Is Atheism a Religion?

Atheism has often been viewed as the polar opposite of religion, but is that really the case? Some would argue that atheism itself is a religion. Others hold fast that atheism cannot be a religion, for it ridicules all that religions stand for. In both cases the people arguing have overlooked important details and assumed others. Some simply have not looked deep enough into the subject. Others contort data to fit their argument. Many only argue to push other agendas whether they are personal, political, or otherwise. The issue is simply not being approached in the right way to achieve a correct answer, and despite the emotional quality of the subject a strictly pragmatic approach is necessary to achieve the best answer to this question. Atheism may be a religious belief, but that does not mean it is a religion.

Aspects of religion are highly personal, and because this is so many people get offended very quickly when presented with religious controversy. Such controversy has appeared in this debate. Many feel atheists attack their faiths through skepticism and a condescending tone. In the same way atheist individuals feel they are being persecuted by overzealous followers of religion. Such bitterness leads to pride, stubbornness, and a lack of will to understand the other point of view. The motive shifts from seeking the true answer to the question to proving the other party wrong, and this is where the facts begin to become contorted and details overlooked.

One such example of contorted information comes from a 2005 court ruling that atheism is a religion. The court ruling stated that "Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a belief in a supreme being." (WorldNetDaily.com 1). This statement has been twisted by some to mean that atheism is in all elements a religion. This is not so, nor is it so stated in the quote. Atheism serves as the inmate's religion, for that is where he stands in his religious beliefs. By the First Amendment the inmate has a protected right to practice his religious beliefs and to study them in a group. This is not to say that atheism is in all aspects a religion. Furthermore, the fact that the group he wanted to form was religious in nature does not necessarily mean that group is subject to any particular religion. Many worldviews may be considered religious, but that does not mean that they are religions.

Another example of facts being distorted to prove a particular point is revealed in Britain's decision to move evolution/intelligent design debates into religion class. This move includes both religious and secular theories of the origins of mankind and of the earth into a religious setting rather than a scientific one (Majendie 1). In other words it includes both atheist-supported theories and religion-supported theories in the same setting. Some would stretch this to mean that atheist supported theories in a religious setting entails that atheism is a religion. This is also simply not true. The fact that atheist-supported or secular theories are now incorporated into a religion class means only that these theories encompass religious aspects. This does not mean that those who agree with such theories practice a religion, or that such theories belong to a religion, but only that these theories can be labeled as religious.

Both of these examples highlight the misinterpretation of the difference between religious and religion. Atheism may fit as a religious aspect or worldview, but it does not fit the definition of a practiced religion or way of life. This is one argument used by atheists who defend the fact that atheism is not a religion. They stress that atheism lacks all of the practiced traits associated with religion and point out the absence of prayer, afterlife concepts, worship, and even morality concepts present in atheism. The points of view that individual atheists have on these concepts may vary, but atheism itself has none of these elements. They point out that atheism is simply and exclusively the notion that there are no gods, and not a way of life or moral code that includes or regulates these other aspects.

Another common misinterpretation lies within people's definitions of atheism. Many people who feel that their faith is in danger or feel that others are attacking their religion blame atheism as the source. This is not a fair accusation, for atheism is nothing more than the doctrine that there are no gods. It is not the idea that those who believe in gods must be corrected or criticized. The persecution and ridicule of religious people may come in part from atheists, but not because of atheism. Atheism can only be held responsible for the lack of belief in gods held by atheists, and not any other aspect of their lives. All of the ridicule and bitterness expressed by atheists are the result of the individual views that are not governed by atheism, such as how to live life and how to treat others. There is no concrete link between atheism and the moral code of atheists. They are not unified in any belief other than the one stating that there are no gods, and the thought that atheists are an organized group is yet another misconception.

Some people have gone so far as to classify different types of atheists based upon the different ways that atheists go about living. There are iconoclast atheists who seek to shatter the idols of existing religions, pragmatist atheists who rationalize the non-existence of gods, deist atheists who have not ruled out the possibility of a higher power but do not think that higher power has any regard for humanity, and finally absolute atheists who are scientifically bent on the non-existence of gods (Sujai 1). Unfortunately these classifications are all invalid when considering that atheism only governs the belief that there are no gods, and not how they justify or practice this notion. Therefore every individual atheist falls under their own classification. This supports the notion that there is no real organization to atheism and how it is merely a religious concept-not a religion itself.

All of these misconceptions and misinterpretations make it next to impossible to accurately judge whether atheism is indeed a religion or not; especially when atheism is confused with atheists and religion is confused with religious. It is important to note that although something may involve religious concepts or share religious characteristics, as atheism does, it does not necessarily mean that something is a religion (Factschurch.com 1). In the same way positions such as atheism do not define people in their entirety. Atheists all believe there are no gods, but in all other aspects of life they can be as different as they please. Atheists may be very religious people in the sense that they are committed to what they believe, but that does not mean that atheism is a religion.

Sources Used

Factschurch.com (n.d.). Is Atheism a Religion?. 3 pages. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009. Available at

http://factschurch.com/sermons/sermon004.html.

K., Sujai (2007). Types of Atheists. Posted on Sept. 21 2007. 2 pages. Accessed Oct 13, 2009.

Available at http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/types-of-atheists.html.

Majendie, Paul (2009). Britain boots intelligent-design debate. 2 pages. Reuters. Updated Jan.

24, 2007. Accessed Oct 13, 2009. Available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16791773/.

WorldNetDaily.com (2009). Court rules atheism a religion. 2 pages. Posted on Aug. 20, 2005.

Accessed Oct 13, 2009. Available at

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874.