# Can Atheists be part of another religon other than christianity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918 "2003-01-11T06:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/61 "2003-01-11T20:55:12Z")
LaVeyan Satanism. ---
**Author:** ![greenphan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@greenphan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenphan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/62 "2003-01-11T20:58:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by x-ray vision \* > \*\* > > Flip- flopping a little here? Also, you’re saying a non-belief is a belief system. Sound a little ridiculous? I don’t believe in a lot of things, why say Atheism is my religion? I also don’t believe in Bigfoot. Should my non-belief in Bigfoot also be my religion? \*\* uh, no. I don’t quite see your accusation of flip-flopping. Both of the quoted passages seem to jibe. A non-belief is not a belief system; the non-belief in god is the starting of a belief system. I have been using belief-system to specifically mean religious belief system, the gist being that you make your central assumption about the existence of god then go from there. –greenphan ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/63 "2003-01-11T21:10:54Z")
So, in answer to the OP: In modern western culture, “atheism” is generally thought of as denial of the existence of a transcendant, personal, and perfect creator of the universe and supreme deity, in other words, a denial of monotheism. Atheism does not necessarily equate with nonreligious, as some religions such as Taoism and Buddhism do not postulate the existence of such a being. Some would dispute this definition, saying that lack of the supreme deity makes them either more properly pantheistic religions or philosophies. This is to some degree viewing other religions through the filter of one’s own monotheistic western outlook, and placing worldviews into categories of “philosophy” and “religion” that may not be as sharply delineated in another culture. In any event, the entire concept of _what is religion?_ is an extremely complex one that defies simple definition or summary; as many different definitions exist as there are authors on the topic. To answer further would involve more of a debate on theology and semantics than it would answers of fact. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/64 "2003-01-11T21:14:54Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by **greenphan** _ > > I don’t quite see your accusation of flip-flopping. You don’t? Let’s see. First you said that there are numerous facets to a religion other than the core belief. Then you said while the only tangible link between most atheists is the non-belief in god, you still will categorize atheism as a religion because of the belief structure built around the non-belief in God. No flip-flopping? > [@](#): > > _originally posted by **greenphan** _ > the non-belief in god is the starting of a belief system That’s not necessarily true. Why can’t my dis-belief in God or gods start and end there? Also, we’re speaking english here are we not? I showed you a dictionary definition that in plain English states a religion must include a belief in supernatural powers, a creator or have a spiritual leader. **Atheism therefore cannot be a religion.** Plain and simple. You can’t change the definition of a word to suit your needs. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/65 "2003-01-11T21:16:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > And it has been pointed out many times that modern-day Catholicism and Protestantism bear little resemblance to the preachings that are attributed to Jesus. Does that make them not religions? Jesus claimed to be the son of God (or close enough if I remember my readings of the Bible right). According to the cites I posted earlier, Buddha did no such thing, remained silent on issues of metaphysics, and spoke of his awakening as freeing him from desires. Christianity started as a religion, though it can be altered into a philosophical system. Buddhism started as a philosophy, and was changed (for most adherents) into a religion. The changes started almost immediately after Buddha’s death, by many estimates. (NB: I am not a Buddhist, though I am reading to understand it.) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/66 "2003-01-11T21:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by **pravnik** _ > > Atheism does not necessarily equate with nonreligious, as some religions such as Taoism and Buddhism do not postulate the existence of such a being. I can definitey see were you’re comig from here **pravnik**. If one doesn’t want to accept the dictionary definition of religion I posted, you can say you can be an atheist and still fit into some religion. However, you can’t say Atheism by itself is a religion. ---
**Author:** ![desert\_rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@desert\_rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desert_rat)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/67 "2003-01-11T21:39:40Z")
Faith does not equal religion. They’re two separate words for a reason. For one thing, faith is morally neutral. I have faith that I will wake up tomorrow morning, because that has been my experience every day of my life up to this point. It’s also not a solitary belief separated from everything else – it’s intricately tied up with a whole lifetime of experience, and other related beliefs such as: there will be a tomorrow, and a day after that. Religion, on the other hand, cannot exist without morality. Take any religion in the world, and you will find that it has a code of behaviour, and a set of standards about what is right and what is wrong. Faith, on the other hand, does not require morality to exist. Scientists have faith that gravity works - a ball dropped from the hand will fall to the ground – because they believe in the truth of studies of scientists gone before them. Note that no matter how fervently one might believe such a thing, it is still morally neutral. It is not right or wrong for the ball to fall: that’s just the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918/68 "2003-01-12T00:54:14Z")
The OP doesn’t make a whole lot of sense so I don’t know if this thread really belongs in GQ. Many of the responses definitely do not. I’ll close this thread on the suspicion that if the OP was a factual question, it has been answered. Feel free to continue the debate in the appropriate forum. bibliophage moderator GQ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-atheists-be-part-of-another-religon-other-than-christianity/147918.md?page=3)