Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Many people here at C-D are fuzzy on what atheism is and what it isn't, so I wrote this post to give a little info on what atheism actually entails.
Atheism is:
1) A lack of belief in gods -- ("a" - without; "theism" - god belief; "a-theism" - without god belief). Notice how it is not the positive assertion that no gods exist, it is the absence of belief due to an absence of evidence.
2) There is no (2). The only thing atheism is is a lack of belief in gods.
Atheism is NOT:
1) A religion. Atheism requires nothing of those who lack belief. There are no atheist rituals, no atheist churches, no tenets of atheism, no prayers, no meetings, no rules to follow.
2) A worldview. Individuals who happen to lack believe in gods hold to a myriad of different worldviews. Some are nihilists, some are communitarians, some are pacifists, some are Buddhists, some are Confucians, some are Humanists, some are traditionalists, some are rationalists, some are mystics. The ONLY thing all atheists have in common is a lack of belief in gods.
3) A "life stance." Once again, atheism is just the lack of belief in gods. While some atheists are Secular Humanist or Straight Edge, not all atheists follow these lifestyle choices (in fact, most do not).
4) A belief in evolution. While most atheists accept the scientific fact of evolution, some do not. Accepting evolution is not a requirement of being an atheist.
5) A desire to live immorally. Most atheists have strong personal moral codes that they are not willing to violate.
6) A political ideology. Atheism is not synonymous with liberalism or socialism. Some atheists are liberal, some are conservative, some are right of Rush Limbaugh.
7) An integral part of atheists' lives. While people who are religious tend to place great value on their faith views, atheists almost never think about their atheism. Once again, atheism is a lack of belief in gods. People are defined by what they are, not what they are not. For example: you probably don't believe in the Easter Bunny, but I sincerely doubt that you waste brain cells thinking about your 'aeasterbunnyism.'
8) A philosophy. Atheists hold to a variety of different philosophical views. Atheism is JUST the lack of belief in gods.
9) Hatred of/anger at god. Atheists are not angry with God, we simply do not believe that he/she/it exists. Are you angry at the Invisible Blue Elephant? Do you hate the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
10) Hatred of/anger at religion. While many atheists are frustrated with religion, we are not atheists because we dislike religion. Atheism is just the lack of belief in gods.
11) An anti-family viewpoint. Some atheists hate kids. Some choose not to procreate. Some have small families. Some give the Duggars a run for their money. Once again, atheism has no beliefs or tenets. Each individual atheist has his or her own personal views on family.
Last edited by northstar22; 11-25-2011 at 01:20 AM..
While some people who happen to lack belief in gods form atheist social groups, there is no "atheist community." Most people who lack belief in gods are not members of such groups. Besides, there are social groups for almost anything. For example, some people who enjoy knitting join social "knitting groups." Does that make knitting a religion? Is there a "knitting community?"
This is the main reason why I dislike the term "atheism." With its -ism ending, it seems like it should be a religion or a philosophy. While I may seem like a militant atheist here on C-D, I rarely use the term "atheist" to describe myself in real life. I'm not an "Atheist," I'm just a normal person who happens to not believe in god. The issue rarely comes up in real life, and I certainly don't base my identity around my lack of belief -- there are much more important things with which to identify.
I'm sure the OP doesn't speak for all the atheist sects! Whether they be the strong atheists, weak atheists, agnostic atheists, pure atheists, radical atheists, rationalists, brights, forteans, weirdoes, and the god haters.
He speaks for me right enough and I have seen the same explanation by various atheists so often that I have to say Northstar's post is spot on, and you may take it as correct.
The point is that the description is right for atheism, if not all individual atheists. The attempt to identify atheist 'sects' is misconceived. One might as well talk of sects of Islam as defined by peaceful co-existence, evangelical preaching or suicide bombing. 'New' atheism - if we must use the term - is simply a more vociferous and public stance by the same atheism. The meetings and such do not represent a change in what atheism is but an attempt for the unherdable cats to at least get to together and yowl on the same fence.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 11-25-2011 at 03:04 AM..
Yes, like-minded people DO tend to get together, but not in any structured way! And there's no strict discipline or social ostracizing for intellectual honesty and intensity either.
This OP is yet another effort, perhaps innocently enough, in the long and ongoing proposal to position atheism in the same dank, dark hole in which religion has buried itself, purposefully, over the years. After all, if the hole you are in is deep enough, you lose any option to look out and observe the real world around you, and that's an obvious goal of organized religion.
"Keep 'em dumb and all "flocked up" down on the intellectual sheep farm!"
Frankly, I see these ongoing efforts to pigeon-hole atheism as a religion as an outright admission that such paradigms and rigid protocol-bound organizations are, yep, BAD per se. This is a tacit admission that structured religion is "a bad thing!".
Thanks~! (Oh, and see my screen name Status Line above!)
Many people here at C-D are fuzzy on what atheism is and what it isn't...
...and did you bother to consider the millions of other past threads covering this same topic?
The only way to avoid having a world view is to be brain dead...or very nearly so. God either exists or no God exists. You can't have it both ways.
Your life decisions must either include or exclude God. There is no middle ground.
Haggling over definitions isn't going to give you or anyone else a free pass from being in the position of having to defend the incoherent, nonsense reasoning innate in any view that excludes God.
...and did you bother to consider the millions of other past threads covering this same topic?
The only way to avoid having a world view is to be brain dead...or very nearly so. God either exists or no God exists. You can't have it both ways.
Your life decisions must either include or exclude God. There is no middle ground.
Haggling over definitions isn't going to give you or anyone else a free pass from being in the position of having to defend the incoherent, nonsense reasoning innate in any view that excludes God.
You are correct. One has to choose in or out. That is why atheism beats the fence - sitting sometimes called agnosticism every time.
You are right that the OP subject has been posted many times, but not as many times as people have evidently failed to learn it.
1) A lack of belief in gods -- ("a" - without; "theism" - god belief; "a-theism" - without god belief). Notice how it is not the positive assertion that no gods exist, it is the absence of belief due to an absence of evidence.
.
Far too many atheists come across proclaiming that No godsexist for me to buy this. If atheists held a gentlemanly position of lack of belief we wouln't be having all of the heated discussions with, and ridicule towards theists found on this board .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Like-mined rejectionism.
(Oh, and see my screen name Status Line above!)
