# Why do religious people try to prove God exists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895 "2018-04-05T21:23:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/202 "2018-04-09T02:30:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That’s one example, but it could also be a metaphor. But you can experience spiritual wonder without being even a deist. Hmm… I was going to say, “But read the rest of my message”, then saw that I forgot to add the rest of my message. D’oh! I was going to say that Einstein had explicitly said multiple times that he simply meant that he felt no need to believe in a deity, because his wonder at the incredible majesty and beauty of the universe was all he needed, and was as close as he was going to get. You’re right - it was a metaphor, and Einstein said so many times. That hasn’t stopped some religious people to pointing to him as an example of a brilliant scientist who also believed in God. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/203 "2018-04-09T02:33:57Z")
> [@Madeline3927](#): > > God is a wonder all on His own. Only God knows our path before we do. I refuse to ask a scientist about God because it’ll do nothing but piss me off. > > And a pastor with a degree in science… what he said is absolutely wrong, I’ve seen so many Miracles in my lifetime and have been shown many things by God. I know that some of us are chosen and that others are not. Now this is a debate for a lot of people, but tell me how many of us have seen angles or demons or even demons in people? > > How many of us have bipolar, schizophrenia, cancer, dementia, or anything else that attacks the body and mental state or health? These things are demons. And yes I also believe they can come from our foods because we didn’t have things like this happening as much in my day. > > How many of us have had premonitions; dreams that have come true or spoke something and it happened just as it was given to you? > > I only talk to people when it’s given or I won’t say anything at all. I prove He’s real by living my life as He would have me to. > > Madeline3927 Wrong. You don’t know, you believe. Massive difference. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/204 "2018-04-09T02:40:31Z")
> [@Madeline3927](#): > > God is a wonder all on His own. Only God knows our path before we do. I refuse to ask a scientist about God because it’ll do nothing but piss me off. > > And a pastor with a degree in science… what he said is absolutely wrong, I’ve seen so many Miracles in my lifetime and have been shown many things by God. I know that some of us are chosen and that others are not. Now this is a debate for a lot of people, but tell me how many of us have seen angles or demons or even demons in people? > > How many of us have bipolar, schizophrenia, cancer, dementia, or anything else that attacks the body and mental state or health? These things are demons. And yes I also believe they can come from our foods because we didn’t have things like this happening as much in my day. > > How many of us have had premonitions; dreams that have come true or spoke something and it happened just as it was given to you? > > I only talk to people when it’s given or I won’t say anything at all. I prove He’s real by living my life as He would have me to. > > Madeline3927 Which god is it you proffess to believe in? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/205 "2018-04-09T02:44:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Einstein is widely accepted to be _a type_ of Deist. But certainly not a atheist. I more or less fall along Einstein’s thoughts here. > [Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_philosophical_views_of_Albert_Einstein) I wouldn’t say Einstein was a deist: > [@Albert Einstein](#): > > “A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms — it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude;\*\* in this sense, and in this alone\*\*, I am a deeply religious man.” (Bolding mine) There’s nothing in his belief that requires a soul, eternal life, or a supernatural being of any sort. He’s basically saying, “I’m in awe of the incredible complexity and beauty and organization of the universe, and I feel like our tiny brains can’t begin to comprehend it all. That’s awe-inspiring and I get an almost religious feeling contemplating it.” That’s why he said he was not an athiest - he felt that we were so far away from understanding the entirety of the universe that it would be arrogant to make categorical statements of what does and doesn’t exist - which actually isn’t required of atheism either, but Einstein may have been thinking of it differently at the time. But keep in mind that Einstein was also talking at a time when being an outspoken athiest could get you into real trouble, so he may have couched his beliefs with enough wiggle room that he wouldn’t be attacked as a Godless heathen. But he made it pretty damned clear that he wasn’t talking about supernatural beings at all, but rather just the mystery and wonder of the universe itself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/206 "2018-04-09T03:57:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I wouldn’t say Einstein was a deist: > > (Bolding mine) > > There’s nothing in his belief that requires a soul, eternal life, or a supernatural being of any sort. He’s basically saying, “I’m in awe of the incredible complexity and beauty and organization of the universe, and I feel like our tiny brains can’t begin to comprehend it all. That’s awe-inspiring and I get an almost religious feeling contemplating it.” > > That’s why he said he was not an athiest - he felt that we were so far away from understanding the entirety of the universe that it would be arrogant to make categorical statements of what does and doesn’t exist - which actually isn’t required of atheism either, but Einstein may have been thinking of it differently at the time. > > But keep in mind that Einstein was also talking at a time when being an outspoken athiest could get you into real trouble, so he may have couched his beliefs with enough wiggle room that he wouldn’t be attacked as a Godless heathen. But he made it pretty damned clear that he wasn’t talking about supernatural beings at all, but rather just the mystery and wonder of the universe itself. "Einstein stated that he believed in the pantheistic God of Baruch Spinoza…On 24 April 1929, Einstein cabled Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein in German: “I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.” Einstein didnt believe in a “personal god”. That pretty much is what a deist is. > **[Deism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism)** > > Deism (/ˈdiːɪzəm/ DEE-iz-əm  or /ˈdeɪ.ɪzəm/ DAY-iz-əm; derived from the Latin term deus, meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation of the natural world are exclusively logical, reliable, and sufficient to determine the existence of a Supreme Being as the creator of the universe. More simply stated, Deism is the belief in the existence Since the 17th c... No, you could be a outspoken atheist in the 1950’s- many were. Read about the history of atheism. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/207 "2018-04-09T03:59:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There are extremists and fringes everywhere. I’m sure there are atheists that say all kinds of stupid things. But that’s not what atheism IS. > . But it is. You see, there are as many types of Atheism as there are types of, say, Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/208 "2018-04-09T04:32:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Indeed, some atheists say that. but harcore atheists not only say they are sure there is no God but anyone who believes in a God is deluded or worse. > [Implicit and explicit atheism - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_and_explicit_atheism) > > And Strong atheism is irrational. > > [Atheism Is Irrational | Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-psychology/201402/atheism-is-irrational) I’m not sure where you get that conclusion from in your cites. Now about strong atheism - the author of your cite does not define strong atheism as gnostic atheism, that is the claim to know that there is no god. I wonder how many people do claim this. I’ve been debating this subject on line since 1975, and I’ve run into only one, and both atheists and theists considered him to be an idiot. (this was on alt.atheism, not here.) The god of deism is unknowable by definition, and how can we know anything about a possible god of a planet in a galaxy a billion ly away? Now Christians especially sometimes get any god mixed up with their God - which is the basis of Pascal’s wager, which considers only the Christian god and no god as the possibilities. And people have trouble even defining the Christian god. I can say that I know the tri-omni Christian god does not exist, since the concept is logically contradictory. Other versions? Who knows? The one who create the Earth 6,000 years ago doesn’t exist, since we have strong evidence that didn’t happen. And, btw, someone who believes in this god is deluded or irrational. Strong atheism means belief in no god as opposed to lack of belief in a god. And we, unlike you, are open to evidence against our belief. It would have to be very strong evidence, none of which has been forthcoming. BTW there was a taoist temple next door to my hotel in Kowloon. The worshipers there were every bit as convinced in their gods as you are in yours. What do you call them? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/209 "2018-04-09T04:42:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Einstein is widely accepted to be _a type_ of Deist. But certainly not a atheist. I more or less fall along Einstein’s thoughts here. > [Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_philosophical_views_of_Albert_Einstein) Your cite contradicts your assertion. A religious nonbeliever is not the same thing as a deist. Deists, and we have a few here, do believe in a god but one which set the universe in motion and then no longer interacted with it. For instance Tom Paine was a deist not an atheist. In **The Age of Reason** he explicitly rejected atheism because he could think of no reason for the structure of the solar system other than what we could call intelligent design. He might change his views if he was alive today. Martin Gardner, another deist, was certainly a believer, unlike Einstein. Just not in your god. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/210 "2018-04-09T04:45:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But it is. You see, there are as many types of Atheism as there are types of, say, Christianity. Someone who claims he can prove there is no god is certainly an atheist, since that just means lack of god belief. But if you say this belief is what atheism is, then you must say that the rabid hating Christian defines what Christianity is. And there are more of them then there are gnostic atheists in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/211 "2018-04-09T04:47:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But it is. You see, there are as many types of Atheism as there are types of, say, Christianity. Actually, that’s fair. There’s no Pope of atheism. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/212 "2018-04-09T04:49:53Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s why he said he was not an athiest - he felt that we were so far away from understanding the entirety of the universe that it would be arrogant to make categorical statements of what does and doesn’t exist - which actually isn’t required of atheism either, but Einstein may have been thinking of it differently at the time. > > But keep in mind that Einstein was also talking at a time when being an outspoken athiest could get you into real trouble, so he may have couched his beliefs with enough wiggle room that he wouldn’t be attacked as a Godless heathen. But he made it pretty damned clear that he wasn’t talking about supernatural beings at all, but rather just the mystery and wonder of the universe itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were right. Being Jewish in the 1930s was scary enough. But a lot of people back then (and still today) defined atheism as knowledge that there is no god, and Einstein might have been, correctly, rejecting this position. Even Huxley used this definition, which is why he called himself an agnostic not an atheist. I have a collection of essays by him floating around somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/213 "2018-04-09T04:56:24Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > No, Jews aren’t going to hell, because they are God’s chosen people, and therefore get a pass on the whole Jesus thing. They see Jesus as the one who came up with rules for non-Jews to also attain the heaven Jewish people are already destined for, or something like that. > > And at least in my old community, affection for the Jews had nothing to do with end times. They just think Jews have a special place in God’s plan, and therefore the Jews are to be treated as fellow travelers and are to be defended against threats to their existence. But the Christians in your community are Canadians, and so are nice by definition. 😃 I think Jews go to hell in some Chick tract or other. And the Baptists who came to my door weren’t going to give me a path. And forcible conversions throughout history were done in order to save us from hell. Obviously not all Christians believe this, today, but it has been the case more often than not. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/214 "2018-04-09T05:04:30Z")
> [@Madeline3927](#): > > And a pastor with a degree in science… what he said is absolutely wrong, I’ve seen so many Miracles in my lifetime and have been shown many things by God. I know that some of us are chosen and that others are not. Now this is a debate for a lot of people, but tell me how many of us have seen angles or demons or even demons in people? > > Madeline3927 Insert joke about obtuse angles here. Back when angels were a big thing (inspired by the stupid TV program, I suppose) one lady said that she forgot her bag at an airport and someone came up to her and gave it back, having seen her leave it. She said this proves angels. I’ve done nice things for people, and people have done nice things for me, but if some lady said that my giving her the bag proved that angels existed I’d take it right back. 😛 If your treatment for cancer or other diseases involves casting out demons, I suggest that your will be in order and that you have your casket picked out. The science you scorn has raised our life expectancy an awful lot. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/215 "2018-04-09T05:09:43Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’m in Alberta, and it IS kind of the bible belt of Canada - especially in the south and in rural areas. Southern Alberta has a huge Mormon population, and also a lot of Mennonites and Hutterites. Mennonites have integrated into the normal population, and can be considered similar to Baptist congregations in my experience, except that Mennonites tend to stay out of government affairs and politics. Hutterites still live in colonies, and also avoid government as a rule. > > But there are plenty of Christian-right activists in Alberta as well. They are a uniquely Canadian version of the Christian Right, but they share many of the same beliefs as their U.S. cohort. And we have a United Conservative Party that very much mirrors the hard-core Christian Right in the United States (I’m an Albertan too). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/216 "2018-04-09T05:14:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Martin Gardner, another deist, was certainly a believer, unlike Einstein. Just not in your god. _My_ god? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/217 "2018-04-09T05:21:47Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There are extremists and fringes everywhere. I’m sure there are atheists that say all kinds of stupid things. But that’s not what atheism IS. > > Atheism is better understood as a philosophy that says, “The proper way to understand the universe is to apply the scientific method. We must demand proof, experiment, falsifiable predictions, and the other tools we have developed over millennia to help us sort out fact from fiction.” > > The reason atheists don’t believe in God is simply because such a belief doesn’t pass those tests. But it’s not a dogmatic belief: If someone came up with a strong proof of God’s existence, and it could pass the tests above, atheists would have to admit that there is a God. > > But that gets us to a paradox. If God is defined as a being that transcends the laws of men and the universe, then he’s outside the realm of science anyway, which means we can’t ‘prove’ his existence. And evidence to the contrary can always be hand-waved away as having been placed by God to test us. It’s an unfalsifiable theory, so for people who use reason and science to puzzle out what’s going on around us, it’s becomes a question that’s not even worth entertaining. When come back, bring evidence. > > To me, the difference between agnosticism and atheism is that agnostics weight the possibilities of God/no God equally. So an agnostic might say, “There might be a God, there might not. But both propositions are worth equal attention, and I’m keeping an open mind.” An athiest would say, “I have no reason to believe in God, so until someone gives me a reason I’m not even interested in the question.” > > Or another way of looking at it: Agnostics have an open mind about the existence of God, but atheists employ an entirely different epistemology that explicitly rules out belief without evidence, so the question of God is moot. > > But I’ll bet you even agnostics are atheists when it comes to believing in Valhalla, or volcano gods, or the existence of fairies and pixies. And I’ll bet most Christians are too. Or should Christians keep an open mind and say, “Well, I’m not sure… Baal, Jesus… I’m in Jesus’ corner right now, I have an open mind and am willing to be convinced that I should throw my first born child into the nearest volcano.” I think not. Jesus very much WAS the virgin tossed into the volcano to appease God. He had to be perfect, untainted by sin, and the sacrifice was to benefit the villagers—or in this case, the whole world. There are so many similarities to other myths, including the virgin birth, the birthday right after the winter solstice on December 25, the miracles, that it seems wrong not to assume that JC was a well-written amalgam of other myths all rolled into one. He makes so much more sense if looked at as mythology rather than history. That way, the non-science aspects of the bible (and there are many) become a moot point, since stories give the writer creative license. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/218 "2018-04-09T06:06:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Indeed, some atheists say that. but harcore atheists not only say they are sure there is no God but anyone who believes in a God is deluded or worse. > [Implicit and explicit atheism - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_and_explicit_atheism) > > And Strong atheism is irrational. > > [Atheism Is Irrational | Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-psychology/201402/atheism-is-irrational) > > [Luke Muehlhauser](http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=6487) > _An unfriendly atheist believes no one is justified in believing that gods exist. > An evangelical atheist tries to persuade others to give up theistic belief. > A positive atheist not only lacks a belief in gods, but also affirms that no gods exist. He is also called a strong atheist or an explicit atheist._ I call BS. I’ve been very active in the atheist community in one of the 15th largest metropolitan areas in the US, for many, many years. I have never met ONE “hardcore”, “unfriendly”, or “strong” atheists, by your limited definitions. You do realize that Psychology Today is a pop psychology rag, don’t you? If you look hard enough, you’ll no doubt find extremists anywhere, but they do NOT represent anyone other than themselves. The basic consensus of atheists here, if such a thing were codified, would be “I don’t believe in a deity unless and until I see ANY evidence” . Picking and choosing outliers makes you look desperate. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/219 "2018-04-09T06:23:08Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Jesus very much WAS the virgin tossed into the volcano to appease God. He had to be perfect, untainted by sin, and the sacrifice was to benefit the villagers—or in this case, the whole world. There are so many similarities to other myths, including the virgin birth, the birthday right after the winter solstice on December 25, the miracles, that it seems wrong not to assume that JC was a well-written amalgam of other myths all rolled into one. He makes so much more sense if looked at as mythology rather than history. That way, the non-science aspects of the bible (and there are many) become a moot point, since stories give the writer creative license. I think it is quite plausible that Jesus was a real person and those who wrote about him added all the myths you mention, which was quite common back then. The Bethlehem story was added to satisfy the Messianic prophecy. The virgin birth story was added to satisfy a mistaken translation of a prophecy. I think Dec. 25 was set way later to co-opt the pagan winter solstice celebration. Can’t blame the gospel writers for that one. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/220 "2018-04-09T06:36:40Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > {…} You do realize that Psychology Today is a pop psychology rag, don’t you? {…} Well, at least it _has_ ‘psychology’ in the name, meanwhile WorldNetDaily and Evolution News (That’s the Discovery Institute!) are cites for questions of Constitutional law! > [@DrDeth](#): > > {…} Legally, in fact, Atheism is a religion. > [Court rules atheism a religion | WND | by WND Staff](http://www.wnd.com/2005/08/31895/) > [For First Amendment Purposes, Is Atheism a Religion? | Evolution News](https://evolutionnews.org/2014/07/for_first_amend1/) CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895/221 "2018-04-09T10:30:36Z")
Atheism is a religion the same way “bald” is a hair color. Seriously, if you were bald and you were filling out a questionnaire which asked for your hair color, you’d probably write in “bald” but what you really mean is “I do not have a hair color because I am bald”. Still, when compiling the results of the questionnaire, it would make sense to list “bald” as one of the options and specify how many people chose that option. And if there was a law protecting your right to dye your hair, I would expect the Supreme Court to rule that it also protected your right to be bald. But only a jerk would pounce on these facts and say, “AHA! This proves that everyone has hair. Even bald people have hair and they are the most arrogant of all because they make the ridiculous claim that their hair has no color. Bald people are such hypocrites.” A religion is set of practices and arbitrary beliefs (dogma). Atheism has no practices and no dogma. Some atheists says they are unconvinced that a god exists, others say they are convinced that no gods exist. That still doesn’t make it a religion. But any law which protects your right to practice religion must also protect your right to be an atheist, just like any law that protects your right to choose your own hair color must also protect your right to be bald, and any law that protects your freedom of speech must protect your freedom to not speak. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-religious-people-try-to-prove-god-exists/811895.md?page=12)