Atheists, why do you assert atheism as the correct religion with so much certitude?

If you had been brought up in India, you would be believing in Hinduism; if you had been brought up in Iraq, you would be believing in Islam; and if you had been brought up in Prue-Christian Norway, you would be believing in Nordic paganism. With such a perspective in mind, what makes you think that your religion, atheism, is correct? Why do you exude such a degree of certitude when your beliefs are merely the product of your upbringing?

I don't.

Atheism is not a religion.

I grew up 'christian'.

I rejected that superstition as I grew older.

I don't believe in a 'god' or in any 'gods'.

Why don't you understand?

Are you retarded?

I was brought up in the Bible Belt so I'm not sure your half-baked argument works.

1.) Atheism is no more a religion than "bald" is a hair color.

2.) As an atheist, I make no positive claim; so there is nothing for me to be "certain" about.

3.) That having been said, it is a self-evident fact that no religion has EVER had a single datum of evidence to support ANY of its claims about the supernatural. While technically that doesn't make them necessarily "wrong", it does mean we are under no obligation to take any of them seriously until they DO.

Atheism is not a religion.
And my lack of beliefs are not the product of my upbringing . . . my entirely family is religious. To those lucky enough to be brought up in a secular household, yes - they should question why they believe what they believe (or don't believe what they don't believe). But the VAST majority of people don't grow up in secular households, thus atheism is generally reached through inquiry and research, unlike people's religious beliefs.

I wasn't brought up atheist

So I would probably become atheist regardless of my origin of birth

We don't claim that, its you Christians that claim that.

"Why do you exude such a degree of certitude when your beliefs are merely the product of your upbringing?"

Loleta no

You just proved our point. You believe whatever it is you're taught - not what's actually true. I've asked this same question of believers.

I was raised Jewish.

Atheism is a religion like an empty glass is a cocktail.

We're not saying that there's no God.

What we're saying is...hey...wait a sec. You're kind of cute. (blush, just kidding), never mind, I just now decided I believe in God, you're right, why fight it? You wanna make out, or sump thin'?

Please go read what Atheism actually means. Atheism is not a religion.

Most Atheists were brought up in their parents' religion, and decided not to believe in it - or any religion - anymore.

Evidence of the Great Purple Hippo is all the proof I'll ever need.

You are mistaken. No atheist would claim that atheism is any kind of religion.

A religion is a set of beliefs that usually center on the belief of at least one god.

Atheism is the singular non-belief (in god/s).

NOT stamp collecting cannot be considered a valid hobby.

you are completely incorrect, most atheists in America were brought up as Christians. I'm not atheist, I'm agnostic, but I was brought up Christian

I was brought up a fundamentalist Christian and I'm now an atheist so your premise is completely false from the get go.

because god complicates the question it tries to answer. Which is "were do we come from ?"

Ah, I see your problem! You're confusing "atheists" with "yourself". I believe there's something in the Bible about eyes and motes that might be appropriate reading for you.

Your comment doesn't annoy atheists, it just shows your ignorance.

you're kidding me, right?

most of us grew up in a society with a dominant religion (which atheism is not...dominant nor a religion).

There are not all that many places where "atheism" is popular.

Atheism is not a religion, first of all. Atheism is merely the lack of belief in any god. And it's quite possible that an atheist living in a different country and/or time might still be atheist and reject those gods with the same fervor with which s/he rejects yours. I will also remind you that many atheists and agnostics were raised in a religion or with some religious background.

So, nice citing of Richard Dawkins there, but I think you missed the point.

As an agnostic, I admit that I don't know. I don't think it's possible to know. But unlike many religions, atheists and agnostics are willing to admit when (if) they are wrong.

1: Atheism is not a religion.

2: I was raised in a very conservative Christian denomination. Obviously, my atheism was not caused by my upbringing.

3: Please try again. This time, use less fail.

Your assertion lacks one important factor. People can think. Many atheists were raised in a religious family, and many Christians were born in countries where where they followed a different religion, and finally, Many Christians, have converted to other faiths. Atheism is not a faith or a religion.

I was brought up in Argentina, i believed in Catholicism. now I'm an atheist.

I do not assert that atheism is a religion. You assume that it is. False assumption no 1.

I was brought up Anglican. Your assumption that I was brought up atheist is false. False assumption no 2.

So where does that leave your question?

Atheism is not the product of my upbringing. I was raised Catholic. I think no matter what religion I was raised in I would eventually have left that religion and become atheist.

Again, your assumptions are totally off base.

First, Atheism means "without religion or beliefs".

Secondly, there are atheists who are former Christians, former Islam, former Hindu, former whatever religion they were raised as. They managed to breakaway.

You too can breakaway!

I don't, I was raised Christian,

Atheism isn't a religion and I could care less whether you or anyone else accepts it or not...

You can 'believe' in the healing properties of a holy fire hydrant if you want to. Just don't try to force others to accept it, force it into schools or the government...

IMHO

Atheism isn't a religion, first off. It's just not believing in gods.

Secondly, the vast majority of us actually reconverted from religions like Christianity rather than being raised in atheist/agnostic households.

Thirdly, we aren't pushing for mass conversion the way religions tend to. We just want other people's religions not to interfere with society's progress. In short, we want religion out of the law and out of the way of science and education. We want people to stop trying to push their religions onto us and others. Once that's accomplished, believe whatever damn fool thing you like, we really don't give a shit.

I don't think I exude any 'degree of certitude'. I don't know whether God exists or not (which is a different question from whether I have a religion). But I don't really understand your question. Lots of people are brought up in one religion and change religion or become atheists (and vice verse, some atheists become believers in one God or another).

Your Indian example is interesting because India contains Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians (Parsees), Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Bahais, animists, .... So how did they all get there? Once maybe everyone followed the Vedas, then some became Buddhist and some became Jain without having been brought up as them, later people converted to Christianity, Islam etc.

Also I don't have a religion: I don't believe in one or more supreme beings, I don't believe in a cosmic moral law. I have no place of worship - and nothing to worship (certainly not 'man' or 'science'), no shared rites, rituals or sacraments, no sacred texts or teachings.