I've been listening to political talk radio for about 2 years now, and I must say that the divide between atheists and theists tends to grow mostly around New Years Eve/Day. Know why? It's because around that time, people try to get "under god" removed from the pledge of allegiance.

I mainly just sit back and laugh whenever the debate gets overly heated, but the biggest thing I've noticed is that the argument against the removal of "under god" tends to be, "If we do that, it'll be forcing us to comply with the atheist religion."

This of course, leads us to the topic of this debate. Is atheism really considered a religion?

From what I believe, a religion becomes a religion by A)Having more than 50,000 followers, B)Everyone shares a core belief (there is no god), and C)The religion has some sort of scripture to go with it.

However, everyone has different views so it's hard to find out exactly what the classifications of a religion are. The atheist side says that it isn't a religion because it has no deity, along with other arguments. While others say it is a religion for a wide variety of reasons.

In summary, can Atheism be considered a religion?

I don't really think it's a religion, mainly because I thought in religions you had to believe in a god of some sort. I think it fits more in the "beliefs" category.

I would classify religion as a group of people (any amount) who all follow the same (origins / afterlife) belief (no matter what it may be) with or without (scriptures or gods). Sure you don't believe in a god or whatever, but that doesn't mean your not still a follower to a religion or belief that thousands others in common share.

Under god is just a spin to get people to follow a system. The "God" they are referring to is the people who print the money, the people who made the system (government). Everyone is basically trusting this "system" no matter what belief they have. Non believers in God use American money knowing the words "In God We Trust" is printed on the back of a dollar bill yet they don't complain about it... why? Because they can't deny the fact that they are and always will be in GODS control (Not religious god, but scapegoat god which is government).

If "Under God" is taken religiously sure I can see why people would through a fit about it but in reality it has nothing to do with that god... the god they are talking about is the government system. You are pledging to the system created by government, you are following its rules, you are trusting that the money they print is worth something when in reality its not (but since so many people trust money is worth something, it makes it valuable).

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Just look through the pledge and its just describing Americas system. Plus everything in the pledge is now way off. Many people don't pledge to the American flag, many people don't follow its stand, this is not one nation, *insert random god*, indivisible? SERIOUSLY? Our country is more divided them ever, liberty and justice for all? I dont think so.

The pledge itself is governments system I'm telling you it really has nothing to do with believing in god or not BUT basically the point of the pledge is to show you that no matter what religion you have one thing remains the same... WE ALL TRUST IN AMERICA, IN OUR GOVERNMENT, IN OUR LIBERTIES AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. Sure we can believe what we want about who GOD really is but if you take a look around the only one who resembles GOD in physical format here is GOVERNMENT. The problem is people take it religiously, when it should be looked at in a physical format. Why would someone put a supernatural deity in the pledge? The answer is to fool people and distract them.

Basically what I am trying to say is our government is USING the term GOD to fool people. They do it on money, they do it on the pledge, and they do it in court. It doesn't matter if you believe in deity God or not, you WILL BELIEVE in physical GOD aka Government and there is nothing you can do to reject or deny it doesn't exist. If people looked at it in a physical format with religion aside they too would probably understand what it actually means

End of rant

The god in "under god" is really the government? That sounds like some part of a conspiracy theory, but okay (it's actually one of the more believable ones anyways).

I've heard tons of different explanations for what people are talking about when they say "under god". Some say that god is more of a generic term for "Insert Deity here", seeing as how all religions tend to have a divine figure of importance.

Another theory says that "under god" is just thrown in there for flow. (Don't believe it, try saying the pledge of allegiance and edit out the god part yourself. Sounds a bit choppy, don't it?)

Then there's your theory (or more from your wording, statement), so that's another factoring player into the debate. What exactly does the term "under god" mean.

Also, I think when it says "indivisable", it may mean in times of crisis. Surely, whoever wrote the declaration would've known that down the line, there would be conflict. Also, in times of war, the country tends to drop it's prejudices and let everyone join in the fun (See the Civil war and both World Wars for reference).

Atheism-
Someone who believes in nothing out of ANY religion what-so-ever.
Noun.
Well-known religion with rebellious teens.


Yes, I am an Atheist.
I fully support everyone's 'rants' about how my religion should not be considered into a classification. Everyone has their own ideas about religions they do not live in.Please don't rant about how atheists despise huge characters of those other religions.
Oh, and do not rant about Mr. Siddhartha Gutama (Buddha).
Excuse my ranting, for I have ADD and a tendancy to lose attention.

Good day thread readers.

this really should go into the debate forum rather than here. This is the Christian forum and should cover Christian issues. This isn't a real Christian issue at all.

An atheist is simply someone who does not believe in god. A religion is a system of faith and beliefs in some way supernatural. Not all beliefs or belief systems are religions. Atheism is not itself a religion, but atheists can still be religious.

Atheism is more the truth if anything. Not really a religon.

Its no religion, more like the extreme lack of religion. They don't believe in God, which, to me, is rather offensive. I'm not religious by anymeans, just spiritual. I have actually seen an angel, if it was only a very blurry outline of a robed figure with (from what I can tell, as I only saw this for a split second) long, blonde hair.

I don't think it's a religion. It's like an escape from religion bonding, per say. If one didn't want to have one belief, or just didn't believe in the beliefs, they would escape to atheism. To put it in a way, it's like retirement, in some cases. If you can't work under your personal circumstance anymore, than you retire. Or if retiring is not the as correct to you people, then quitting a job would also be a way to put it. Plus, religion is based upon beliefs, while there aren't any beliefs in atheism.

atheism is not a religion. it is an anti religion. those crappy talk radio people are just trying to make something up to be recognized for something other than boringness. ps: this message will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...1...BOOM!





-sm64286






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Atheism, as my sister points out, is actually put into several different categories.

There's plain atheism, where they just don't believe in god.

There's Semi-theist, which is another term for agnostic.

There's Anti-theist, which is not only the belief that there is no god, but that all religion is stupid.

Then there are the people who just don't care either way, but identify more with the no god belief.

Also, @sm64286, the radio host wasn't making this stuff up. He's a Liberal talk show host, and semi-supports the man who wants to get "Under god" removed from the pledge (He doesn't see much of a need for it to be removed). The people who called in were the ones claiming it as a religion.

@MegaRevolution, there aren't many beliefs, but there is at least one core belief. (And Kudos on the analogy)

@ThePVTCaboose, you can't simply state that "Atheism is a truth". There's no evidence to back it up, and no one is entirely 100% sure on what is and isn't factual when it comes to religions. However, your opinion that Atheism isn't a religion has been duly noted.

@Person-is-awesome, No one was ranting about how Atheists despise the figures of other religions. This thread is to debate whether or not Atheism is a religion or not. However, I'm sure that no one will rant about that in the near future if that's what your concern is.

I don't think I would call it a religion. It's more of a belief. Coincidentally, most if not all religions are also based on beliefs. They do have that in common.

Isn't atheism the lack of a religious belief? If that's correct, there is no God in an atheists mind, so how can it be religion? A religion is described as a strong belief in a supernatural force(s) that control human destiny. If a individual doesn't believe in such a force, or entity, he/she is not religious. I myself am atheist. I also don't find the phrase,"Under God" necessary, but since this nation was founded on religious tolerance/freedom, I also find it unnecessary to remove it. While I'm atheist, I think that the nation as a whole should be vaguely based around religious values, beside the killing of the gays, non-believers, etc ... The other things like respect, and standing up for what is right are good morals though.

At my school Atheisim is a way for emos to get attention.

Atheism is a life-choice. I actually believe that religion is harmful and there is no god. So I guess I would be an atheist anti-theist. Atheism as fashion is like religion as fashion. If you cannot make that decision with all intents and purposes of keeping true to it, don't bother.

It's as simple as this:

Either people want to recognize the existence of God, or they don't. Collectively, mankind will decide where they stand. And God will tell us where He stands, as I believe He exists. I hope that it never gets that bad, but unfortunately that's the way it's looking.

I thought Atheism was the belief that there is no God. Not a lack of conformity to any known religion. Atheism is still a system of belief. This being that it takes a leap of faith since there is not a lot of evidence that God does not and cannot exist. Much goes the same for the existence of God. Still both statements are leaps of faith to believe in. Many of the definitions I looked up for religion don't seem to include that the belief system must include the existence of a higher power.

Atheism is simply disbelief in god/deity (or you can be atheist about certain gods, for example most people are atheist about ancient Egyptian gods, even if they are Christian.)

You can be atheist, and still be spiritual or religious. Buddhism does not require belief in deity, for example. So you could be an atheist buddhist.

A personal/creator god is not a requirement for a belief system to be considered religion. Buddhism, Taoism, Shamanism and some forms of Paganism are religions that do not require belief in any god or gods.

I am atheist. (techinically an AUU... but hey, does it matter?)

Basically, Atheism is the lack of belief in a god.

Religion is defined by dictionary.com as;

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

By this definition, we are indeed a religion. Not all religions believe in a god, but have a spiritual tone to them.

Not all atheists are spiritual though, just like not every christian goes to church.