# Marley23 - clarification please **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 5, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-clarification-please/566456 "2011-01-05T04:36:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-clarification-please/566456/1 "2011-01-05T04:36:10Z")
This is not a complaint about moderating. I’m looking for some clarification here. In the thread ‘How is Communism a Religion’ I associated Atheism and Communism as being religions in the same sense. I did not intend to hijack the thread. I did respond to those who responded to my post. I can understand people disagreeing with me, but those disagreements centered on Atheism not being a religion, and so my responses reflected that. But you may notice that I asked those who insisted on following the Atheism track to continue in the thread about Atheism and Non-Belief. I am curious how this is considered a hijack on my part. I do however accept responsibility for continuing along the line and adding to the problem. I believe all of the relevant posts are shown here: > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/27): > > It’s a religion in the same way that Atheism is a religion. If it walks like it’s not a duck, and quacks like it’s not a duck, and gets pissed off if you call it a duck, it’s a duck. Because if you’re not a duck, you wouldn’t act like you weren’t one or care if someone said you were. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/29): > > Nonsense. Atheism isn’t like Communism/religion at all. It fits the facts, it doesn’t make any claims beyond disbelief in one particular category of supernatural creature. Atheism has no dogma, no agenda. It’s not a belief system. > > The two aren’t comparable at all. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/30): > > Duck Season! > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/31): > > Not a meaningful rebuttal. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/32): > > your comparison really wasn’t valid. Atheism contains no religious characteristics, mostly because it contains no beliefs. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/33): > > Where did my post mention beliefs or dogma or the supernatural or agenda? > > I stated what I consider the hallmarks of a religion. If you disagree, fine. But my comparison was perfectly valiid. Atheists and Communists both claim not to be religions and bristle when referred to as such. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/34): > > Atheism contaains no hallmarks of religion. Claiming not to be a religion is not a hallmark of religion. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/33): > > Where did my post mention beliefs or dogma or the supernatural or agenda? > > I stated what I consider the hallmarks of a religion. If you disagree, fine. But my comparison was perfectly valiid. Atheists and Communists both claim not to be religions and bristle when referred to as such. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/34): > > Atheism contaains no hallmarks of religion. Claiming not to be a religion is not a hallmark of religion. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/52): > > The reason atheists (and, I assume, communists) “bristle” at the comparison to religion is because that argument is merely step one of a larger argument, one we’ve seen hundreds of times before: > > 1. Atheism is just another religion! Therefore, my (theistic) beliefs are just as valid as yours! > > 2. Since my (theistic) beliefs are just as valid as your (atheistic) beliefs, one of us has to be wrong. I have a book which says I’m right, so your beliefs are wrong! > > 3. Prophet! > > Since this is clearly a bogus line of reasoning, it’s best to nip it in the bud when it starts. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/61): > > You are right. Your bogus line of reasoning should be nipped in the bud. Stop quacking if you aren’t a duck. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/84): > > Did you \*really \*just “I know you are but what am I?” my post? Seriously? > > I posted a serious response. If you don’t want an actual argument, what the hell are you doing in GD? > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/89): > > No I did not. Your response is incoherent and had nothing to do with my post except for your spurious claim that it was part of some other argument, which it was not. You have not offered any reason why communism is not a religion, if that is what your point is. If you can’t form a rational response then don’t criticize mine. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/92): > > You said that atheists “bristle” at the suggestion that atheism is a religion. I explained why this is. > > I’m sorry you didn’t find my explanation easy to refute. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/100): > > I apologize for not realizing you were attempting to explain something. > > The only explanation I can gather you are making is that Atheists are irrational and believe that the only people who think Atheism is a religion are irrational theists who engage only in outrageously fallacious argument. I disagree with that opinion. > > If you wish to continue this discussion, we should do it in the other thread about Atheism and non-belief since you don’t seem to be addressing Communism and religion. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/101): > > Well, anyone who thinks atheism is a religion is uninformed at best. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/102): > > Uninformed of what information? The grand high proclamation from the non-God that Atheism is not a religion? > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/103): > > Uninformed of the definition of atheism. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/104): > > Which is? And according to whom? > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/105): > > An absence of theistic belief. According to the academic definition and the definition used by mots atheists themselves. This is becoming a childish loop. Atheism is not a belief. It contains no beliefs. It’s the absence of one specific belief. It contains no characteristics of religion whatsover. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/109): > > I have addressed this previously. Your insistence on facts that can’t be established is just one of the characteristics you share with the religiulous. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/110): > > You were in error. I am correcting you. > > Atheism asserts no facts. It declines to assert a fact. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/113): > > Then Atheists don’t assert that there is no God? > > If you want to continue to prove that that your contention is incorrect we should do this in the other thread, unless you believe this applies to Communism as well. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/114): > > Nope. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/116): > > Must be that mots sect of Atheists that you belong to. The rest seem to disagree. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/119): > > And yet, somehow this has continued for several days. Take this hijack into a new thread about atheism and religion or let it go. > [@How Is Communism a Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-communism-a-religion/565901/121): > > I apologize. I have asked others to move to the other thread, but they keep responding here. I will not do so again. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-clarification-please/566456/2 "2011-01-05T04:41:53Z")
You were right to suggest a separate thread. But you kept posting about the atheism topic in the Communism thread, so that didn’t really settle the matter. My note applies to everybody, but the hijack about atheism being a religion was driven mostly by your posts and your questions. And quoting one post (the one that probably started the tangent) was faster than quoting every post related to the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-clarification-please/566456/3 "2011-01-05T04:53:15Z")
Okay, I understand. Thank you for your response.