Is atheism a belief?

[T0 Th3 M4X]

I don't think it's safe to say "atheism is a belief" as asserted by the OP. It would be more correct to say that "atheism is beliefs" Just like theism incorporates "beliefs" so the whole would be theism.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If a statement begins with "I don't believe..." then I doubt it could be called a belief system.

[Angrboda]

... for instance, whats the state for non-belief in Bigfoot?

It's called skepticism, and yes, sometimes that does shade into cynicism or pseudo-skepticism, but many skeptics do what Hume suggested a wise man do, and apportion their belief according to the strength of the evidence, without necessarily swinging the other direction on that account. Prominent skeptics like James Randi are quite explicit on that point.

[Amarok]

That's the thing these days. You get a billion different claims and definitions to what something is. Then it goes to:

Nope 

My theism is better than your theism

Yup theists do this 

My atheism is better than your atheism

Nope the is no my atheism 

My theism is better than your atheism

Nope 

My atheism is better than your theism

Nope

So which theism or atheism is right? And the "logical" answer that ALL normal people will give is "my version." 

Nope it doesn't matter you repeat this it remains wrong 

Once you get past that, then it turns into how the universe came into existence. Was it the creation from the divine or did it pop into existence on its own. Were organisms created? Were organisms the result of the planet having a bowel movement that mutated?

A bunch of straw men and foolishness and false equivocations 

You can go round-n-round indefinitely, but before you can come to a conclusion, you'll have a thousand more explanations to contend with including hybrids. Theism and atheism mixed together, 

No such hybrids exist 

because some people think they've come up with a better explanation. No wonder people get confused in the mix. It's the equivalent of perpetually banging a frying pan against your head.

I your ill thought opinion

[Angrboda]

That's the thing these days. You get a billion different claims and definitions to what something is.  Then it goes to:

My theism is better than your theism
My atheism is better than your atheism
My theism is better than your atheism
My atheism is better than your theism

So which theism or atheism is right?  And the "logical" answer that ALL normal people will give is "my version."   Once you get past that, then it turns into how the universe came into existence.  Was it the creation from the divine or did it pop into existence on its own. Were organisms created?  Were organisms the result of the planet having a bowel movement that mutated?

You can go round-n-round indefinitely, but before you can come to a conclusion, you'll have a thousand more explanations to contend with including hybrids.  Theism and atheism mixed together, because some people think they've come up with a better explanation.  No wonder people get confused in the mix.  It's the equivalent of perpetually banging a frying pan against your head.

As to the question regarding atheism, it's a question of usage, which is an empirical fact which can be largely settled. You just don't like the answer.

This is nothing but the same argument based on the meaning of faith. Theists are embarrassed about aspects of their behavior, so they desperately want to bring us down to their level.

Time for theists to just grab their balls, man up, and own their shit.

[Amarok]

Yes, albinism IS a condition, it has nothing to do with what you believe. one can HAVE 'albinism'

No but it is a state of something and something you are lacking  

 but a person doesn't HAVE 'athiesm', that should tell you right there that the the two aren't the same.

Yes they do they are in a condition or state of atheism 

We don't apply that same criteria to lack of belief in anything else. for instance, whats the state for non-belief in Bigfoot?

Skepticism but even if it were for nothing else it would still be valid  

There are Ideologies focused on there being zero gods, THAT IS athe-ism. 

Nope their members may be atheists but their ideologies have nothing to do with it 

Atheist and atheism have different meanings, same with theist and theism. 

Nope one refers to the person the other refers to his state 

One can believe a God exists without actually engaging in religious practices.

Yup and ?

[T0 Th3 M4X]

If a statement begins with "I don't believe..." then I doubt it could be called a belief system.

But it has evolved into a major belief system.  As a whole, it's not just one thing, but rather many things.  Churches, hymns, offerings, books, T-shirts, church offerings, religious protections, etc...  If something is just an idea, it doesn't need all those things to stay afloat.  If I say I don't believe in elves, that's all I would need to say.  I wouldn't need to make a church for it to try and offer a counter belief.  No need for anti-elf hymns and bake sales.  If you don't believe in something, just don't believe.  I don't believe in Bigfoot, but not chasing Bigfoot enthusiast around telling them they're wrong.  That's one of the things I don't quite get about modern atheism.  They say they don't believe in any God or gods, but they go out of their way to practice the same way that theists do.  Sure, they still don't believe in any god, but they incorporate the things that are associated with theism into their collective.

[Amarok]

I don't think it's safe to say "atheism is a belief" 

because it's not 

as asserted by the OP. It would be more correct to say that "atheism is beliefs"

Nope 

 Just like theism incorporates "beliefs" so the whole would be theism.

Nope anything outside of i lack believe or don't accept has nothing to do with atheism

[Angrboda]

I get that theists may think atheists are silly. And in truth, some, perhaps many, are. That doesn't lead to the conclusion that atheism is silly in the same way that theists behaving in silly ways doesn't make theism silly. The theists here seem to want to tar atheism with a specific brush because of things that specific atheists, often a minority, do. It doesn't work that way. That's a non sequitur. And the theists would howl like mad if we applied the argument in reverse to condemn actual religions like Catholicism and Protestant Christianity, even though there is a lot more evidence that those things are actually the cause of the silly behavior of theists than there is that atheism is the cause of the silly behavior of specific atheists. The same stupid arguments are made in trying to hold atheism responsible for Pol Pot and Mao Zedong, and they simply do not work. They are a reflection of a guilty conscience, nothing else, and they are based on false crap and sophistic reasoning. These arguments aren't about atheism at all, but about helping the theist feel better about themselves.

[T0 Th3 M4X]

I don't think it's safe to say "atheism is a belief" 

because it's not 

as asserted by the OP. It would be more correct to say that "atheism is beliefs"

Nope 

 Just like theism incorporates "beliefs" so the whole would be theism.

Nope anything outside of i lack believe or don't accept has nothing to do with atheism

You don't think it is.  You're one atheist, but other atheists say differently.  Who is someone supposed to believe?