Is Atheism a religion as say...Theravada Buddhism?
February 17, 2010 at 3:22 am
(This post was last modified: February 18, 2010 at 1:23 am by KichigaiNeko.)
*Sorry to take so long to broach this subject Adrian - I have been swatting up on the topic*
Ok Here's how it goes peeps....
In a thread it was stipulated that according to the Wikipedia...Buddhism was a religion. Hmmmm (I disagree) but that sent me searching for what it was that I was actually talking about. Having burnt mine eyes on a hot screen I am now of the opinion that Atheism can also be included as a religion (and often is) and I am at odds as to why this has not been declared by now. (Just think of the political and financial benefits!)
After all, Atheism does resemble Theravada Buddhism (which according to the majority of texts is a religion...(altho the actual practioners may disagree) more closely than say Scientology. It does have a doctrine (albeit based on Scientific Principles) and a set of tenets (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tenets ). It (Atheism) also has it's own selection of "Prophets" eg: Dawkins, Darwin, Freud, Jung, etc. It has a view of the cosmos (based again on scientific enquiry) and further...
Atheists will and do stand in awe of the reality they find around them, including their fellow homonids belief systems. (fullfiling the "numinous" requirements of a religion)
So in "reality" (what ever that is) is it all just one great big mind fuck? Atheists are not beyond the need to feel "special" or unique from the masses, though to their credit they are not inspired to go evangelising their position, nor go and physically harm someone who does not hold their point of view. (That's what intelectual, logial arguments are for) Again, to the credit of Atheists, people of this "belief system" are motivated by education of a high order (High in this case is based on the ability to complete Tertiary Education)
It is also a hypothesis that with in ALL religions of the planet you will find those who are of a higher education level than their peers and so would be holding the position that their belief system is a mind fuck but "What the heck? I get to participate with this particular group of my community and so have a sense of belonging. So I'll play along"
There is much more that can be discussed here on this topic but for now I will sumarise by re-itterating the Thread subject:
Is Atheism a religion like say Theravada Buddhism; Adrian?
Given all that we know (scientifically) regarding humans and human behaviour. Are there any Sociologists, Human Behaviourists, Psycologists that would like to wade in about now??
Ok Here's how it goes peeps....
In a thread it was stipulated that according to the Wikipedia...Buddhism was a religion. Hmmmm (I disagree) but that sent me searching for what it was that I was actually talking about. Having burnt mine eyes on a hot screen I am now of the opinion that Atheism can also be included as a religion (and often is) and I am at odds as to why this has not been declared by now. (Just think of the political and financial benefits!)
After all, Atheism does resemble Theravada Buddhism (which according to the majority of texts is a religion...(altho the actual practioners may disagree) more closely than say Scientology. It does have a doctrine (albeit based on Scientific Principles) and a set of tenets (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tenets ). It (Atheism) also has it's own selection of "Prophets" eg: Dawkins, Darwin, Freud, Jung, etc. It has a view of the cosmos (based again on scientific enquiry) and further...
Atheists will and do stand in awe of the reality they find around them, including their fellow homonids belief systems. (fullfiling the "numinous" requirements of a religion)
So in "reality" (what ever that is) is it all just one great big mind fuck? Atheists are not beyond the need to feel "special" or unique from the masses, though to their credit they are not inspired to go evangelising their position, nor go and physically harm someone who does not hold their point of view. (That's what intelectual, logial arguments are for) Again, to the credit of Atheists, people of this "belief system" are motivated by education of a high order (High in this case is based on the ability to complete Tertiary Education)
It is also a hypothesis that with in ALL religions of the planet you will find those who are of a higher education level than their peers and so would be holding the position that their belief system is a mind fuck but "What the heck? I get to participate with this particular group of my community and so have a sense of belonging. So I'll play along"
There is much more that can be discussed here on this topic but for now I will sumarise by re-itterating the Thread subject:
Is Atheism a religion like say Theravada Buddhism; Adrian?
Given all that we know (scientifically) regarding humans and human behaviour. Are there any Sociologists, Human Behaviourists, Psycologists that would like to wade in about now??
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
