I know nothing of Atheism other than I have heard they do not believe there is a God, as Christians view him. Does Atheism have a structure? Is it a religion with preachers, churches and missionaries? Or is it simply a statement one can make, "I am an Atheist"
I ask this for a couple of reasons; 1) Curiosity and 2) if it isn't a religion should questions or answers dealing with Atheism even be in this category?
I want to thank, especially most of the atheists, for such prompt and CIVIL responses. I asked a legitimate question I wanted an answer to and, for the most part, you, Christians and atheists alike, responded in a very polite manner. Of course, there were those few, you can see who they were, that just had to get in a jab, but I am impressed with the basic quality of the answers.
For one thing I can now agree, the questions belong in this section.
OLGA: I did follow your link and as much as I believe Atheism should have a structured recruitment effort, at the least, this Internet Ordainment site is not the answer. It's great though. Someone can get ordained to be a minister to officiate at weddings and/or funerals. The cost for the service is "FREE."
Atheism means not believing in any gods. That's all it means. Not believing in any gods does not fit any reasonable definition of religion.
Edit: Atheism is not a religion but it is relevant to religion. Therefore it's okay for atheism to be discussed on R&S. This is a section ABOUT religion and spirituality. Not FOR the religious and spiritual.
I actually like to ask atheist question, they challenge my faith and make me look differently at some things. sometimes I am so blinded by faith that i do not think rationally and atheist always wake me up . some of them . some atheist are just ignorant and stupid and some have good point
" I have heard they do not believe there is a God, as Christians view him. "
We don't believe there is a god as ANYONE views him/her/it. We believe there are no deities or gods whatsoever.
"Does atheism have a structure?"
Nope, it's just a trait. Like having brown hair, or liking pizza. It doesn't need a capital letter either.
"Is it a religion with preachers, churches and missionaries?"
Nope, none of those things.
"Or is it simply a statement one can make, "I am an atheist"?"
Yes, but it could also be consider just a trait or a value.
"If it isn't a religion, should questions or answers dealing with atheism even be in this category?"
Where else would you put them? Plus, it's possible to be religious and atheistic. Take Buddhists. It's also possible to be spiritual and atheistic, because atheism doesn't rely on a lack of belief in the existence of a soul or other spiritual ideas. Only lack of belief in a god or deity.
To be classed as a religion requires belief in gods. Questions regarding atheism belong in this section because this section also deals with Spirituality. Why do so many people have a problem understanding the difference between Religion and Spirituality?
Atheism is not a religion. It has no dogma, rites, or rules.
Atheists do not believe in any deities of any kind. It is not limited to recognizing the fact that there is no christian god. No gods of any kind exist.
No preachers, missionaries or churches.
Yes, to be an atheist all it takes is to recognize the fact that gods do not exist. No membership, no tithes or contributions, no dogma to adhere to.
No - silly! How many times do you have to be told; atheism is the unbelief of gods.
Athiests don't need preachers, churches or missionaries for what? Athiests stand on their own 2 feet we don't need gods, saints, angels or anything of the sort, we don't believe in them - it's very easy to understand.
A-theist - a person who does not believe in any god. The absence of religion or theism.
I for one, think that the questions get directed here because they are religious in nature (even if they're rude and horrid). Usually the questions are regarding religion or are a religious person asking a question about Atheism, like this one.
Although being an atheist doesn't mean you have nothing to say about religion, aside from rude remarks. I'm an atheist and I just answered a question about my favorite Bible verse. People didn't give me thumbs down, either, because I actually do have a favorite Bible verse. I like the Bible. I just don't believe all of it.
Hope that helps clear some things up for you. Not all of us are inept at answering religious questions. I know quite a bit about Christianity and end-times prophesy, so I tend to stick to those types of questions.
Atheism is a religion with churches, services, and preachers. There are Churches of Atheism all over the world but you might not recognize them as they are most often disguised as 7-11's, gas stations, and supermarkets. The services normally start after the stores close and we enter from a secret back door so no one can see us.
We hang out in this category in the hopes of luring innocent believers into our evil plot for total world domination. But please don't tell anyone else about this. Thanks in advance.
I don't think its a religion as there are no doctrines that must be accepted by all members nor a cohesive group aside from not having a belief in deities. It would be to me like a situation where you had a number of people in town who belong to the coin collectors club and then called all the rest members of the non coin collectors club, I doubt the non collectors view themselves as a club. That said there are a few groups that do have membership centered around non belief but usually for some other purpose. I, for example, give to a group called the Foundation Beyond Belief which is a charity that donates money specifically designated as from non theists to worthy causes not associated with religious proselytizing or enforcement of religious dictates of some sort. I did so because I got sick of hearing only religious people give charitably and also of later hearing examples where my money was used to promote religion or enforce some religious dictate beyond the cause I support. There is however, no requirement atheists must belong to any group or give money to any specific causes or not. For example, I know of an atheist who donated money specifically to the Catholic church for Catholic schools since he felt they had a good educational system that is already established. So aside from non belief in deities there is no uniting creed or set of doctrines, beliefs, or behaviors.
As for why atheists can be here in this category, you don't have to be religious to have a point of view or information on the topic. Many atheists were formerly religion members. What you are suggesting is sort of like saying people who don't own cats shouldn't post in a cats section. They may still have knowledge about cats, experience with cats, points of view on them, and may have been cat owners in the past. So that is the appropriate category to share such information as religion and spirituality is for atheists who are interested in or wish to share their own views on those topics.
Atheism is more a belief. They do not believe in God and they do not have places of worship since they do not worship anyone. Since they do not worship God or anyone else, it technically is not a 'religion'. And to answer your second question, since Atheism refers to a belief about God, then they should be categorized in the religious section.
Atheism is the rejection of religious beliefs as unfounded. A religion is a set of beliefs and practices that cent res around some aspect of the supernatural usually a god. Atheists have no religious beliefs, it has no practices, no dogma, no popes, churches etc. Atheism is to religion what not playing baseball is to sports. Calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair co lour or asking what kind of car do pedestrians drive.
ATHEISTS: Is atheism a religion?
