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A religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Atheism has it's own set of beliefs on the subjects above. Therefore it is a religion.
Christianity and Catholicism are different in regards to many beliefs, such as the path to salvation. Their foundations are also quite different. Catholics believe in Original Sin and baptize at birth. Christians believe Sin is learned and baptism is a choice to be made by the individual when they are able to decipher right from wrong.
Catholic priests teach directly out of the bible and are based on strong traditions. Christians often interpret the bible themselves and teach about topics closely related to the bible.
Where do I begin?
How could Catholics not consider themselves Christian?
How do Christians and Catholics differ regarding the path to salvation?
Christians believe in original sin, and many Christians baptize infants.
I have never heard that sin is learned.
Christians preach directly out of the Bible.
Many Christians believe Mormons are not Christians.
Thanks to Catholicism we now have what you call Christianity.
How could Catholics not consider themselves Christian?
I've never heard of a Catholic who did not also consider himself to be a Christian.
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How do Christians and Catholics differ regarding the path to salvation?
I think you must mean how do non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians differ? Unless I'm mistaken, Catholics do not believe we are saved by faith alone. Many other Christians do believe that.
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Christians believe in original sin, and many Christians baptize infants.
Some Christians believe in original sin; others do not. Some baptize infants; others do not. Some believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation; others do not.
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I have never heard that sin is learned.
I haven't either, but it's something worth considering. We do learn by mimicking what we see others do.
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Christians preach directly out of the Bible.
They may preach directly out of the Bible, but they do not all interpret what the Bible has to say the same way.
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Many Christians believe Mormons are not Christians.
That's beside the point. It's what God believes about Mormons that matters.
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Thanks to Catholicism we now have what you call Christianity.
This is just silly. Atheism is not a life path. Secular humanism is, and many atheists become humanists, but not all. Stop trying to make atheism more than it is - it is nothing more or less than believing that there is no god(s) or deities. It has no other position. It does not offer a view of how one should live one's life. It is silent about the origin of the universe. Science has something to say about the origin of the universe and of species and many atheists are scientists, but not all.
So, if you are looking for a guiding principle, one has to go beyond atheism, because it offers none. If one is looking for a belief about how the universe began, one will not find it in atheism. Again, atheism ONLY means not believing in gods, that is it, end of story, period.
Most Buddhists are atheist by definition, yet they have their own guiding principles different from secular humanism.
Look, do you believe in fairies? No? Then you are an afairist. Is your guiding principle the disbelief in fairies? Tell me how does not believing in fairies guide your life, what moral decisions does it help you make? Does your afairism give you a cogent model of how the universe came to be and how we came to have the great diversity among living organisms?
Atheism is not a package deal. We atheists don't all believe the same thing. The only thing we all have in common is the disbelief in gods. Atheism is not a religion, period.
I do not "practice" any religion..I am simply a believer in God the Father and His Son. No "practice" necessary, just faith and a spiritual awareness of the Son's presence in my life and in others.
If one's belief in a God can guide one's life, so can one's belief that none exist.
The very fact that an atheist can deny the existence of supermaterial realities in and of itself demonstrates the presence, and indicates the working, of spirit synthesis and cosmic consciuusness in his human mind.
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