I am an Atheist, does this make atheism, my religion?

Being an atheist does not make atheism your religion but stating your belief emphatically does put you into a status similar to those that claim allegiance to a religion. You are insisting on a label to define the state of your belief and you are categorically denying the existence of any god with nothing to support that statement but your own conviction. It is true that there is no evidence that supports the existence of a god but there is no evidence that provides definitive proof that some god somewhere does not exist.

A good definition of "religion" is as follows (my emphasis and additions in brackets): "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially [but not exclusively] when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually [i.e., but not always] involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs." In other words, the definition of a 'religion' does not necessarily imply a belief in the existence of a 'god' or 'gods' or, indeed, any 'god'. Buddhism is an example of a recognised religion which (in one manifestation, at least) does not rely on a belief in god or gods. What would define a religion, in my opinion, would be a moral code and a set of beliefs which are shared by a number of people and the existence of some kind of organisation which promotes, rationalises and regulates those tenets in some way. 'Rationalisation' may be in a very broad sense and may well not be logical or conclusive to those outside the religion! The fact that there exist many programmes and discussion groups, forums and so on dealing with and promoting atheism does not necessarily, however, qualify atheism as a religion, since, even though they may represent some kind of consensus of opinion, the individuals are not necessarily united in their opinions and there may be no organisation as a whole which is accepted as dictating beliefs and moral codes. It is, a fine (and arguable) point, I think, and it would be possible, I believe, to form a non-deist (or anti-deist) 'religion' even though the usual definition of religion does include a positive belief in a 'superhuman agency or agencies'. If your position is that you cannot say without a doubt that there is no God, then you should call yourself an Agnostic rather than an Atheist.

Atheism is not a religion. A religion is an organized spiritual practice. Atheism is not really a spiritual belief, and definitely not an organized practice of anything. Though it all depends on the definition that is being used, I suppose. Some religions do not contain the belief or worship of any god, so some would consider them "atheist", but most would not. You mentioned that many atheists like to get together and celebrate certain holidays, but so do football fans and bands of musical groups, etc. Just because someone with similar beliefs or interests gets together doesn't make it a religion. Religions typically have to do with a moral system. Of course atheists have morals just like everyone else, but they don't get together and say, "This is what we have to do to be good." or anything like that. Religion is more like a rule-system. I would say that perhaps atheism is a life philosophy. It has already been mentioned that since you say that there is no proof either way, then you are not truly atheist, but rather agnostic. This just means that you don't believe that there is sufficient proof either way, so you don't deny the possibility.

I would argue that atheism is a religion. For one thing this is logical. If a biologist describes a new subspecies of a species that previously had no recognized subspecies, this automatically creates a second subspecies consisting of those members of the species which don't belong to the other subspecies. For a hypothetical example (Darwin would be proud, he was very fond of these), if I was to describe Hypothetical specificus subsp. neo, I would also be automatically creating Hypothetical specificus subsp. specificus. Similarly, if you lack A, B and Rh blood type antigens, you still have a blood type: O -ve. In the same way, I would suggest that by separating itself from religions by rejecting belief in the paranormal, atheism is automatically setting itself up as new religion. I define religion as "The sun of your beliefs regarding the paranormal and morality." This includes most things people normally call religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Occultism etc. but not other things people can be obsessed about but aren't normally considered religions like housework or sport. This includes atheism as a religion because it makes a claim about the paranormal in that there isn't any. It also, by extension, claims that there are no absolute moral standards because that would require some sort of god to dictate them to man; anything else is just man made rules and what gives one man or woman a right to impose his or her rules on another? As atheists, as you point out, have a tendency to form into groups, hold events, even have "prophets" etc. and also have a tendency to show hostility towards followers of other religions, I would say this proves that atheism is itself a religion, sometimes even an organized one! Lastly, in America there are rules about separation of church and state (I think this is bad terminology because it implies that such rules apply only to Christianity). This means that you get situations like allowing evolution to be taught in schools and not intelligent design. I think this tends to make atheism effectively the state religion. However, if atheism is itself defined as a religion, then this should somewhat redress the balance.

I think atheism is a religion (or, at least, a religious belief) in the same way that zero is a number. It's a special case, but it doesn't make any sense to _not_ consider it in that set of beliefs.

Atheism for me is a state of mind-a belief. But it's definitely not a religion because religion involves belief in supernatural beings or a Supreme being and is characterized by rituals, icons and sacred writings. I don't belong to any religion but I believe there is a Creator, so what does that make of me? :)

I wouldn't say it is a religion but I am glad you have support , especially here in "G-d Fearing" America. You are a group. You live without G-d and that's cool. G-d isn't for Everyone . He/they don't exist for you and that is ok. But I thought a religion needed a Head Deity so Atheism can't be a religion. This is what I love about America , We have freedom of And From Religion. ps. What day is Darwin day? I want to wish you a Happy Or Belated Darwin Day.

we humans, living and non living things are the proofs of God's existence. may i share to you this excerpts so you maybe enlighten.i am not forcing you to believe because it's a personal choice and i respect that. The Bible gives witness to two facts regarding the knowledge God. First, it teaches us that God is incomprehensible, and but then it also declares that God is knowable. God’s incomprehensibility is declared in passages like Job 11:7 and Isaiah 40:18: Job 11:7 Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? The fact that God is knowable is evidenced by the very gift of the Bible as God’s revelation of Himself to man, but note also the following passages: John 14:7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. atheism is not a religion.

An atheist does not believe in any god or deity so there is no religion involved. Science has given us some theories about the formation of the universe and the start are evolution of life. Those theories are based on current scientific knowledge but as new knowledge comes to light the theories will change. That is the nature of scientific investigation. There is no other way. All religions have stories about the start of the earth and life but they are just stories and there is no need to consider them when investigating these matters.

Atheism is not a religon, but the absence of religon.

there are many kinds of atheism such as humanistic Judaism and Cristian atheists. i was one, before, but as usual i dot discriminated and my family mainly my grandma and aunt tells me all the time that im just wasting my time in that atheism thing, that's why i made deep research and slap on their faces that atheism is not any ordinary game or simple shi* like how they think. anyway, in the US atheism is considered as a religion. but im not sure with the other countries. i'll make deeper research bout it. hehe

You know, I'm not sure. I don't believe in god or gods either. But many aetheists seem to want to gather like a religion and preach about not believing in anything. I don't do that. I just sit on my beliefs of not believing and leave it at that. I don't put people down for believing in god but I do stop them if they try to force their beliefs on me. If people ask, I tell them i'm not an aetheist, I just believe in doing good and doing what's right.

Atheist is not a religion, because religion believe in God. If you don't believe in god, because you never see Him, so like so many people say or question "have you ever seen air, have you ever seen pain?" or something else that you can't see it but you believe in. If I slap you, then you shout "Hey it's painful" so I ask you "do you see the pain?" then you answer I can't see it, but I can feel it. Then my answer will be, but I can't feel it, it means that the pain doesn't exist. Not everyone can feel the pain you feel, and of course, not everyone can see or talk to the God. We just believe in what the prophets said. Like you believe in your wife when she says that she's sick. God is just like that, you can't see Him but he exists. And if you don't believe in prophets, I ask you again one question "do you believe you were born by your mother?" Thanks, may Allah give you guidance.

I would first say look at my discussion on religion you can see a lot of what was said especially by me. That being said if you refer to that or even here me now atheism is and will not be a religion. Religions are based on seven rules to be deemed as such and also I do not believe in religion it is a pointless concept that leads to stupid things. Plus I would say (no offense) you are a reason atheism is con-notated to the christian god. I know you mention god or gods but still atheism by definition the denial of a god, per my example in other discussion even christians are atheists due to the fact they do not believe in other gods one example is Zeus. That means they are a Zeuthian atheist. You are correct though we cannot prove or disprove because metaphysics are out of our reach. Though there theories and everything, my main point is to your term of atheism.

Atheism isn't a religion any more than theism is. Some people may treat it like it is, but more often than not it is simply what it is: a lack of belief in gods.

It has always been my view that atheism is a religion. From my reasoning and research, it would take an enormous amount of faith to be an atheist. If a universe cannot convince one that there is a God than this person has a lot more faith than I do.

This is a very good post. The question you are asking is almost impossible to answer. On one hand, atheism means you do not believe in any religion. On the other hand, the fact that you believe in no religion could mean that is your belief, and therefore a religion. I think atheism is not a religion.

The ONLY difference between an Atheist and a religious believer: Atheist: "How did the universe begin?" "I don't know yet.But I haven't given up solving that mystery.I 'm studying for it.I hope someday,my child or grandchild will know it." Religious believer: "How did the universe begin?" "God created it." "...How do you know?" "...A book told us so.And everybody else believe in it too."