on a news programme) would cause civilization to collapse.
If we atheists and the the irreligious theists could come to understand that we are both agnostic but just respectfully differ on whether a god is merely possible or actually probable, then perhaps we could both put our weight behind relegating man -made religion to the mythology shelf and religious observance to the same level as attending star - wars conventions, and get it out of politics, education and law and off our TVs, doorsteps and money.
I think you might get that impression because we live in a country where the majority are of one belief.
I'm sure there are plenty of christians who don't assume a non-christian is an atheist. They might wonder if the person is jewish, or muslim, or wiccan or something else. (Do I really have to capitalize all those nouns? I don't feel like it!)
If we lived someplace where there were more diverse beliefs, atheism wouldn't be the only other choice.
I personally consider someone who believes in a supreme being to be religious.
Not in my book. If he she doesnt have a holy book/guide on how to live and behave i don't think she/he is religious.
Because you think a divine being created the universe does not mean you have to believe old scriptures written by man.
Why do people always seem to think the not being christian/religious=Atheist??
I know lots of people who reject Christianity but still believe in some higher order or supreme being.
I know of a lot of people like that too TheDanishGuy......I guess some people just like to pigeonhole/catagorize their thinking....maybe because it's easier than having an open mind.
I know of a lot of people like that too TheDanishGuy......I guess some people just like to pigeonhole/catagorize their thinking....maybe because it's easier than having an open mind.
I don't think of it as pigeon-holing, more like defining one's belief system. Most people simply don't think about religion or philosophy in any depth to truly know what they really do or don't believe is true. They have this vague notion of a higher power but seldom put much rational thought into the whole idea.
I have been interested in philosophical thought since I was 16 years old, so I really enjoy having a set of ideals/ideas/philosophy to ponder upon. That is why I call myself an atheist. I have consciously considered where I stand on these topics.
Not in my book. If he she doesnt have a holy book/guide on how to live and behave i don't think she/he is religious.
Because you think a divine being created the universe does not mean you have to believe old scriptures written by man.
I'd tend to think also of 'religion' as being the man made trappings of religion. On the other hand, the belief that Sizzly talks of I tend to think of as a 'religious' belief simply because it is faith - based and involves a god. Maybe it's one of those areas where saying just what one means by 'religious' would avoid such a lot of the confusion in the debate.
Djuna....you could be right...but at the same time..some of us don't want to define our "belief system"....and as the OP was saying...that doesn't necessarily mean we're athiest.
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