The atheist would say that atheism is not a religion. By definition atheism does and does not qualify as a religion. Atheists demonstrate "their faith" that there is no god by displaying nothing. Consequently, when judges remove all other religious symbols from public property, the space is filled with nothing the symbol of only one faith ... Atheism. http://www.record-bee.com/Stories/0,1413,255~33813~3153338,00.html "a religion, with clearly defined rules, eschatology and a philosophy by which to live. Religion is a means of understanding our existence" Does atheism have anything approaching "clearly defined rules?" Not in the least. There is only one "rule," and that is the rule of the definition of "atheism" - not having any belief in any gods. Other than that, atheists are free to do whatever they want and still be called atheists. An atheist can do and believe absolutely anything beyond gods and still fit the definition. Quite the opposite of how "rules" are treated in a religion Atheism itself is not an "understanding", but a single commonality. Any two atheists might have as much in common as a Christian and a devout believer in Odin - both of whom are obviously theists. Although some person's understanding of their existence might contain a principle of atheism, that atheism is not itself the means to understanding. . http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/ath/blathm_rel_religion.htm

As you know, atheism is not a religion, simply the disbelief in any sort of deity. Of course, anybody could say that it's officially a religion, but that wouldn't make it so. What is likely is that some group, such as your government, has decided that it is an official religious choice in order that atheists be given the same rights as religious groups have. In response to Lady Fuschia, you are right that Buddhism as a whole does not have a belief in a deity, though beliefs about the existence of a deity (or deities) varies widely among the various branches of Buddhism as well as from individual to individual. I, personally, am a Buddhist who happens to be an atheist. However, just because some religions might be considered atheist (where atheist is an adjective) does not mean that atheism itself is a religion. If that's still confusing, I offer the following example that I hope no one will find too offensive: Many people and religions have no belief in unicorns, but that doesn't mean that not-believing-in-unicorns is a religion.

By most common understanding of the words I believe it is not, but it depends on how you define "atheism" and how you define "religion." There are some organized Atheist groups that might qualify as a religious groups, but I believe most people claiming to be atheists do not belong to one. "Atheism" is a "religious" belief because it relates to belief about God - provided your definition of "religious" includes general beliefs about God. In these kinds of questions it is very important to define your terms to the satisfaction of all the people involved in the discussion or you can not have meaningful exchange of ideas or information. I have had a negative feedback from someone who appears to think that atheism is not a belief or is not related to a belief system. I do not know how one defines the words to come to that conclusion. Whether one believes there is one God (monotheistic), believes there is no God (atheistic), multiple gods (polytheistic), or believes one can not know whether there is a God (agnostic) etc. they are all positions of belief (defined in any conventional sense of the word "believe"). Note: historically the atheism has meant a belief that there is no God, some now claim the term "atheist" includes others who may not believe that there is a God but also do not claim to believe there is not a God, a position historically called "agnostic" (basically meaning "don't know").

I am an atheist and do not consider it a religion per the dictionary definition. One definition of religion is the zealous pursuit of a set of ideals. I don't "pursue" atheism. I do make every effort to pursue truth, so if anything, that is my religion. Atheism is just one of my ideals, like accountability, honor and integrity, and I'm sure other atheists have ideals they have reasoned out that differ from mine in many respects. I doubt that there are concepts common to all atheists except that we don't have faith in a god. No cookie cutter. Not a badge of identity. Not a religion. To BN Goyal: Please explain how atheism and pursuit of truth are contradictory in any way. To Joshua: under your definition, I still do not consider my atheism a religion -- as I said, it is not a pursuit, it just IS, as a result of my personal pursuit of truth.

Good grief. Please will some of those answers PLEASE look up the word belief in the dictionary. Their you will find several meanings of the word believe. belief and faith. One not meaning religious. Being an atheist is not organised nor is there any dogma involved. Most atheist are defined as believing there is not god. I may be considered an atheist who does not ever recognise the question. Like someone believing there are boggy man living under my bed when I am asleep. Who give a hoot. Like the make believe gods people invent. Look if there is a big G in the sky and they say HE is forgiving you can go about you daily stuff with out a worry. People believe so hard in there fairy tails they will kill others who do not believe. Have fun, forget the dogma and treat others with respect. Yes even with those who have been brain washed. CoulCoudd you iemagainmagain a world where people believe that if you do not believe in there religion you will be dammed forever and they even want to make the non-believers into a religion so bad they redefine the word religions Woops I am gooooing off. The answer is NO NO NO atheism is not a religion.

Religion, among other things, seeks to relate man with the supernatural. Atheism denies that there is a supernatural. Consider the analogy with anarchy, which means no government. There are many kinds of "archys", patriarchy, matriarchy, monarchy, autarchy, oligarchy. Is anarchy just one more system for ruling society? Not at all. It is the rejection of all ruling systems. Atheism is a belief system, but it is not a religion. There is a difference. In fact, atheism is the OPPOSITE of religion, and should not be judged as we judge religions.

Athiesm is not 'a religion' but it is a solid belief, not the absence of belief... It is the solid belief that 'there is no God' Thats the standard, general use of it at least, many people have their own take on it though :)

If you do not believe in or worship the God that created you, then you must worship the devil. Religion is a form of worship, so if you don't worship god, then you must worship Satan.

The problem with atheism is they believe in a non-existence of God. A religion is a belief in something, since they don't believe in anything, particularly theism, it is not a real religion. Buddhism is considered atheistic.

Religion by definition is the belief and worship in a supreme being. Atheist, by definition, is someone who disbelieves in a supreme being. Therefore atheism cannot be a religion. We do not put faith in anything other than other organisms. According to us, there is nothing more powerful than living creatures that can be studied and observed. In our system of belief there are no such things as deities of any kind, merely the physical realm. Bubba, do you have any idea what a dictionary is? Look up the words religion, atheist and supreme. I am not my own god because I am not supreme in any fashion. I do not try and please myself but others around me. I do not worship, only appreciate. Atheism is not a set of beliefs, merely the disbelief in a higher/supreme being. What one chooses to believe other than that or do according to teachings they have followed is up to them. Atheism is one disbelief, not a set.

I am not an atheist (I'm a weak agnostic), but I will defend atheism from your poorly formed question. You assert that "it is undeniable that something has always been". I dispute your claim, for we have no way of knowing if this is true or not. Furthermore, an atheist does not necessarily have 'faith' in anything. An atheist can simply assert "I don't know, but I don't believe your explanation" Atheism is NOT a religion. It has no sacred texts. It has no rituals of worship. It doesn't collect tithes. There are no officers of a church hierarchy. Furthermore, my experience with the few true atheists I've encountered is that they *don't care* if you worship whatever God(s) you wish in your own private way. What they object to is forcing any particular religion into public life. . . .

No, it is not a religion. It is a belief, a faith, but Atheists do not follow any of the systems used by religions.

No its not because we don't follow any rules we don't believe in sins and we don't have churches and mostly we don't believe in a supreme being that create everything so no i don't think its a religion.

From ReligiousTolerance.org - "Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview." Atheism doesn't sound like the definition above. There are no rituals or code, nothing 'organized' about it.

Not atheism as such, but atheists can be religious people if they have ultimate concerns and deeply held beliefs in certain values and enduring principles. I do not intend to be confrontational here, but I do intend to muddy the water of commonly held assumptions and definitions. Religion is not defined by what we do not believe in, and that is what atheism defines itself as - "a" the negative prefix followed by the "the ..." root from "Theos" for "god." It has been argued that atheism does not necessarily assert that there is no God in all of its (atheism's) manifestations, but that God is not a part of the atheist's belief system. There is a subtle difference and I learned this from some very well learned atheist friends. An atheist could be a faithful atheist and affirm or suspect the existence of "spiritual" principles that govern the universe to which he or she offers allegiance. Such an atheist would or could be "religious." The rare atheist who not only does not believe but is positively convinced of the absence of God and the necessity of others seeing that light might be thought of as religious since the belief as stopped being the absence of belief and has moved into the proactive column where there does, in fact, exist ritual and dogma which I have already stated are not necessary to, but often accompany religious belief and proactive. So, no, I do not consider atheism to be a religion as some of my Christian friends assert, but I do think some atheists are religious. And some suspect that there is a slim possibility that they may be wrong.

I define Atheism as: "I have no belief in the existence of God(s)" Which is completely different to "I have a belief in the non-existence of God" I would class the second position as a religious one but not the first definition, which I think most atheists would agree is the one that describes them best. You can never prove God does not exist but the claim arises from the theist position in first place the burden of proof lies with the theist. The flying spagetti monster argument holds true: you don't have to prove he doesn't exist; I have to prove he does exist. Religions require some level of faith, atheism as defined above requires none whatsoever. Therefore atheism is not a religion but the absense of religion.

Ummm, I think atheism is a non-religion, to be honest. The whole point, really...

Atheism's creed is anti deism, or the denial of things that deal with a belief in a supreme being, the supernatural, and an afterlife.

Atheism is neither a religion or creed.It is just people that do not believe in a deity.

Atheism is no more a religion than "bald" is a hair color, or NOT collecting stamps is a hobby.

No. Atheism is as much of a religion as not believing in Thor, Zeus, or Set is a religion. Atheism is the lack of belief in a supernatural, omnipotent being who created and controls everything that exists. Since there is no deity, preset morality, world view, rituals, worship, traditions, ethics, philosophy, or beliefs, it has none of the properties that would qualify atheism as a religion.

Atheism is the opposite of theism. Both are beliefs, and are part of the continuum that includes religions. It's all about belief and faith. An atheist chooses to believe that there is no supreme being. Whether or not atheists like it, that is a form of belief and faith. This is different from saying, "I don't know." Someone who says they don't know is an agnostic. If you express this as a number line, religious belief is on one side of 0, atheism is on the other side, and agnosticism is 0.

Aye.. indeed. Although it does not have the organization of traditional religions. Atheists rarely come together for a cause other than to cast doubt on the faith of others. If right and wrong is arbitrary tis most difficult to stand for anything.

Nope.

No. The reason is because it's a lack of belief. It wouldn't be considered a scientific field in itself if there was an a people that dissagreed with science in general, so I fail to see how a people in disagreement with religion somehow make up a religion.

This has got to be one of the most annoying questions/arguments I hear from religious people. They use it to try and elevate belief in the irrational to the level of not believing in the irrational. Atheism is an absence of belief in an imaginary begin. An ABSENCE OF BELIEF. So, no.

Atheism does require a form of faith. Simply because it does not worship a deity, it does make unprovable assumptions about the greater mechanics of the universe. In that sense, atheism could be said to be a religion.

no, don't be silly.

no its disbelief in all religion

Nope. Atheism is the absence of belief. How can not believing in something, be a religion?

It's a religion in the sense that my disbelief in the Tooth Fairy makes me a member of the Tooth Fairy Disbelievers' Church.

Court rules atheism a religion Decides 1st Amendment protects prison inmate's right to start study group -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: August 20, 2005 1:00 am Eastern © 2008 WorldNetDaily.com A federal court of appeals ruled yesterday Wisconsin prison officials violated an inmate's rights because they did not treat atheism as a religion. "Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a belief in a supreme being," the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said. The court decided the inmate's First Amendment rights were violated because the prison refused to allow him to create a study group for atheists. Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, called the court's ruling "a sort of Alice in Wonderland jurisprudence." "Up is down, and atheism, the antithesis of religion, is religion," said Fahling. The Supreme Court has said a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, the court described "secular humanism" as a religion. Fahling said today's ruling was "further evidence of the incoherence of Establishment Clause jurisprudence." "It is difficult not to be somewhat jaundiced about our courts when they take clauses especially designed to protect religion from the state and turn them on their head by giving protective cover to a belief system, that, by every known definition other than the courts' is not a religion, while simultaneously declaring public expressions of true religious faith to be prohibited," Fahling said. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874

Probably not? What does the word religion originally mean? If it has to do with belief in some God/Gods or other superior power, atheism is probably not a religion.

Not it you don't want it to be, just like theism, or anything else like that.

I dont think 'religion' is the right term,i'd call it a spritual beleif it a differant way of looking at the universe e.g explaining the world useing sciance and logic.

No. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheist http://www.thefreedictionary.com/religion

Atheism is not Agnosticism can be, but is not necessarily

It is not a religion, but it does require some faith. I mean, science dosen't and can't prove everything, but they weren't their at the creation of the universe. They have to have FAITH that the big bang created all, That this planet just happens to be in the perfect location for life, and that we evolved from single celled orgonisms. They can only speculate, no matter how much "proof" they say they have. I am a christian and this goes for me to. I wasn't their at creation but I have FAITH that God created all. The same way an atheist belives the big bang created all matter.

No. Atheism is the absence of a particular belief- a belief in gods. That is all. . Religious people often try to label atheism as a religion in an attempt to "bring it down" to their level - since atheists often come to their lack of faith through rational thought. . But ultimately a religion requires belief in a magical being. . +5

It is not a religion in the traditional sense, but it is a belief system built upon empirical observation. In doing so, it creates a foundation of worship based on human perception. Worship has a profound emotional affect on those who subscribe to it. It's a highly effective form of self-hypnosis. Because of this, atheists demonstrate many of the same qualities we typically find in severe religious head-cases. On this website alone, evidence of atheists flaming out against non-believers is abundant. Instead of "you're going to hell," it's "you're delusional." Instead of "the bible says so," it's "science says so." Atheists demonstrate the same level of furor they profess to be against. Atheism has a priesthood in science, and they behave just like any other priesthood. They stretch the evidence, ridicule non-believers, and they punish those within the priesthood who will not go along with consensus. It may not be a religion in the literal sense, but it functions in much the same way and produces much of the same phenomena we find within a religion.

It is no more a religion than if I said I didn't believe that the world was made by a huge pink elephant well drunk one night.

Religion derives from the word "religio," meaning, to read over and over. In that sense, yes. Atheists celebrate science and knowledge.

No, atheism is not a religion. Religion, by definition, includes belief in the supernatural. Atheists do not believe in the supernatural.

The United States Supreme Court has twice ruled that it is.

Yes, just like health is a disease

People who "proselytize" their atheism, publicly espousing it, criticizing and mocking those who aren't,. putting bumper stickers on their car advertising it's superiority - that's the behavior of a "religious" fanatic. Atheism *can* be followed religiously. When it is, it becomes a religion.

No how can it be if they do not believe in anything..

No because religion is a belief and Atheism people KNOW the truth

Athiesm is mostly defined as a fight against God. Is that true?

Atheism is a religion if Dry is water.

No, that is not correct. Religions are belief systems and sets of practices which provide for 'spiritual needs', as well as offering explanations of the ultimate purpose of reality, the meaning of individual life, frameworks for values, etc. Atheism is simply the rejection of theism. It meets none of the criteria to be religion.

No, I disagree. Here's a few definitions of the word religion: --A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, God or gods, or ultimate truth. --a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny --an institution to express belief in a divine power ---------------------------------------------- So, even if you just went with the basic "religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices" I don't think Atheism fits that definition. The only common belief among Atheists is that there is no god. There is no set of beliefs or practices that all Atheists share. Some Atheists are buddhists, some have other religious or spiritual beliefs. Atheists can't all be lumped into the same set of beliefs.

No. A religion serves to teach and uphold faith. Atheist don't have faith, so they can't form a religion. Any establishment or organization that atheists may form for whatever purpose might be just that, but it can't be a religion. Also, atheists agreeing with one another on not believing in God doesn't make it a religion.

My favorite analogy for this is "Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby." I don't really think I need to say much more than that, so I won't.

No. Religion always assumes a mystical unknowable element in reality. It may or may not include the presence of a god. Atheism simply is what happens when people, given no evidence of God, conclude that there is none. That is not to say that some religions are not palatable to atheists. Buddhism is a non theistic religion. It requires no belief in an active and engaged god. I know some atheists who are comfortable with Buddhism. And why not? Man's relationship with all that is, is not deniable. It is the divine "God" that is the problem, not the ties that bind us to everything.

Nope, I don't agree. Would a christian consider Not Believing In Allah to be an actual "religion"? Of course not.

It's a way of life. The only way as far as I'm concerned.

Atheism is NOT a religion for all the reasons stated!

Very much so. It's undeniable.

Yep. We also eat babies and kill our old

It's not. It is "lack of belief" Atheism has no tenets, dogma, scripture, or anything like that except for a unifying belief that there is no god/deity/angels/afterlife/etc.

I disagree. A religion is a set of beliefs, practices and artifacts. Atheism lacks all three of these.

No, its a prideful way to superiority!

No.

atheism is a religion like off is a tv channel.

Um, I don't think so.

False.

atheism is areligion as much as theism is religion That's all there is to it.

Sometimes.

Oh, not again. Absolutely not. Try using a dictionary and some rational thought. Here is the definition of religion: Main Entry: re·li·gion Pronunciation: ri-ˈli-jÉ™n Function: noun Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at rely Date: 13th century 1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance 2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices 3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness 4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion Atheism is not the state of being religious. It is not a service and worship of any deity or the supernatural. It is not adhered to with devotion, faith, or observance. It is characterized by LACK of faith. It is not an institution at all, let alone an institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices (let alone religious ones). It is not scrupulous conformity. We've covered the faith. Faith is belief without, and often in spite of, evidence. No.

Atheism is anti-religion, and religion is all made up stories.

Not a religion, rather a faith. Atheism is like theism; it's a belief system that requires a measure of faith.