Yes, Atheism is a Religion

[God of Mr. Hanky]

It's really obvious when you think about it: When atheism critiques religion, it inevitably ends up being either religious or very much like a religion.

Take, for instance, what atheism purports to say. Any meaningful form of atheism says either that God doesn't exist, or that one ought not to believe in God. They don't just mean this for themselves ("Oh, I personally don't believe, but it's perfectly okay if you believe"). Instead, they take it that not a single person has a rational basis for believing in God. 

These are very strong claims. There's no science to back it up. No empirical evidence for it. So on what basis are these claims made? 

There's one clear explanation: Blind faith. Atheists have blind faith in some claims, and hence they form part of an atheist's belief system.

We don't have to stop there. We can look at the definition of religion. Many scholars of world religions don't take religion to be defined as beliefs in God and the supernatural. This rules too many religions out. Instead, they look for one common ingredient in all religions, and that is the state of being ultimately concerned. Having a "most important thing" that you care about. And while, strictly speaking, atheism itself doesn't constitute all of one's religion, the broad pool of beliefs, of which atheism is a necessary and important feature. In that sense, atheism is a necessary part of one's religion. The transference of one's ultimate concern from God, to themselves. 

There's a third way in which atheism does the job that religion does. Atheism itself, or as part of a larger worldview, informs our answers to the ultimate questions in life. If you find yourself an atheist, you are NOT ALLOWED to believe some set of answers to questions like "What is the meaning of life?" "Where did all of reality come from?" "What happens after we die?" "Are we more than just our bodies?". As such, atheism not only plays the role of dogma, in defining what we are not allowed to believe. It defines the range of answers we can take to be true.

For these reasons, I think it's OKAY for people to believe atheism is a religion, and for atheism to be treated like a religion, even by atheists.

Ignorance is a religion. The ignorant live by dogmas, and never by rational observation and inquiry. They stop learning at around the age of 7 years old. They plug their ears with their fingers whenever they hear anything which would expose to them the foolishness of the ideas which they insist on. They also have a high incidence of narcissism, believing their false ideas are so infallible that the rest of the world must believe their falsehoods as well, thereby harassing those who would not agree with them becomes their purpose in life.

There you go again, Trollface Delicunt - still reeking of deflection and projection!

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If Richard Dawkins said 2+2= "God doesn't exist", you can bet your braincell I'd be tearing him apart as a biased source.

As a biased source or someone who is simply mistaken?

Listen, it's clear at this point you have no idea what you're talking about. Inventing bullshit reasons to discredit someone doesn't rule out the fact that what they're saying might be true.

It just exposes the intellectually dishonest charade that is atheism. When atheists can't attack arguments and evidence, they try and attack people instead.

Thankfully the attacks on people don't slide. Cato hasn't managed to substantiate a single claim he's made.

You claimed there is no evidence for God's existence. You've been provided two dozen of them. Now refute them!

Hey, Delicate Asshole, you're the only one here who has made any claims since you commenced your little volley of turds here!  You claim a god exists, insisting that it's true without evidence, and we claim nothing. We don't have to agree with your ideas when all you have to prove them true is more bullshit on top of mountains of bullshit! No matter how much bullshit you present while calling it "evidence", it remains bullshit in fact.

Hint: Before you can even begin to look for actual empirical evidence, the minimal which you must do first is stop arguing, shut up, and open your eyes!