Atheism is a religion, too: Atheist Alliance International

Atheism is a religion?

For a theist, few experiences compare to witnessing an atheist receiving a resounding intellectual response from a preacher. There’s a certain apocalyptic quality to it, particularly evident when the atheist attempts to diminish religion’s significance, unaware that they themselves exhibit strong religious undertones.

This scenario unfolded once more at the Cambridge Union debating society, where former Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams engaged in a debate with the renowned figure in modern atheism, Richard Dawkins. Their discussion’s focal point revolved around religion’s role in the 21st century.

Dawkins asserted that it didn’t.

Williams countered by stating that it did.

Ultimately, Williams emerged as the clear victor, securing over twice the number of audience votes compared to the well-known atheist Dawkins. The faithful celebrated a triumphant day, while the irreligious experienced a day of disappointment. However, the truth is that virtually no one is truly devoid of religious inclinations. Read more.

GOP Congressional Candidate: Atheism, Post-Modernism Contributed To Sandy Hook Shooting

Zach Dasher, a relative of the Duck Dynasty family and a contender challenging incumbent Republican Representative Vance McAllister in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional district, once attributed atheism to the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Dasher made his perspective clear on a podcast titled “Why did this happen,” which delved into discussions about the tragic Sandy Hook shootings. In his statement, he said, “The children who lost their lives in Connecticut were crafted with purpose, and I must admit that even the perpetrator himself was crafted with a purpose.”

Dasher went on to assert that Adam Lanza, the shooter, was “fashioned in the likeness of God,” but eventually embraced the ideas propagated by atheists. “He was conceived in the likeness of God,” Dasher emphasized. “However, at some point, he adopted the beliefs of atheists. He minimized humanity to mere clusters of atoms, easily discarded like an aged banana skin. I’m willing to bet that he even viewed himself as nothing more than a concoction of chemicals.” Read more.

Atheism is a religion: Atheism To Defeat Religion By 2038

Nations boasting the highest standards of living are gravitating towards atheism, presenting a sneak peek into the prospective global scenario.

Assertions that faith in God will follow the path of horse transportation, driven by an enhanced standard of living, tend to vex religious individuals.

The notion predicting the displacement of religious convictions by atheism is termed the secularization thesis. The particular iteration I endorse (1) is recognized as the existential security hypothesis. The fundamental concept suggests that as individuals amass greater affluence, their concerns about basic necessities or premature demise due to violence or illness diminish. Essentially, they attain a sense of security in their own existence. Consequently, there is no compulsion to seek solace in supernatural entities to assuage their fears and insecurities. The idea linking enhanced living conditions with a decline in religious adherence finds substantial backing from a wealth of evidence (1,2,3).

The Evolution of Belief: Atheism’s Rise in Affluent Societies

Despite that, it doesn’t stop certain esteemed scholars, such as political scientist Eric Kaufmann (4), from presenting an opposing viewpoint – asserting that religious fundamentalists will surpass the rest of us in terms of population growth. However, despite their vocal presence, these groups constitute only a small minority within the global population. Their influence will likely diminish further as global prosperity continues to rise and living standards improve.

Furthermore, as religious fundamentalists become more intertwined with the economy, young women pursue employment, and family sizes decrease. This trend is evident in the current situation among Utah’s Mormon community. Read more.

Atheism is a religion: Nonbelievers To Get Place Of ‘Worship’ In UK

For a significant duration, atheists have been critical of devoted adherents to faith. Surprisingly, however, it appears that atheism is drawing inspiration from religious traditions itself, evidenced by the emergence of an Atheist temple.

Renowned author Alain de Botton has unveiled intentions to construct an Atheist temple in the United Kingdom, as reported by DeZeen magazine. This architectural endeavor is a collaboration with Tom Greenall Architects and will take shape in the City of London.

Centered on the concept of perspective, the tower’s dark structure is set to reach a towering 46 meters (150 ft) in height, with each centimeter symbolizing the Earth’s span of 4.6 billion years, according to Wired.

‘Theism’ signifies ‘belief in a god or gods’. Typically, believers align themselves with the values and principles of a divine belief system, essentially adopting an ideology. Ideologies rooted in theism are commonly termed faiths or religions. Many ideologies carry the suffix ‘ism,’ such as liberalism, socialism, and communism. However, in the case of ‘atheism,’ the ‘ism’ suffix is merely a derivative from its origin, ‘theism.’ The prefix ‘a’ reverses the meaning to the negative, indicating a ‘lack of belief in a god.’ As such, ‘atheism’ is a polar opposite to faith or religion.

Atheism stands as a non-belief system, which theoretically concludes this discussion. Nonetheless, it’s probable that theists won’t find this explanation satisfying. They might highlight shared aspects between atheists and religious groups: religious congregations form churches, while atheists establish associations; both appoint members to designated positions like bishops and presidents; offerings are made in churches, while atheists contribute through subscriptions; religious ceremonies occur in churches, while atheists hold meetings. Both groups possess cherished literature and figures of admiration.

Yet, these similarities remain superficial, and while they might seem to align atheism with religion, by the same logic, political parties and table tennis clubs could be categorized as religions. Clearly, this proposition is inherently absurd. Full Story

Atheism is a religion, too