Is no Religion a Religion.

[rexbeccarox]

That's irrelevant, and doesn't answer my question. Also, how do you know what proportion of the SS were atheists? I'm pretty sure there weren't any publicly atheist SS going around at that time.

Surveys did not originate with Mr. Neilsen.

---

Care to cite your sources?

As recently reported in the New York Times, military personnel who identify themselves as "Atheists" have requested chaplains to tend to their spiritual needs. As the Times article notes, "Defense Department statistics show that about 9,400 of the nation's 1.4 million active-duty military personnel identify themselves as atheists or agnostics, making them a larger subpopulation than Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists in the military." Having their own chaplains, the article explains, would give Atheists a sense of legitimacy and help validate their own system of values and beliefs.

The U.S. Government reports that in 2008 those identifying themselves specifically as "Atheist" composed the 18th largest group of 43 possible categories of "self-described religious identification." The number of persons so identifying themselves almost doubled from seven years earlier. Admittedly, "Atheist" is one of the options listed under "no religion specified," but given that other options for respondents included checking "Agnostic" or "No Religion" or not answering the question at all, it appears that identifying oneself specifically as an Atheist, as opposed to simply "not religious," is growing in appeal. This points to the utility of a distinction made by Jonathan Lanman between "non-theists," those with no particular religious belief, and "strong atheists," those who view religion not only as irrelevant but as misguided and dangerous.

Copypasta is worthless without links. Could you please post them?

[The Valkyrie]

Atheism ,another Religion?

Before you dismiss the question ; As recently reported in the New York Times, military personnel who identify themselves as "Atheists" have requested chaplains to tend to their spiritual needs.

Yes, that's because the military seems to have no problems with providing chaplains but a problem providing counsellors. So these secular "chaplains" would simply be "counsellors" by another title.

It doesn't mean they'll be offering prayers.

---

Also, how exactly does a few people who call themselves atheists requesting a chaplain make atheism a religion?

Not all the SS were atheists ,less than half . But they had no chaplains.

Actually very few, if any, of the SS were atheists. "Gott Mit Uns" on their belts, for a start.

[Jackalope]

"Spritual needs" is fairly wide open. If some joe wants prayer beads shaken over his head before he gets shot at next, for example...

Holy shit, man - you can't just show up after a year and sneak a post in.

[Cyberman]

Copypasta is worthless without links. Could you please post them?

His quoted material appears to have orignated here, a HuffPo blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose...67217.html

Artur, in future you are required to provide links when quoting articles. Failure to do so will result in Staff intervention. Got that?

[rexbeccarox]

Copypasta is worthless without links. Could you please post them?

His quoted material appears to have orignated here, a HuffPo blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose...67217.html

Artur, in future you are required to provide links when quoting articles. Failure to do so will result in Staff intervention. Got that?

Thanks Stimbo

I just read the article and I have a few thoughts:

1. It's an opinion post with a few facts littered in.

2. It's rife with fallacies, especially ad hominems and strawmen.

3. He capitalizes the word "atheist". It is not a proper noun, and capitalizing it is essentially building another strawman by trying to equate atheism to religious faith.

4. "While Atheism as a movement doesn't have the formal structure, celebrations, or creedal dogmas of organized religions, we might at least identify Atheism as it exists today as an increasingly vibrant faith tradition. Still, when speaking of Atheists, why use the f-word (for "faith," silly) rather than speak of a worldview or personal philosophy? Three reasons suggest themselves."

He just defined religion and negated the point he was trying to make. Derp.

There's more, but it's such an idiotic article, I don't want to waste my brain on it.

[Lucanus]

Atheism ,another Religion?

Nope.

Before you dismiss the question ; As recently reported in the New York Times, military personnel who identify themselves as "Atheists" have requested chaplains to tend to their spiritual needs.

So what?
It's their personal view. You can have some sort of spirituality without having to believe in gods. Atheism is just a broad definition.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I don't know why it's presumed that atheists can't also be 'spiritual'?

I think it's nonsense, but then I don't speak for every atheist out there

[Lucanus]

What if they were pastafaris?

[Esquilax]

Atheism ,another Religion?

Before you dismiss the question ; As recently reported in the New York Times, military personnel who identify themselves as "Atheists" have requested chaplains to tend to their spiritual needs.

So... what? Just because they're atheists they shouldn't want somebody to talk to about their beliefs? You get an atheist chaplain because at times it's helpful to talk about heavy topics, especially in military service where things are, I gather, a mite stressful, without having to hear a lot of religious jargon that doesn't apply to atheists.

You are drastically misunderstanding the purpose of an atheist chaplain.

[Ben Davis]

Atheism ,another Religion?

Before you dismiss the question ; As recently reported in the New York Times, military personnel who identify themselves as "Atheists" have requested chaplains to tend to their spiritual needs.

You/the article are misunderstanding and/or misdefining 'atheism'. 'Atheism' is a broad-term definition, representing one part of a binary description of belief: either you are 'theist' (a believer in theistic propositions) or you are 'atheist' (not a theist). The term 'atheist' makes no attempt at describing the beliefs that are held by non-theists, it only describes the lack of theism. Most people are aware that some atheists hold religious beliefs (e.g. certain paganisms, spiritualisms or eastern esoterics) therefore might have a need for 'spiritual' attention however that fails to make 'atheism' a religion in & of itself.

This question can be dismissed, certainly.