The founding fathers/mothers of Modern Atheism/Liberalism.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Ok, here's a syllogism: Religion generically is any claim about God. But Atheism is a claim about God. Therefore, Atheism is a Religion.

Again, by comparison: Political Systems are anything to do with government. But Anarchy is something to do with Government. Therefore, Anarchy is a Political System. Anarchists will try to evade this conclusion by claiming Anarchy, "being no political system at all", allegedly does not come under such. But it does, because it makes certain claims about political systems that are no in way self-evident and in fact rejected by the vast multitude of humanity. The same is true of Atheism.

A-Mars-ism, as defined in the other thread, likewise comes under Astronomical Systems, even if it claims "it is no astronomical system at all" because it is a denial that the Planet Mars exists.

As for the 13 legged spider or whatever it is, I simply reject it without needing to postulate anything else. But that's not comparable to Atheism because you've to postulate multiple things like for e.g. that everyone reporting a veridical NDE is either deluded or lying about it, even when this is well documented and confirmed by competent doctors etc. Therefore, Atheism is more analogous to A-Mars-ism. 

And in any case, granting for the sake of the argument that Atheism is not a Religion, it still would certainly come at least under some such thing as a particular School of Philosophy. It has to give reasons in its favor and of course the history of those who adhered to it and promoted it etc can be studied. Darwin, Marx, and others did do this, some of them quite vehemently; witness the League of Militant Atheists in Soviet Russia.

"The League of Militant Atheists[1] (Russian: Сою́з Вои́нствующих Безбо́жников, tr. Soyúz Voínstvuyushchikh Bezbózhnikov, lit. 'The League of Militant Godless'[2]), also Society of the Godless (Russian: О́бщество безбо́жников, tr. Óbshchestvo Bezbózhnikov) or Union of the Godless (Russian: Сою́з Безбо́жников, tr. Soyúz Bezbózhnikov), was an atheistic and antireligious organization of workers and intelligentsia that developed in Soviet Russia under influence of the ideological and cultural views and policies of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1947.[3] It consisted of party members, members of the Komsomol youth movement, those without specific political affiliation, workers and military veterans.[4"] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_...t_Atheists

These were influenced by Marx and his Atheistic Philosophy.

By paragraph:

1. In addition to your definitions being flat-out wrong, you’ve mistaken ‘religion’ for ‘theism’. In order for this to work out, you need to use the same terms. So, theism is a belief in gods and atheism is not belief in gods. Religion is the belief in and worship of gods. Since atheism doesn’t believe in or worship gods, atheism is - by correct definition of what words actually mean - not a religion.

2. Anarchy is not ‘something to do with government’ therefore anarchy is not a political system. Your definition of a political system is wrong because there are plenty of things having to do with government that are apolitical.

3. If you’re going to compare amarsism with atheism, then amarsism isn’t a denial that Mars exists, but the lack of belief that it does.

4. You need to read up on NDEs.

5. There is widespread disagreement (among philosophers) as to whether atheism constitutes a school of philosophy. A common view is that atheism is, at most, a component of other philosophies.

6. Stop being so afraid of communists. They’re really not coming for you.

7. Ditto.

Boru