But Atheism is specifically referred to in religious context, i.e., to the question, “What religion are you?” an Atheist would answer “I am an Atheist - I do not believe in God.”
I think “religion” in this context is simply a category in which someone’s spiritual beliefs fit, and it would depend on the individual Atheist whether or not they would consider it a “religion” or just “the way things are.”
If you’re going to talk high-falootin’ philosophy/theology, then I’m out of my depth. 
Esprix
If one inquires as to what religion I ascribe, I will reply “none.” If one asks me if I believe in god, I inquire what they mean by god and base my acceptance or rejection on their response. I will never state that I am an atheist. Although I don’t know the origin of the word, I believe it’s use is most commonly used as a way for theists to describe those who do not share their beliefs. Although I do like Spiritus Mundi’s analogy of atheism is to religion as vacuum is to atmosphere, I don’t think that absence of something dictates inclusion of the absence in the scope of the something.
But that’s the fun part!
Which goes back to my point - one Atheist might choose to label Atheism as a religion, another might not. Frankly, I see it as just semantics.
Besides, if “religion” is more than just faith or theology, and includes community and human understanding, wouldn’t that definition include Atheism?
Not if I don’t know what I’m talking about! 
Esprix
Sorry to try to drag you further out of your depth, Esprix, but I think your use of the world “religion” is a little too all-encompassing. For one thing, “spiritual beliefs” are awful hard to find in someone who doesn’t believe in a soul or spirit. If you think taking anything on faith is a sign of religious belief, well, I am taking on faith that the piece of mozzarella in my fridge today is the same one that was there yesterday. However, I would be unlikely to claim it was a religious belief; what would it be, the Doctrine of Persistent Cheese?
My definition of “religion”: Must include a belief in the supernatural, a moral code, and a full-featured philosophy. I can’t offhand think of anything I would call a religion that does not have all three (but if anyone can think of one, let me know). So atheism per se lacks all three (though an atheist can indeed possess all three features; for example, many Buddhists would be considered atheists, but I consider Buddhism a religion). Atheism is a simple statement of lack of belief in a single premise, and is nowhere near as all-encompassing as I consider religions.
“What sort of pizza do you eat?” “I prefer hamburgers,” is how I see the question-and-answer there. When people ask me my religion, I just say “none”, although I may add “I’m an atheist” to differentiate myself from those who say “I believe in God, but I’m not religious.”
Esprix:
There is no community in atheism, unless you consider a bunch of friends hangin’ out to be an religious gathering.
Amen to that! (Just kidding, but I couldn’t resist). That was a major point of my first post in this thread. I’m sorry, Esprix, if it’s “out of your depths.” I admit that it is a bit convoluted.
What kind of steak would you like?
I’m a vegetarian.
Ah, so vegetarianism is a kind of steak eating!!
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
How many apples do you have?
I don’t have any.
Ah, so you have apples.
====
Esprix, I have to say, I have never met an atheist who considers atheism to be a religion. That’s not to say there isn’t one out there, but they are certainly not in the majority.
You know what the problem is here? Some of you are stating that:
Religion = belief system
While others think:
religion = belief in god. ( of some kind )
And you both are talking past each other because you don’t understand why the other’s views don’t mesh with your own. Those who hold the second opinion get upset when someone says that their system of belief is a religion, even though the person may be refering to the first definition. Those who hold the first definition of religion as valid think that the others are purposefuly narrowing the definition because they don’t want anything to do with the idea of “god”. Everybody goes round and round because you’re both using the same term to mean different things!
Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it.
Weirddave, the trouble is that Atheism doesn’t fall into either catagory.
It is not a belief in “god”. It is not a belief system, either. It is merely a refusal to support someone else’s belief system. To say that Atheism is a belief system would be akin to saying that disbelief in Santa Claus is a belief system.
Exactly, Slythe. Atheism is neither a belief based primarily on faith nor a system of any kind. It is, as I seem to recall saying a few posts ago, a position on a single statement of fact (or axiom, if one wishes to discuss the question solely in the abstract.)
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
slythe:
Wrong. It can be proven that Santa Clause does not exist. The same cannot be said about God. If you’re going to use ‘logic’, please attempt to use it ‘logically’.
::
I’ve got dibs on this one!!
O.K., Califboomer. Prove that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
BTW, I reserve the right to use every single excuse you would use if I were trying to prove that “God” doesn’t exist.
Dammit, Slythe, you beat me to it! Doesn’t matter. He won’t answer any direct questions anyway, so I wouldn’t hold your breath on this one.
Not bad, expect for at least one hole.
" … one must then believe oneself to be ‘too good’ for God."
The hole is that someone is capable of not needing something without being better than that thing.
As an example, I don’t need an eggplant, but that implies no judgement of eggplants, just my lack of desire for one.
I am not so arrogant that I believe myself better than an eggplant, just not in need of one.
The other way to read this is to see that not everything, however useful, is useful at this time. An eggplant is a wonderful ingredient in an eggplant dish (obviously) but is a lousy hammer. If I was building a house, I would have no use for an eggplant.
In this sense, a god could be useful for many things, without being needed.
But, I’ll grant that I am arrogant, in that I don’t need a god, so I’m better than those who do. Much the same as someone who doesn’t need a handicap is much better at a game than someone who does. But that’s just my opinion.
It was a good try though.
Another problem:
No, that is not correct. Saying there is no god implies nothing about what an individual needs. Lou Gherig needed a cure for ALS. There is no cure for ALS. That does not negate his need.
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
I think weirddave hit it on the head when he said:
At least, for me. Atheism is a “belief system,” it’s just not believing in God.
Although I would be really interested to hear what some official Atheistic organization has to say, I also think I figured out why I think why I do - all the Atheists I know are Unitarian Universalists, so, really, they have a religion (UUism), but I don’t know if they consider Atheism part of that religion. (Except for Auntie Chuck, but we never talked a lot about his beliefs, and now he’s dead, alas.)
Gaudere said:
“Behold the Power of Cheese!”
Takes on a whole new meaning.
Anywho… Isn’t Atheism a form of faith as well? It’s just faith in logic and science rather than in spirituality. {opening up can of worms}
Oh, I’d disagree (but then again, I’m don’t consider myself Atheist, so I could be wrong). Obviously, no, there is no belief in the supernatural; but I don’t think Atheism as a school of thought lacks morality; and being a school of thought, doesn’t that make it a philosophy? So 2 out of 3 ain’t bad…
Nen wrote:
[QUOTEThere is no community in atheism, unless you consider a bunch of friends hangin’ out to be an religious gathering.[/QUOTE]
Are there Atheistic societies? Churches? Organizations?
slythe wrote:
I was going to jump in and disagree, but find that I can’t. Wow, very interesting…
I’m learning a lot here. The bottom line for me personally is that if I meet an Atheist and he considers it a religion, then I will, too; if not, I’ll work with whatever he wants to call it.
I think weirddave hit it on the head when he said:
At least, for me. Atheism is a “belief system,” it’s just not believing in God.
Although I would be really interested to hear what some official Atheistic organization has to say, I also think I figured out why I think why I do - all the Atheists I know are Unitarian Universalists, so, really, they have a religion (UUism), but I don’t know if they consider Atheism part of that religion. (Except for Auntie Chuck, but we never talked a lot about his beliefs, and now he’s dead, alas.)
Gaudere said:
“Behold the Power of Cheese!”
Takes on a whole new meaning.
Anywho… Isn’t Atheism a form of faith as well? It’s just faith in logic and science rather than in spirituality. {opening up can of worms}
Oh, I’d disagree (but then again, I’m don’t consider myself Atheist, so I could be wrong). Obviously, no, there is no belief in the supernatural; but I don’t think Atheism as a school of thought lacks morality; and being a school of thought, doesn’t that make it a philosophy? So 2 out of 3 ain’t bad…
Nen wrote:
[QUOTEThere is no community in atheism, unless you consider a bunch of friends hangin’ out to be an religious gathering.[/QUOTE]
Are there Atheistic societies? Churches? Organizations?
slythe wrote:
I was going to jump in and disagree, but find that I can’t. Wow, very interesting…
I’m learning a lot here. The bottom line for me personally is that if I meet an Atheist and he considers it a religion, then I will, too; if not, I’ll work with whatever he wants to call it.
In the same vein as Spiritus and David, so not having a belief is a belief, eh?
Perhaps all the atheists you know are UUs, but one can’t extrapolate that all atheists are UUs; therefore, it is not necessary for all atheists to have a religion.
Opening up a can of worms, indeed. Atheism is not equivalent to having faith in logic and/or science. Not having a belief in one thing does not necessitate a belief in something typically viewed as the only other option. Moreover, if you insist on declaring that atheist have “faith” in logic and science, all frames of thought become religions and the term becomes both all-encompassing and useless.
Precisely what would an atheist worship in a church? I suppose there could be an Atheists Anonymous somewhere…
Interesting indeed, you’re walking on both sides of the fence now.
I suppose that’s an amiable way to handle an encounter, but isn’t the pupose of this thread establishing the truth?
Are there any “atheists” on the board who consider a lack of belief in god to be a religion?
**
[/QUOTE]
Quote
Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it.
I want y’all to know that I only posted 1 (one) time. I signed off, came back, and there were 3 messages. Not my fault.
Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it.