Atheism is a form of religion...

[Mudhammam]

...is what I hear apologists claim from time to time. Sam Harris has made the comparison, and I think it's fitting, that religion is a term similar in function to the word "sports," as in it's a general term used to describe a broader activity that involves a certain set of rules for engagement with the world, and most importantly, includes a vast array of specific types of activity that have included beliefs about what is acceptable, or even instructed, behavior, that ranges from bloody and violent to wholly introverted quests for bliss, from a rational and stable strategy for maximizing human interaction to patriarchy and xenophobia.

If this analogy in some way capsulizes the meaning of the word "religion," then atheism is simply sitting out. Not on the bench but perhaps on the stands or at home, watching television, disinterested in any participation at all. The sorts of movements that atheism inspires as attempts to diminish the role of religion in the public domain seem analogous to the activists who, violently or (hopefully) non, fight to moderate certain forms of sport, and concerning those most grotesque forms, ban them from the collective conscious in what is considered rational, and ultimately tolerable, forms of societal behavior.

Thoughts?

[vorlon13]

A side issue:

however categorized, the 1st Amendment guarantees atheists the same standing as religions enjoy

[Jenny A]

A side issue:

however categorized, the 1st Amendment guarantees atheists the same standing as religions enjoy

Theoretically anyway. Should we try for tax exempt status for this forum? Because we won't get it--at least not as a religious institution.

[vorlon13]

I'd see (I'm not an MBA, BTW) AF as more analogous to something like Cokesbury, and AFAIK, they get standard business deductions, but have to pay property tax etc.

(but maybe I'm way off base on that)

[Minimalist]

In the same sense that "bald" is a hair color.

[SuddenlyTatiana]

You can call atheism a religion if you define religion so broadly that it can mean anything....which effectively means nothing

[jesus_wept]

...is what I hear apologists claim from time to time. Sam Harris has made the comparison, and I think it's fitting, that religion is a term similar in function to the word "sports," as in it's a general term used to describe a broader activity that involves a certain set of rules for engagement with the world, and most importantly, includes a vast array of specific types of activity that have included beliefs about what is acceptable, or even instructed, behavior, that ranges from bloody and violent to wholly introverted quests for bliss, from a rational and stable strategy for maximizing human interaction to patriarchy and xenophobia.

If this analogy in some way capsulizes the meaning of the word "religion," then atheism is simply sitting out. Not on the bench but perhaps on the stands or at home, watching television, disinterested in any participation at all. The sorts of movements that atheism inspires as attempts to diminish the role of religion in the public domain seem analogous to the activists who, violently or (hopefully) non, fight to moderate certain forms of sport, and concerning those most grotesque forms, ban them from the collective conscious in what is considered rational, and ultimately tolerable, forms of societal behavior.

Thoughts?

"Saying atheism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby. I literally do it all the time." - Ricky Gervais

TBH I don't like giving RG credit for this quote because I'd heard it, or similar versions at least, a long time before anyone had heard of him.

[downbeatplumb]

Atheism is not a religion, it is a stance on religion.
A religion puts forward it's case you look at it and don't agree, so you don't believe.
I have seen and heard enough of supernatural claims to discount them all, so I am an atheist.
I fail to see how this stance is anything like being religious myself.

[stonedape]

Theoretically anyway. Should we try for tax exempt status for this forum? Because we won't get it--at least not as a religious institution.

I don't think running a vbull generates much in taxes. But those sunday atheist things shouldn't pay taxes.

[Aoi Magi]

In some cases, atheism does become a religion. Like the atheist church thing, also there are many atheists out there and probably a few in here who claim themselves to be atheists just to keep up with the trends without having any capacity for logical thinking, or follow their own beliefs too blindly to consider anything else like those who claim god cannot exist. There are yet others, especially on youtube, who'd lie to prove themselves correct and twist actual facts to suit their needs. When atheism is practiced as a hard stand AGAINST religion it becomes a religion in itself.